"Hudson Hornet" - the forgotten Detroit brand of the car

Have you ever heard of a car like the Hudson Hornet? A cartoon "Cars" looked? If you looked, then for certain you remember the character named Doc Hudson. Here it is a copy of the same "Hornet", which has not been produced for more than half a century, but remains in the hearts of car enthusiasts, and especially fans of the classics. In this article, you will learn the history of the Hudson Hornet model and its main features.

A few words about the company

Surprisingly, the company Hudson is named not in honor of the creators, but in honor of the investor. It all began with the fact that in 1909 four enterprising young men decided to create a firm to produce cars. Then one of them turned to his father-in-law with a request to borrow money. And it turned out that a person completely unaware of cars, perpetuated his name, investing in the case of his son-in-law 90 thousand dollars. Soon this money paid off with interest. Well, today we will consider the most resonant model of the company - "Hudson Hornet" ("Hornet" - so translates the name of the model).

General characteristic of the model

The model is a full-size passenger car, which was manufactured from 1951 to 1957. The first four years he did the company Hudson Motors, located in Detroit (Michigan), and then the company American Motors from Kenosha (Wisconsin).

The first generation of cars received a streamlined shape and a lower center of gravity, which allowed them to successfully perform in the race.

The second generation was a restyled version of the Nash model, which was produced under the Hudson brand until 1957. Now let's take a closer look at all versions of the Hudson Hornet.

Hudson Hornet 1951

The first modification, descended from the assembly line in 1951, was based on the design concept Step-down, which was first implemented in the Commodore model three years earlier. The essence of the concept was to combine the body and the frame (into which the bottom was built) into a single structure. This solution together with the center of gravity shifted downwards created a stylish, streamlined view of the car, which could comfortably transport six passengers.

The 1951 Hudson Hornet was offered in three body styles: a 4-door sedan, a 2-door coupe, a convertible, and a hardtop. At a price cars were on par with the model Commodore - 2,5-3,1 thousand dollars.

All models were aggregated by a 6-cylinder, 5-liter engine with in-line cylinder arrangement. The motor was equipped with a two-chamber carburetor and developed 145 horsepower of power. The model could accelerate to a speed of 180 km / h. For such characteristics, she received the AAA certificate from NASCAR. Since November 1951, it has become possible to purchase a Hornet with a Twin H-Power engine, paying an additional $ 85.

For the debut year was released 43.6 thousand cars of this model.

1952-1953 years

In 1952, the Twin H-Power engine became part of the standard car. Together with a double intake manifold and two carburettors, the engine developed 170 liters. from. And in some trim levels, this figure could be increased to 210 liters. from. In 1952, 35,000 copies of the Hudson Hornet model came off the assembly line. The following year, the car received small changes in the exterior, the main of which was the renovation of the radiator grille. This year, 27 thousand models were produced.

1954

In 1954, the model suffered a weighty restyling. He meant a curved windshield, new lights, as well as a modern interior and dashboard. But the changes are still a bit late and did not significantly affect the sales volume. As before, cars were equipped with in-line "sixes", while competitors have already switched to engines like V-8.

Before the merger of the companies "Hudson" and "Nash" production for 1954 was almost 25 thousand cars.

Success in the race

Cars of this model often participated in races and repeatedly received the championship among the serial racing cars of those years.

In 1952, at the AAA races, the Hornet pilot named Marshall Teague from 13 arrivals arrived first at 12.

In the NASCAR races on the "Hornets" were 5 drivers at once. Together they won 27 victories. In total, the model was on the first place 40 times and won 83% of the races. The car, on which Marshall Teague showed his phenomenal result, was called Fabulous Hudson Hornet. During 1953-1954 the machine received many more victories, which glorified it all over the world.

Currently, the original model of the Fabulous Hudson Hornet is in the Automobile Museum of Ypsilanti, Michigan.

The second generation

After the merger of Hudson and Nash into one company in 1954, the production of cars in Detroit stopped. It was moved to Nash plants located in Wisconsin. All subsequent models were assembled on the Nash platform, but had a distinctive Hudson logo.

1955

The new model entered the market in 1955. In comparison with competitors, the second generation of "Hudson Hornets" had a rather conservative design. From now on the car was performed only in the sedan and hardtop bodies. Under the hood of the model was a 5.2-liter V-8 engine developing 208 horsepower. The motor was named Packard. It is noteworthy that it was aggregated with an automatic transmission. The rear suspension system had a tubular configuration, and the front springs were elongated.

Like the Nash models, the new Hudson had an efficient air conditioning system and wide front seats. Once a car expert, Floyd Clymer, said that the Hudson Hornet cars are the safest cars in America thanks to a welded body, an efficient braking system and excellent maneuverability.

1956

This year it was decided to update the design of the Hornet line. Designer Richard Arbib invented the concept of V-line Stuling, which was based on the shape of the letter V. The interior and exterior of the car were redesigned in a new way. A tri-color painting made it unique and noticeable from afar. But even this did not help prevent a significant drop in sales in 1956. Sales fell from 13 to 8 thousand units.

1957

In 1957 the car was still slightly modified: they installed an egg-like grille and chrome side moldings. Also added 5 varieties of color. The car's power was increased to 255 horsepower, while the price was lowered. Nevertheless, sales of the model fell to 3 thousand copies a year.

As a result, production was halted. The trademark Hudson was abolished, and the machines received a new name - Rambler.

Heritage

In 1951, "Hornet" received the status of "Car of the Year" in the book of automobile journalist Henry Balls Lenta.

In 1970, the index "Hornet" was revived on one of the AMC models.

In 2006, developed a concept car called Dodge Hornet.

The machine, as already mentioned, is one of the characters of the cartoon "Cars". And, if you like computer games, you can meet there "Hudson Hornet". "GTA 5" and Driver San Francisco allow you to purchase a model in the virtual space.

Conclusion

The fate of the revolutionary cars of the past is developing in an amazing way. Some of them achieve phenomenal success and recognition, others become a collapse for entire automotive concerns. And some manage to combine both the first and the second, as, for example, in the case of the car "Hudson Hornet." Photo, history and authoritative opinion helped us to find out what this model represents.