Classic Hudson Cars for Sale

21 listings

Buy & Sell Hudson Classics. New listings added daily.

Hornet (5) Terraplane (4) Commodore (3) Pacemaker (2) Big Boy (1) Hudson Country Club Eight (1) Metropolitan (1) Model 92 (1)

Hudson Motor Car Company (1909–1954) produced innovative, powerful cars that dominated stock car racing in the early 1950s. The Hornet, Commodore, and Super Six are increasingly collectible.

21 listings found

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Lakewood, CO

1947 Hudson Pickup

$23,895 101,010 miles

Dealer

United States

1955 Hudson Metropolitan

$21,995 130,000 miles

Dealer

United States

1940 Hudson Hudson Country Club Eight

$13,900

Dealer

United States

Frequently Asked Questions about Classic Hudson

The Hudson Motor Car Company was founded in Detroit in February 1909 by a group of eight businessmen that included Roy D. Chapin and Howard E. Coffin. It was named for Joseph L. Hudson, the Detroit department store owner who was its main financial backer. The first car, the Hudson Model 20, left the Detroit factory on July 3, 1909.

Hudson cars were built in Detroit, Michigan, for most of the marque's life. In 1910 the company moved into a new plant at Jefferson Avenue and Conner, designed by architect Albert Kahn, and built cars there through the 1954 model year. After Hudson became part of American Motors, the 1955-1957 Hudsons were assembled alongside Nash cars at the former Nash factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Essex and Terraplane were lower-priced lines built by Hudson. Essex appeared in 1919, and in 1922 it introduced a low-priced two-door closed coach at a time when open cars were still the norm. The Essex Terraplane followed in 1932, the Essex name was dropped for 1934, and the Terraplane continued through 1938.

A step-down Hudson is one of the unit-body cars the company sold for the 1948 through 1954 model years. The floor pan sat down between the frame rails instead of on top of them, so passengers stepped down into the cabin. Hudson called the construction Monobilt. The 1948 car stood about 60 inches high and had a low center of gravity. Frank Spring headed the design department that created it.

The Hudson Hornet, introduced for the 1951 model year, used a 308-cubic-inch L-head inline six rated at 145 horsepower in standard form. Twin H-Power, a dual-carburetor setup, was first offered as a dealer kit in 1951. The 1955-1957 Hornets, built on a shared Nash body, could also be had with a V8, and the 1957 cars used American Motors' 327-cubic-inch V8 as standard.

Hudson Hornets won most of the NASCAR Grand National races held in 1952 and 1953. Hudsons took 27 of the 34 races in 1952, 22 of 37 in 1953 and 17 in 1954. Herb Thomas won the driver's championship in 1951, after switching to a Hornet during the season, and again in a Hornet in 1953. Tim Flock won it in a Hornet in 1952. Marshall Teague won the Daytona beach race in a Hornet in 1951.

Doc Hudson, the character voiced by Paul Newman in Pixar's 2006 film Cars, is a 1951 Hudson Hornet. In the story he is a retired Piston Cup champion who raced as the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, a name taken from the real Hornets that raced in NASCAR in the early 1950s. The NASCAR Hall of Fame says the career of two-time champion Herb Thomas, who drove Hornets, was the basis for the character.

Hudson stopped making cars in 1957. The company merged with Nash-Kelvinator on May 1, 1954, to form American Motors Corporation, and the 1955-1957 Hudsons shared their bodies with Nash. The final Hudson came off the line on June 25, 1957. American Motors then retired both the Hudson and Nash names and continued with Rambler.

The 21 Hudson listings on Classic Cars Arena right now are priced from $2,000 to $71,995, with a median asking price of $21,995. These are the prices sellers are asking today, not sale prices, and the figures change as cars are listed and sold.

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Classic Hudson Cars for Sale

1946 Hudson Big Boy

1947 Hudson Pickup

1952 Hudson Hornet

1949 Hudson Commodore

1952 Hudson Hornet

1951 Hudson Super Six

1937 Hudson Terraplane

1955 Hudson Metropolitan

1937 Hudson Terraplane

1937 Hudson Terraplane

1950 Hudson Commodore

1936 Hudson Terraplane

1956 Hudson Hornet

1955 Hudson Hornet

1949 Hudson Commodore

1955 Hudson Wasp

1951 Hudson Pacemaker

1940 Hudson Hudson Country Club Eight

1939 Hudson Model 92

1950 Hudson Pacemaker

1957 Hudson Hornet

Frequently Asked Questions about Classic Hudson

Classic Hudson Cars — Racing Heritage and Innovation

Most Popular Classic Hudson Models