This was the best first year's production in the history of the automobile industry and put the newly formed company in 17th place industry-wide, "a remarkable achievement at a time" when there were hundreds of makes being marketed.

[12] Hudson had many firsts for the auto industry; these included dual brakes, the use of dashboard oil-pressure and generator warning lights, and the first balanced crankshaft, which allowed the Hudson straight-six engine, dubbed the "Super Six" (1916), to work at a higher rotational speed while remaining smooth, developing more power for its size than lower-speed engines.

Cars equipped with the feature also carried a conventional shift lever in clips under the dash, which could be pulled out and put to use in case the Electric Hand should ever fail.

[15] In 1936, Hudson revamped its cars, introducing a new "radial safety control" / "rhythmic ride" suspension which suspended the live front axle from two steel bars, as well as from leaf springs.

As ordered by the Federal government, Hudson ceased auto production from 1942 until 1945 to manufacture material during World War II, including aircraft parts and naval engines as well as anti-aircraft guns.

[23] The company produced 33,201 Oerlikons for the United States Navy with the original mechanism continued in use without major change and with complete interchangeability of parts until the end of the war.

When brothers Fred and Charles retired from GM in 1944 they revived the Hudson takeover idea with the view of establishing new, independent automobile manufacturing operations.

Using an intermediary, Queen Wilhelmina expressed her interest in selling, prompting the Fisher brothers to begin devoting time to Hudson and their plant in anticipation of a deal.

Automotive author Richard Langworth described the step-down models as the greatest autos of the era in articles for Consumer Guide and Collectible Automobile.

[citation needed] For the 1951 model year, the 6-cylinder engine received a new block with thicker walls and other improvements to boost horsepower by almost 18% and torque by 28.5% making Hudson a hot performer again.

Hudson's strong, light-weight bodies, combined with its high-torque inline six-cylinder engine technology, made the company's 1951–54 Hornet an auto racing champion, dominating NASCAR in 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1954.

As the post-war marketplace shifted from a seller's to a buyer's market the smaller U.S. automakers, such as Hudson and Nash, found it increasingly difficult to compete with the Big Three (Ford, GM and Chrysler) during the 1950s.

[29] A sales war between Ford and General Motors conducted during 1953 and 1954 had left little business for the much smaller "independent" automakers trying to compete against the standard models offered by the domestic Big Three.

Although Hudsons dominated racing during this period, their feats did little to affect showroom traffic despite incorporating their NASCAR success into a marketing campaign known as "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday".

[31] After the company's high-priced Jet compact car line failed to capture buyers in its second straight year, Hudson CEO A.E.

[38] For 1955, both Hudson and Nash senior models were built on a common automobile platform using styling themes by Pinin Farina, Edmund E. Anderson, and Frank Spring.

The 1955 models also used the Hudson dashboard, "triple safe brakes" and the Nash Weather Eye heater with Harrison Radiator Corporation-supplied lower cost Freon/compressor type air conditioning.

For 1957, Hudson dropped the shorter-wheelbase Wasp line, selling only the Hornet Custom and Super, which featured a lowered profile and slightly updated styling.

George W. Romney felt that Hudson and Nash were no longer relevant players in the automotive market and retired both names at the end of the 1957 model year production.

The combined Nash and Hudson production volume was insufficient to justify all-new design and tooling; therefore, the Rambler's platform was expected to be adopted by the longer cars.

[45] American Motors' president, George W. Romney, concluded that the only way to compete with the "Big Three" was to stake the future of AMC on a new smaller-sized car line.

Hudson brand enthusiasts will note the triangular grille guard and 1957-like fender "gun sights" and the fast-selling 1958 Rambler Customs wore 1957 Hudson-styled front-fender trim.

[52] Established in 1922, Sydney company Smith & Waddington set up motor vehicle body building operations for NSW and Queensland at premises on Parramatta Road, Camperdown.

In addition to assembling Hudson and Essex for Dalgety, the company also built vehicle bodies for Rolls-Royce, Wolseley, Dort, Benz, Fiat, and Turkat Méry.

[53] After a slump in the economy which caused operations to cease in November 1927, Smith & Waddington resumed production in June 1928, again building Hudson and Essex vehicles for NSW and Queensland, and further adding Dodge, Chrysler, Erskine, and Studebaker for the whole of Australia.

[56] In its main facility of Adelaide, Holden also made motor bodies for Austin, Buick, Chevrolet, Cleveland, Dodge, Fiat, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Overland, Reo, Studebaker, and Willys Knight.

[63] In 1939 Dalgety sold their automotive business to agent for Packard motor vehicles, Ira L. & A.C Berk in Sydney, which thereafter became the distributors for Hudson in NSW and QLD.

[68] A report by Dunlop Australia about Australian car sales from 1932 until 1949 noted that Hudson vehicles (including Essex and Terraplane) totaled 10,424 units during the 17-years, coming in at 13th place overall.

No shipments were possible during the First World War but as soon as the Armistice was signed exports resumed to the U.K. Hudsons and Essex vehicles were sold through ten concessionaires.

In 1928, a one yuan coin called the Auto Dollar was minted by the Chinese warlord Zhou Xicheng [zh] to commemorate the construction of roadways in Guizhou province.