Automotive Flashback: Hudson Jet
Automotive Flashback: Hudson Jet
In the 1953 model year, Hudson sold 21,143 Jets.
HudJetLnrRedRight The tale of the Hudson Motor Car Company’s 1953-54 Jet compact is one of the saddest in all of automotive history. The annals of automotive failure are replete with four-wheeled Greek tragedies, tales of the pathetically under-engineered and the terminally unreliable, cars which failed due to their own inherent vices and inadequacies.
The Hudson Jet is not one of these.
It was superbly engineered, its unibody sold as a rock. It boasted excellent performance for its day. It was roomy and comfortable. Its fuel economy is decent even by twenty-first century standards. It was a car with no real serious vices–and yet, it effectively destroyed the Hudson Motor Car Company.
The story of the Jet has its origins in the success of the Nash Rambler. Nash brought the first American compact to market in 1950 as a well-equipped little convertible, and soon expanded the model range to cover everything from two-door coupes to station wagons. While most American car buyers in those days were interested only in full-sized iron, the Rambler found a comfortable market niche and Nash was soon selling them as fast as it could make them.
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The Hudson Essex Terraplane Club celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year while Hudson Motor Car Company celebrates 100 years!