Is This 1949 Hudson Commodore A Good Investment Or Sale Proof?

This week, we reviewed a 1949 Hudson Commodore for its investment potential. Hudson Motors was a promising car company that went defunct after the Hudson/Nash merger to become American Motor Corporation, or AMC. The Hudson Commodore was one of the more flagship cars that Hudson Motors offered during its post war height. Is the Hudson Commodore a good investment or sale proof?
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[@SaleProofCarReviews]

Subscribe for more Sale Proof Car Reviews! kzbin.info Correction: There is no tachometer in the Hudson Commodore. I misspoke in the video.

[@Clarkecars]

The 1948 Hudson introduced the "Step Down" design, which as you showed, the door sills are higher than the floor. This was a patented design that all cars use today. GM traded Huson use of their Dual Range Hydramatic (4 speed automatic) transmission for the use of the design. In 1929 Hudson was actually the 3rd largest US auto producer by volume. Hudson's Essex line was America's first fully enclosed car at a low price point. Fully closed cars until then were luxury cars. Hudson has a very lengthy history of innovations and racing and endurance championships. Most notably winning the NASCAR Championship 3 years straight with an inline 6-cylinder engine. Thank you for the review. In the world of Hudson, the Hornet is typically the most sought-after model of the step-downs. Of course, coupes, 2 door hard tops called the Hollywood, 2 door sedans called Broughams and convertibles fetch higher prices. Thanks for the review.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

According to a 1951 Hudson "Owner Manual" that "hood scope" as mentioned in this video is known instead as a "cowl ventilator." It's described in the '51 "Hudson Owner Manual" as follows: "Fresh air is brought into the car through the cowl ventilator which is located high out of the zone of splash, heavy gas fumes and dust concentration from preceding or passing traffic and gives the cleanest air available for the passengers inside the car." There you have it!

[@aaronlovell6026]

Ya it's the cowl vent, my 48 ford coup has them in the kick panels on both sides, and if it's raining water will come in if they are open. But my 49 Hudson commodore 8, water will come in even if it isn't open and raining. And run under the dash. Also the Hudson leaks at both front doors. It's a design flaw of Hudson. But it's a beautiful car. Just a fair weather car.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

@@aaronlovell6026 Might be time to replace the seals around the doors of your Hudson and probably elsewhere. Check out Wildrick Restorations for new Hudson rubber seal replacements. "Happy Motoring!"

[@carguyva7596]

With the cowl ventilator open and the vent windows open in both front and back a huge amount of air flow would go through the car. My 47 Packard has the same sort of setup and in 90° weather the passengers are actually comfortable until you come to a stoplight. Then it's a temporary hell.

[@HerrBjork]

Just to clarify, American Motors Corporation was founded in early 1954 by the merger of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company, so the reduction of models in '52 and introduction of the Jet in '53 was the doing of Hudson MCC rather than AMC

[@Clarkecars]

Yes, Hudson blew their capital on the creation of the compact Jet instead of developing a V8 engine. Also, their unibody construction made body design changes very expensive.

[@nomebear]

My grandmother's contemporaries owned Hudsons and Packards. As a small boy, riding in the backseat, I remember the cars being very quiet, smooth riding, and the engine was silent.

[@rileysteve]

Those fresh-air vents and wing-windows on the old cars were a must without air conditioning. Of course, most people smoked back then as well! Good ventilation was a MUST right on into the 1980's!

[@hudson2441]

No cars are investments. They cost you Money. I own 2 Hudson’s. One I had sold after 20 years for what I bought it for so value stayed flat not counting maintenance and expenses. Also 6 cyl HP is 121 262 cid and the 8 cyl wasa 254 cid 127. You also didn’t mention it’s a Unibody car. The “fins” we call “spears” . Kids who saw the movie CARS know what a Hudson is. The car also featured center-point steering. Triple safe brakes and a fluid cushion clutch. By today’s standards it handles better than any car of the same time period.

[@LlyleHunter]

In the 1960s many Americans painted their white metal Tracy kitchen cabinets with a kit that made them look like wood. We did ours in the same hue as the simulated stain on the panels and dashboard in this interior.

[@frederickherring2284]

When I was very young, in the '60's, most of the Taxis in Brisbane were Hudsons, they were a four door, and the only car with a big enough boot to put a radio in when the Taxi comany went radio dispached. They were a common sight, and the radios came from surplus ww2 Mustang aircraft.

[@carguyva7596]

I wish you had covered the shift knob. It is a very complex design and beautiful design. The interior "wood" is not an inlay..it is woodgrain on metal. Also, the 8 is less desirable as it had splash lubrication--no oil pump! It could not be driven very fast. The 6 was so robust, it was a Nascar favorite. No road test or engine start up???

[@thomasturrin8984]

Interesting that you say the 8 was less desirable. I remember my father complaining that our 1951 Commodore 8 with Hydramatic was not as fast as our 1949 Commodore 6 (manual)... and also our Commodore 8 seem to require a lot more maintenance than the 6.

[@mtndemmon]

Cowl vent? 3 on the tree? Wind wings? Virtually all cars had those features in that era.

[@johndailey6520]

Another design or engineering feature of Hudson Sedan's is that the back axle width is 1 to 2" narrower than the front axel enhancing the large automobile's handling and cornering ability.

[@snailer06]

9:20 The lowered cabin is the single most innovative feature of this car.

[@donmoore481]

Brings me back. Our family bought a 48 Hudson Commodore in the early 50s. It was 2 years older than me. I was 7. My Father loved it, and it traveled around the east coast until he traded it in for a new 59 Chevy 2 door. I remember trips on the Pennsylvania turnpike from end to end doing "a mile a minute". My brother and I would sit in the huge back seats and time every mile marker against our wrist watches, yelling out, "another one" as we racked up the miles. If you rolled the window down an inch, it would roar. We most likely drove my Mother crazy because she always thought my Dad drove too aggressively. Ours had a radio in the dash and an antenna in the top center of the windshield, just above the window. It could be turned straight up or sideways. No idea why. I do remember that it had a knob lower and center of the dash board. I didn't know what it was for and one time on a trip to New Your State camping I reached up and pulled it out. Dad got mad because he did not know why the car was acting up on the last part of or trip. He and a friend spent an hour under the car until someone found that the "overdrive" know on the dash had been pulled out.

[@thomasturrin8984]

We had a 1951 Commodore when I was a young kid. I remember the huge back seat and how my uncle would comment how luxurious the Commodore was. The radio antenna in the top center above the windshield could be rotated down so that it rested on the center windshield pillar (Hudson had two-piece windshield through 53). You would put the antenna in the down position when driving in an area with low hanging branches or parking in a low-ceiling garage. They were cool cars!

[@KeithOtisEdwards]

The knob on the inside of the header turned the antenna down 180˚ to a bracket on the center post of the windshield, so that it would not be damaged when going through a car wash.

[@robertk.5195]

I love Hudsons. I briefly owned a nice 1954 Wasp. Your "review" was OK save for some inaccuracies. But the breathless narration left me panting. Between the speed-dash yammering and the many obvious splice jumps I get the notion you're trying to see just how brief you can make this review. You sit in the car - describing all the interior features instead of showing them to us. I wanna SEE those features - not your mug.

[@RetroCarsForever]

The later Hudson Hornet was also one of the VERY FIRST successful NASCAR race cars!

[@SaleProofCarReviews]

Yes it was! I mentioned something about Hudson and NASCAR in my raw footage but chose to edit it out because the Hudson NASCAR legacy is more tied to the Hornet than it is the Commodore.

[@RetroCarsForever]

@@SaleProofCarReviews I never realized how closely they looked to each other. Hudsons had a very distinct shape.

[@SaleProofCarReviews]

@@RetroCarsForever they do, although there were a few with more distinct shapes. The Hudson Jet is one that comes to mind

[@brienfoaboutanything9037]

All you need to know about Hudson Motor Car Company: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5KnnoSsjbV3e7s

[@ronaldbaumgartner]

Why would you edit out the Nascar part. That part made Hudson famous. The Twin H Power Hornets was the significant part of the car company. It was pretty much faster than everything on the road.@@SaleProofCarReviews

[@BritishRail60062]

If I was in a position to do so. I would bring the Hudson brand back to life. Don't know who or what company owns the name if any? But I would love see the Hornet make a return with the original shape as a sedan and coupe but modern day friendly with air-con etc. I would be content to own a 1952 Hudson Hornet coupe though.

[@LlyleHunter]

I feel the same way that you do. I would bring back Hudson and Packard. They were both among the greatest cars ever produced in America and huge losses to the domestic industry

[@richruksenas5992]

Stellantis owns the name by virtue of buying what's left of Chrysler which bought AMC in 1988.

[@brentfairlie]

I love the post war Hudsons , Packard and Studebaker. My favorite early 50s American cars. Those were the days

[@thomasturrin8984]

Hudsons were beautiful cars... their dashboards were works of art (even the 1951 "new" dashboard used in 51-53 was nicely done).

[@aaronlovell6026]

This not the original motor. The 4 door had the 8 cylinder and the 2 door had the 6 cylinder. Hudson refused to build an overhead valve engine. The last year of production 1954. Hudson still just built 2 engines. The flat head 6 and flathead 8. That's why I love Hudson they were old school before old school was a thing. I didn't buy my 49 Hudson for the investment, I just love the car. I drive it every where I go. And you really stand out at a car show.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

1949 Hudson sedans ("4-door") were available with the Hudson 262 6-cylinder or the 254 8-cylinder engines. Hudson coupes, broughams and convertibles (all 2 doors) were available with the 8-cylinder engine in 1949.

[@aaronlovell6026]

@@WAL_DC-6B I am a Hudson guy. Some people like ford's, some like chevy and Dodge. I like Hudsons. I own 3. I have done extensive research on Hudsons. I have looked up all 3 of mine. And I can tell you to the week of the build. On all 3 of them. And where they were sold, and who to. If you give me the serial number I can tell you the week that car was built. And tell you the specs of the car. I can already tell you that's not the original color. And that's not the stering wheel or radio that came in that car from the factory. Also the center mount antenna is missing from the car.

[@KeithOtisEdwards]

There was no flathead 8 in any Hudson in 1953 or '54. The only engines were the six-cylinder 262 CID and the Twin-H 308 CID.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

52 was the last year for the straight 8. The 6 by. 1951 was 308 cubes, the 8, a 30s design, was just 254 cubes.

[@johnwoodhouse1501]

Great car!

[@larrynscho]

There is no tachometer . fuel milage , I was getting 18-20 mpg which I understand is not much for todays fuel prices , but for a car that weighs in at 4,500 pounds it's not too bad .

[@SaleProofCarReviews]

Ah! Good catch on the tach. And 18-20 is great mileage for a car of that age and weight!

[@hudson2441]

The suvs everyone drives get the same or worse mpg 70 years later.

[@KeithOtisEdwards]

IF it had a tachometer, it would peak at 4k rpm !

[@michaelbenardo5695]

20 MPG in a full-size car is EXCELLENT mileage. Remember, this is a traditional American car, not a tiny Japanese car.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

Red line is generally above peak power RPM.

[@acemobile9806]

Last year I bought the '49 Commodore movie car featured in 'On The Road'. I paid $14K for it & had it shipped from the Coppola family vineyard. Good to see you rating the model as a good investment. I just thought it was a cool cruiser, especially since I live in FL & the car has A/C. The originality is out the door since it has a 350 SBC conversion & the cachet of movie cars is rather dubious at best. I intend to complete the details, halt corrosion, brighten it up but not change the character & ENJOY it! Good content, subbed 👍

[@kevinrussell5099]

The 6 cylinder engine in the Commodore produced 121 hp, not 102.

[@junkorbust9498]

I suppose because I own one I’m biased towards it. I have an original paint ‘patina’ car with a Nova 6 cylinder clip that I daily in summer. It puts smiles on peoples faces wherever it goes. With the Chevy six with auto trans and a highway gear it gets around 25Mpg highway.

[@mikehenson819]

The Hudson brand was very cutting edge for they’re day. And in my opinion we’re actually a style leader for the early fifties.

[@snailer06]

5:45 Uh, no. Those popup hood scoops were on most cars in the 1930s. I had one on my 1935 Dodge. The reason you don't see them anymore is they also dumped a lot of moisture (ESPECIALLY if it started raining) DIRECTLY onto the back of your dashboard. Lots of shorts and burnt out dash lights and rust ensued.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

The pop-up hood scoops on 1948-54 Hudsons has a drain on the inside of the scoop which removes any rainwater entering it via a rubber hose that drains onto the ground.

[@snailer06]

@@WAL_DC-6B cool

[@KeithOtisEdwards]

The cowl of the hood is a high hair-pressure area when the car is moving, so the mechanical vent is unnecessary. Most cars today have ventilation intake screens there along with a cabin air filter that few people know to change. All of the 1966-76 Plymouths & Dodges I owned leaked water onto the floor, until I learned to clean out the drain slit on the firewall.

[@carguyva7596]

As I've mentioned on other videos the illuminated badge just above the grill was a really cool thing on these cars. It was wonderful to see them at night.

[@lesklower7281]

Saw a Hornet in Dubbo NSW Australia in the 1960s its was parked and l was walking home from school and l was interested in cars back then so l know at least one made it to Australia

[@bryanbecker6308]

I had a 1948 Hudson Commodore straight eight, two tone chestnut brown as a teen, very cool . . . very similar to the 1949 pictured in this KZbin link. I would love to find a similar 1948 Hudson Commodore.

[@mdlclassguymdlclassguy6488]

At 5:55 that's not a hood scoop it a cowl vent that brought fresh air in to the cabin and was very common in the forties my 55 GMC pickup truck had one, they worked very well

[@here_we_go_again2571]

Nice video! Gorgeous car. Thank you for sharing subscribed.

[@carguyva7596]

Did you mention that the shift mechanism was all chrome. This was very unusual in cars of that period period and Ford and Chevrolet they were just cheaply painted.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

Fords and Chevys were cheap cars, this is a medium-priced car.

[@jasoncarpp7742]

Awesome looking Hudson! I've heard of this car, and I've seen pics and videos of the Commodore. But I've never seen one up close and person. Depending on whom you sell the car to, I reckon it would be a good investment. Say, if who you're selling to is a Hudson collector, or an enthusiast.

[@chrisjeffries2322]

A lot of them were used in Crash a Derby.

[@Modeltnick]

You should mention the “Hudsonite Clutch”!

[@aspensulphate]

"Hudsonite" refers to the clutch fluid, which periodically needed to be replaced. Hudson referred to the clutch simply as the "fluid-cushioned clutch."

[@sprague49]

A maroon Hudson like this beauty was used in "Driving Miss Daisy" when Morgan Freeman was trying to drive Miss Daisy to the Piggly Wiggly.

[@bhagmeister]

I own a ‘48 Cadillac Series 62 and I approve this video 8;)

[@kevinmcguire3715]

Lot of factual mistakes here. This car's 262 ci 6 cylinder engine is 121 Hp not 102 and was designed in 1943. The eight cylinder had slightly higher horsepower but was a 1929 design without full pressure oiling , a splasher similiar to 216 Chevy stovebolts. Commodore was similiar in trim level to the 1951 arriving Hudson Hornet but kept the 262 ci 6 or the splasher 8 as opposed to the 308 in the Hornet . They killed off the Commodore and the spasher 8 after 1952 and converted the splasher engine line to building a pressurized oiling 6 cylinder for the upcoming Hudson Jet which helped kill Hudson due to only 21 thousand sales in 1953 and 1954.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

One factual mistake here. According to the book, "Hudson, The Postwar Years" by author Richard M. Langworth, 35, 367 Hudson Jets were built for model years 1953 and '54 (all versions).

[@JamesAllmond]

Good Investment Or Sale Proof? To me, if I were to buy one, would never want to sell it so Sale Proof is PERFECT to me! If you are into this only for the money, you basically lost already. You miss the whole point of collecting and are just into investing, and that ruined the car hobby.

[@moosehand8721]

Super good cars, love to have one.

[@stanwebb3480]

You did show the back seat area!!! It has some features in the back that true different!!!

[@vilhelmstein2091]

Id love to have light up badges on my car

[@SaleProofCarReviews]

You could buy a new luxury car with an optional illuminated badge.. or you could buy a Hudson..

[@LlyleHunter]

The new Rolls-Royces and Bentley have optional Lalique Crystal hood ornaments that light up when the headlights are on.

[@styldsteel1]

Just some other odd, yet interesting facts on the Stepdowns. All the light lenses, dome, rear C pillar courtesy light, and tailights are all glass! The rear seat has a soft bar going across for the ladies to hang their shawls on to, maybe even their long white gloves. The words on the the temperature box, reads the words..WEATHER CONTROL. unique, yet kinda weird. lol. But I think you did a great job. Perhaps ask the owner to take you for a ride as you comment.

[@SaleProofCarReviews]

That is interesting and thank you! I will be going for more rides from here on out

[@1richtrump]

I would love to take him for a ride in it! It is so fun to drive which you should experience. 😊Hmm... maybe your first 3-on-the-tree driving experience?

[@WAL_DC-6B]

The taillights and door courtesy lights on my stepdown 1953 Hudson Super Wasp are all plastic. This was also the case for a 1949 and '50 Hudson I owned in the past.

[@clevelandmaker386]

​@@SaleProofCarReviews now you cooking with gas!!! I will buy me one if I win the lottery

[@michaelbenardo5695]

Nearly cars in the 50s had those robe cords.

[@christopherdematteo8645]

What walkaround? All we saw was you. A 2-second glimpse of the interior is not a walkaround.

[@birddog3130]

He is wearing his grandfather's shirt from 1960 Ask me how i know.

[@kipbrown1549]

Love it //////////////////////////

[@johnpowell5433]

Illuminated badge? Wolseley from 1932.

[@johnwoodhouse1501]

Wolseleys had illuminated badges all the way through to the Seventies. The shade of blue denoted the engine spec. Another lost brand, sadly

[@moosehand8721]

Start up! Ride?

[@moosehand8721]

I took a picture of a commodore in claremore ok over two weeks ago and posted it on fb, now im getting these videos presented to me. Pretty obvious they are cross referencing me.

[@zsoltszenku8775]

Gyönyörű

[@jorgeantonio8915]

Tive 2 Hudson comodore 8 1952.

[@miguelangellopez6592]

Sería mejor que enfocarán más a los autos y solo la voz del narrador

[@michaelbenardo5695]

Classic cars should be bought for thr love of cars, not as investments.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

Shame that the younger generations know so little about cars, and if they do know anything, only about Datsuns and Toyotas.

[@jerrytraub8074]

It should be a good investment, but for some strange reason it isnt, especially in 4 doors. Sad, but a fact.

[@papilloncycles3463]

Sleek!

[@SaleProofCarReviews]

Very stylish even 8 decades later!

[@papilloncycles3463]

@@SaleProofCarReviews It certainly is, I am interested to know if the wood grain faux paint is original or a restoration? I love it, and would like to do that to my 1965 GMC truck!

[@SaleProofCarReviews]

From what the owner told me, it is original. Some of the upholstery pieces had to be (or need to be) refurbished or replaced.. Otherwise the car is original, engine and transmission included!

[@Farquhartz]

Fantastic car! The heater is down there because for years, they were add on items from the dealer. Also the car doesn’t have a tachometer.

[@SaleProofCarReviews]

You're right! I hastily misspoke when I was recording. Good catch!

[@JackF99]

C'mon man this car definitely does not have a "hood scoop". A hood scoop is used to feed the carburetor with cooler, thus more dense air. When you opened the hood you could clearly see there is nothing feeding external air to the air filter. What this car does have is a cowl vent to feed the interior of the car with air. It was a very common feature of cars in this era.

[@cindys1819]

The important thing about the "step down" Hudson 1948 and up is first, the center of gravity was like TWO FEET lower than any other car at the time. The body was designed in a wind tunnel so the coefficient of drag was WAY LOWER than other cars and the center of compression was much closer than the industry norm. The Hudsons were SO much higher engineered that it would invariably CORNER at least 20 mph faster than even some Euro cars. And the Hudsons were bullet proof in terms of wear. They lasted forever 100 K miles were nothing on the engines.....

[@WAL_DC-6B]

@@cindys1819 The Hudson "stepdown" design was 60" from ground to roof top. "TWO FEET" might be a little too low for this Hudson design (heck, that'd almost like be riding in a "go-kart" down the road). More like about 4-6 inches "lower than any other car at the time." And I never read once in any of my books on the history of the Hudson Motor Car Co. of any wind tunnel testing of the stepdown design. I wish the engine on my 1953 Hudson Super Wasp "lasted forever." Had to get it completely rebuilt.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

High chrome context iron for the bock and head. Almost wear-proof, even with 5he inferior oil of the day.