Hudsons

Hudson Motor Car Company began production in 1909 and continued through 1954 when it merged with Nash-Kevinator Corporation to form American Motors.  The Hudson name was used until 1957.

The pickup shown here was probably a 1947 model and I believe that was the last year Hudson made pickups.

I saw this image recently that was tagged as a Hudson concept car.  I was unable to find any information to support the idea that this vehicle was in fact any thing more than a beautiful piece of work produced by skilled craftsmen sometime between 1950 and the present.  It would appear to be based on an early 50's "stepdown" Hudson.  The back of the cab looks like it was taken from an early 50's General Motors pickup.

In 1948 Hudson introduced a radical design change to the industry when they lowered the body pan to be below the top of the vehicle's frame.  Thus the term "stepdown" as the floor pan was lower than the frame.

Dropping the floor pan made for a car that had the lowest center of mass at the time.  This improved handling and driveability.  These Hudson stepdowns dominated stock car racing in the early 50's. The 308 cubic inch 6 cylinder equipped with dual carburetors ("Twin H Power") coupled with the low center of mass proved a winning combination.  The fierce competition between Ford and Chevrolet along with the reluctance of American Motors to spend the money needed to stay in the game brought Hudson's success to an end.