By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I remember one time walking into a junkyard in New York and seeing two of these old Hornets–recently arrived, but almost totally stripped, sitting side by side near the entrance. Multiples of cars like this is always a sad sight at the boneyard–because you just know that it was probably some old guy or gal hanging onto those hulks, who finally kicked the bucket only to have their ingrate relatives send their cars off to the scrapper. I’m hoping a more gentle fate awaits this very complete Hudson Hornet, and judging from the bidding, it looks like it’ll probably end up with a good home. Check out the auction on eBay.

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Our buddy Paul was really on his stuff the other day. He tipped us off on the V8 Miata web site that we ran earlier in the day and he also sent this photo of what appears to be a 1948 Hudson double front-ender. The car is located on the border of Bellingham and Franklin, Massachusetts. It has stood guard out in front of a salvage yard for decades.

According to Paul, the yard was chock full of vintage iron in various states of decomp and in recent years has been thinning the herd. He reports that there is still some cool old stuff in there to crawl through. If it is like the majority of New England junkyards, this Hudson may be the pick of the litter.

It would certainly be neat to see this car fall into the right hands and get a second life. Until then, it will continue to pull sentry duty in front of the wrecking yard.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Today’s photo of the day comes from Paul’s Hudson ride page. This is an awesome project and I can’t wait to see it finished!

If you have a photo you want me to post, PM me or shoot me an e-mail!

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a series where I describe what I consider to be a muscle car, and where you either agree or disagree with me. It has been a fun year last year, and in December I ran a series of posts in which I asked you, the reader, to select your favorites by decade. Well, it’s time to reveal the best, and to do a final vote. Think of it as the Superbowl of Obscurity.

Continue reading (and vote!) after the jump!

Continue reading "CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: The Best of 2009" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

I decided to mix it up a bit for this week’s eBay Motors Showdown. How about this wild Hudson Metropolitan pro street vs. this cool Volvo PV544 hot rod? Check out the auction links for all the details on these rides and then let us know–which would you choose?

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

How many of you know anything about the Hudson Motorcar Company? Show of hands….. Well, at one time it was the most popular of the “independent” car makers in America. They “stepped out” of the shadows of the others when they introduced the “Step Down” Hudson models in 1948. Before this time, they did produce a conventionally styled car, with a companion pickup truck which was discontinued in 1947. After that little history lesson, I want to introduce you to one of those Hudson Pickups, only radically altered in many ways. Introducing The Hudson Project, at this years SEMA. Read more after the jump!

Continue reading "The Hudson Project: A Diesel Powered 1947 Hudson Pickup, Driven by a Quadriplegic" »

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

In looking over the responses to our previous Hemmings Six Degrees of Automotive Separation Challenges, we seem to get more responses when we try to link domestic and foreign companies. So we’re going to put that theory to the test this week by asking you to link two companies with proud racing histories and innovative technologies. Yes, it’s Saab, builders of turbocharged rallying flyers, versus Hudson, builders of step-down NASCAR legends. Though never in direct competition, they share at least one common thread. Can you identify it? Continue reading at Hemmings.

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

This past Sunday, the Wally Parks NHRA Museum at Pomona was host to the 3rd annual Socal AMC gathering, a show so big that we haven’t seen its like since there were still AMC dealerships (speak for yourself – DS). The bulk of the interest was around the AMX and Javelin models, but there were still Ramblers, Gremlins, a Concord, a Pacer, and the most gorgeous restored Hudson pickup we’ve ever seen. As a bonus, if you were part of the show and entered a car there, you got to go poke around the museum for free. Sweet! Read the rest of the story and check out a bunch more pictures over at Hemmings.

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the notion of what a muscle car is, and to throw all conventional thinking out the window while we’re at it. For this installment, we are reaching back to the dawn of the 50′s, when most cars has less than 100 HP under the hood, handling was scary at best, and brakes were an afterthought. However, the racing tracks across the country were breeding innovation. Engines were being tuned to produce power, braking systems were being upgraded to handle the extra power and speed, and the cars were becoming more and more reliable on the track. In NASCAR racing, one car was busy winning races all across the country from 1951 through 1955. Let’s take a look at the Fabulous Hudson Hornet.

Photo by Bob Krueger

Continue reading "CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: The Fabulous Hudson Hornet" »

Admit it–you never thought Hudson Hornets were performance vehicles until you saw the character Doc Hudson in the animated film "Cars." Although feared on American streets and tracks back in the day, the Hudson Hornet has remained almost anonymous to multiple generations of enthusiasts.

In the years following WWII, cars were largely pre-war designs tweaked for luxury, utility or performance. American manufacturer Hudson rocked the world in 1948 with the Commodore’s entirely new "step-down look," a low, long and sleek design in direct contrast to the bulbous 40’s ethos.

In 1951, Hudson dropped another bomb with the Hornet. Looking like a chopped and channeled hotrod right from the factory, the 124-inch wheelbase Hornet was offered in sedan, coupe, hardtop and convertible forms. At the heart of the Hornet was a quick revving 308ci inline-six delivering 145 hp–ten more than Oldsmobile’s “Rocket” 88 V8.  At around $2600, its price was comparable to a Buick Super. Continue reading…

Continue reading "Paging Doc Hudson" »