In this month newsletter we’re covering American car manufacturers that disappeared for the most part in the mid to late 50’s. The one that holds a special place in my heart is Hudson. It’s so special we even named our son Hudson.
I guess it started before I was even born. My Dad got from one of his Uncles, his first car a 1946 Hudson that his Uncle Samuel had rolled over. The story goes that Dad’s Uncle Samuel said, “Give it to Fred he can’t hurt it anymore“. You see Dad was the first one in his family to drive. He’s the oldest of three. His Mom and Dad didn’t drive. Grandma got a license a few years after Dad and Grandpa never did bother with driving, He walked everywhere and lived to 102. They didn’t need a car they lived in New York City.
It was 1950 the year Dad graduated from high school. After that it was one Hudson after another. Dad said he lost count at around eighty. Sometime he would have a half a dozen or so at a time. You see Dad is a car pack rat, has been most of his adult life. He had so many of them when I turned 9 he gave me a 1951 Commodore 6 Hudson Convertible with a 308 cubic inch Twin H Power for my birthday. It was the best birthday present he ever gave me. Not many 4th graders could say they had a car. I fiddled with that car for many years. I drove it up and down our driveway hundreds of times. We had a fairly long drive way. This is what I think triggered my love affair with Automobiles. From that point on I read automobile manuals, popular mechanics and car magazines like most kids read comic books. I was obsessed. I absorbed my self in the car culture of the 50’s and 60’s. I knew the horsepower ratings of most everything with four wheels. My parents had enough foresight to see my passion and help cultivate it by sending me to a Vocational Technical High School where I tuned my craft.
I didn’t hurt either the fact that My Dad and his brother owned an Import Used Auto Parts business and Body Shop where Dad ran the Auto Parts and his brother ran the Auto Body business. Uncle Eddie was into imports, he had everything from E Type Jaguars to Alfa Romeo, and even a DB4 Aston Martin. Dad also had his share of imports, Morgan, MG, Mini Cooper, Fiat, and Triumph TR3 to name a few. I spent many a weekend and a good part of my summers working for knowledge. Never got paid a dime Dad would say ‘we feed you don’t we.?” You know your passionate about your craft when you don’t care about money or how many hours you have to do it. Some might say I was brain washed, but either way these are the reasons I do what I do, and still enjoy it after all these years. Not many people have passion for what they do for a living. I guess I’m pretty fortunate in that respect.
Thank you, until next month happy motoring, Tony