Hudson Jet

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The Hudson Jet was a car of the middle class , which by the Hudson Motor Car Co. in Detroit , Michigan was produced in model years 1953 and 1954th The jet was Hudson's answer to the popular Nash Rambler . Hudson - equipped with little financial reserves - decided to develop a compact car instead of revising its large series. However, the jet could not win nearly as many buyers as the Rambler, and so Hudson had to merge with Nash-Kelvinator to compensate for the losses caused by their jet project and the falling demand for the large series.

Market situation

In the early 1950s, the remaining smaller automobile manufacturers in the USA had a hard time. The market was dominated by the "Big Three" General Motors , Ford and Chrysler . These produced the large numbers and dictated the prices with which the smaller manufacturers could not keep up because of their smaller numbers. The smaller manufacturers desperately looked for gaps in the market where they did not have to compete directly with the big ones.

One of these gaps in the market was the compact car, since the big manufacturers back then, in a time of cheap and plentiful gasoline, were one-sidedly on big cars. Although they had also considered building smaller cars, their calculations showed that it was not worth it and that it made more sense to build the large cars in as large numbers as possible and offer them as cheaply as possible.

Hudson wasn't the only manufacturer to try compact cars. In addition to the Hudson Jet, there were also models back then

who competed in this narrow segment. The only successful model was the Nash Rambler; it wasn't the Hudson.

Development specifications

From the start, the project was hampered by Hudson's chairman, AE Barit , who requested that the compact jet have all the conveniences of a large car. While designers endeavored to shape a car that was lower, wider, and slimmer than a compact, Barit didn't forego his demands for a high seating position, high passenger space, and a roof that allowed occupants to keep their hats on while driving . Barit also decided that from the rear, the jet should look similar to the Oldsmobile of the time, with towering rear fenders and small, round taillights. The design was changed again to meet the requirements of Jim Moran , a large Hudson dealer in Chicago , Illinois , who regularly sold about 5% of all Hudson production. Moran liked the panoramic rear window and roofline of the 1952 Ford , and Barit requested a similar design for the jet.

1953

In the year of its launch, the jet was available in two equipment lines - Standard and Super Jet - and only as a 2- or 4-door sedan. Contrary to the somewhat old-fashioned “Step Down” design of the large Hudson models, the jet was designed as a real notchback car. The car was powered by Hudson's L-Head inline six-cylinder engine with 3.3 liters displacement, which developed 104 hp (76 kW) at 4,000 rpm. (This wonderfully high-torque engine was originally developed from Hudson's 1947 "3x5" 3.5 liter six-cylinder, which was slightly withdrawn in stroke and designed for pressure lubrication. It was a side-controlled engine at a time when the rest of the industry was relying on overhead engines , and continued to promote Hudson's image as a company that was arrested in the past.)

The basic equipment included a heater, burglar-proof locks, rotating door handles, defroster nozzles, a two-tone fanfare, full-surface wheel covers, an ashtray and an illuminated ignition lock. Nowadays a heater for the passenger compartment is taken for granted, but in 1953 Cadillac was still charging US $ 199 for this facility!

When the jet was first introduced, however, it did not achieve the reputation of the rambler, especially because of its relatively high price point and its chunky, towering appearance. Although the large 1953 Hudson models were still based on the 1948 “Step Down” design, they looked slimmer than the smaller but high-sided jet models. Customers also complained that the jet was not available as a station wagon, hardtop coupé and convertible like the Rambler, but only as a sedan. In addition, the cars - although compact - were more expensive than the large sedans from Chevrolet , Ford or Plymouth .

The teacup test

Hudson came up with a few marketing tricks to get customers interested in the jet, such as: B. the "teacup test". The “teacup test” required special sets of glass cylinders, valves, and rubber hoses that Hudson dealers fitted to the test cars. The glass cylinder was attached to the inside of the passenger door, the rubber hoses were connected to the carburetor. An amount of gasoline equivalent to the contents of a teacup was then filled into the glass cylinder and the car was driven by the prospective buyer and the seller, who watched the cylinder as they drove to see how far a Hudson jet could travel with this small amount of fuel . Although this was a new idea, the teacup test failed to convince those interested of the fuel economy of the jet.

1954

Hudson Jet Liner

In the 1954 model year, the jet was only slightly revised on the outside. A luxury model, the Jet Liner , was introduced, making the range now comprised of three styles, but there were no new body styles.

The production numbers that year fell to 14,224 pieces after the 21,143 pieces from 1953 hadn't given cause for joy either.

Now that there were no more funds to redesign the large Hudson series, Barit convinced the owners that a merger with Nash-Kelvinator would be the best way to secure the stock's value. Barit hoped the jet would survive the merger as the new American Motors Corporation wanted to focus on the niche market of smaller cars.

When the merger was complete and Barit was given his seat on AMC's executive board, the first Hudson model to cease production in 1954 was the jet. In addition, Hudson dealers now had to sell Hudson-branded Nash Rambler and Nash Metropolitan as Hudson products.

Automotive historian Richard M. Langworth called the jet "the car that torpedoed Hudson". While the effect of the jet on Hudson's finances cannot be overestimated (it was a disaster!), It must be admitted that market forces, such as steel prices and labor costs, are causing the demise of all independent American automakers ( Packard , Studebaker Corporation , Willys-Overland etc.) in the 1950s and 1960s also contributed to the difficulties at Hudson. Ultimately, however, management errors such as misjudging the market or not updating the product range also play a part in this.

Web links

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  • Gunnell, John (editor): The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975 , Kraus Publications (1996), ISBN 978-0-87341-096-0 .
  • Conde, John A .: The American Motors Family Album , American Motors Corporation (1987), ISBN 1-111-57389-1 .
  • Langworth, Richard, "Hudson Jet: The Car That Torpedoed Hudson," Collectible Automobile , April 1995, Issue 11 No. 6, pages 46-55.
  • NN: "1953-1954 Hudson: Crash Landing During Take Off," Collectible Automobile , August 1989, Issue 6 No. 2, pages 74-77.