1953 Hudson Hornet Review - A 50's Car That Is GREAT To Drive!

[@Findingfrisson]

This ain't asphalt, son; this is dirt. You don't have three-wheel brakes, so you gotta' pitch it hard, break it loose, and just drive it with the throttle. Give it too much, you'll be outta' the dirt and into the tulips. I'll put it simple; if you're goin' hard enough left, you'll find yourself turnin' right.

[@LuisAngelSantos]

Oh, great. What do you want? You here to gloat? So you're a judge, a doctor AND a racing expert. Oh, right! That makes perfect sense. Turn right to go left! Yes! Thank you! Or should I say, "No, thank you"? Because in Opposite World, maybe that really means, "Thank you"! Crazy grandpa car. What an idiot!

[@LITTLE1994]

"Oh, that makes perfect sense. Turn right to go left! Yes, thank you! Or, should I say 'No thank you', because in opposite world, maybe that really means 'Thank you'! - Lightning McQueen

[@Ben-jz3mt]

@@LITTLE1994”Stupid Grandpa car. What an idiot”

[@Volkswagen_Yeetle]

Goated movie. I hope it enters the National Film Registry someday.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

@@Ben-jz3mt Not all of us aspire to own a Datsun or a Toyota.

[@celsovera91]

The fact that Doc hudson was voiced by the late Paul Newman made it even more better

[@thirdpedalnirvana]

The Hudson hornet also handles better because it is extremely rigid, it's basically a unibody body welded to an additional steel ladder frame. It has 2 chassis for twice the torsional rigidity. Also it came with a front anti sway bar which many cars didn't get for another decade

[@LITTLE1994]

The car is unibody AND body-on-frame at the same time!? Holy smokes!

[@Roddy_Zeh]

​​@@LITTLE1994Yeah. From what I read, that's why they didn't have new body styles every year like the Big Three. Which made them not as popular as the competitors. And the lack of a V8, as great as their I6 was. Completely new styling would demand greater mechanical changes, like chassis and stuff. Its rivals may had new designs but basically kept everything the same underneath (chassis/drivetrain/etc).

[@TassieLorenzo]

@@LITTLE1994 My understanding is that the Hornet does "have" a frame (at least there were Hudson advertisements with drawings of the frame), but it's not really possible to remove the frame from the body as such, so in that way it is like a unibody.

[@willgeary6086]

It also has a track bar in the back too, as well as angled in rear leaf springs that aided in handling.

[@waltertaljaard1488]

Hudson was the American Saab. Excellently engineered high quality automobiles. But just too small to compete against the big companies.

[@thirdpedalnirvana]

I think it's worth mentioning how notable it is to have a car that will confidently reach 80 mph back in the 1950s. When this car was designed, the national speed limit was 50 mph. There were no interstate highways. Most cars would struggle to overtake someone who is going 50 miles an hour

[@willgeary6086]

I have a 53 Hornet Coupe and it cruises very comfortably at 70 barely breaking a sweat.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

The 50 Buick that I had could easily overtake somebody going 50. But I know Chevys couldn't. Not easily.

[@bldontmatter5319]

​@@michaelbenardo5695state the engine Brand name means nothing anymore.

[@richruksenas5992]

Almost all cars from the 50s can do 50 mph easily.

[@mrspandel5737]

​@@bldontmatter5319 a '50 Buick has a '50 Buick Straight 8 and a '50 Chevy has a '50 Chevy Straight Six.

[@joe6096]

“Did you know Doc won three Piston Cups?” “He did what in his cup?” For being such a great kids movie the adult innuendo they were able to slip in unnoticed by kids is just brilliant!

[@hariranormal5584]

LOL. Haha

[@willgeary6086]

You forget the mention the brakes, there is a mechanical backup if you hit them straight to the floor a mechanical reserve will activate on the rear wheels if anything were to happen to the hydraulic systems. Nice example by the way. I own a 53 Hornet as well but it's a two tone green club coupe.

[@automatedelectronics6062]

Original Hudson Hornets(think Doc Hudson) are cool cars now and were cool cars back then. Their post-WWII styling was out in front of all makes, who ended up following. The HydraMatics were 4-speed, but 1st gear was imperceptible, as it shifted into 2nd shortly after the car started rolling. Yep, they didn't have torque converters, they had fluid couplings instead. A fluid coupling looks just like a torque converter, but it lacks the stator which recirculated fluid and multiplied the torque. This is why these HydraMatics had really low 1st gears for take-off. Having a sliding idler gear for reverse(like a manual transmission) and if you shut the engine off when in reverse, the transmission would lock up and act as a Park. The transmission would have to be placed in neutral before the engine would start. The last true 4-speed HydraMatic added an actual Park position. Internally this new Hydramatic(known as the Jetaway), was different from the 2 HydraMatics before it. The Jetaway had 2 internal fluid couplings and shifted through the gears by draining and refilling the fluid couplings independently. This Hydramatic was used into the 1964 model years and replaced by Buick's new 3-speed ST 400 transmission. The 2nd generation lived on in light trucks into the early-60's. Hudson again took the lead and in 1954 came out with re-styled car, which was the squared-off body and the rest again followed. Yep. The merge with Nash was detrimental to Hudson. Nash being dominant(and probably the most money), decided to cut corners and just re-badge their Ramblers as Hudsons. Fortunately, Nash still used the Hudson engine in both the Nashes and re-badged Nash-Hudsons.

[@thirdpedalnirvana]

The V8's of the era didn't really have a performance advantage due to the extra cylinders. It was easier to make a smooth big 6 at the time than a smooth big 8. The problem was the V8's were all overhead valve. They could breathe above 3000rpm. If hudson did an ohv head, it would have competed.

[@mrspandel5737]

Flatheads remained fairly competitive throughout the early 50s, the big Packard Straight 8 made over 200hp by 1954 which was pretty close to the 54 Cadillac, but once the manufacturers started adding high compression and better carburation the Pushrod V8s far better air flow capabilities really made them take off, in addition to the fact they were much lighter, much more compact than the pre-war designs allowing for much greater flexibility with the car designs

[@kleanovodust-bin69]

That's marketing for you.

[@exxusdrugstore300]

I think the real problem is that Hudson sort of boxed themselves into a corner. Hudson had one car for everything, this one, and it was very expensive to produce. Trying to change anything about the chassis would have cost money that Hudson didn't have. Beyond that, the American desire for V8s wasn't rational, it was an image thing. An inline 6 was no longer an aspirational engine by the late-40's and early-50's. Trucks and economy cars had inline 6s, cool cars had V8s. That was the thinking of the time. It didn't matter that most V8s were cast-iron slugs until the humble Chevy 265 made it's debut, people wanted 8 cylinders under their hood because they sounded good and it was impressive to their neighbors. That was the death knell for Hudson no matter how much better they were than basically every other car on the road at the time.

[@joe6096]

Ford Y-Block, GM small block, and Chrysler’ Hemi. The 3 engines that put everyone else out of business by 1955.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

Pretty much.

[@richruksenas5992]

Nope.

[@Astronautdudz]

Saw this and had to watch it immediately. The Hudson Hornet is THE car that got me into cars.

[@musicmoviesandgames2004]

And I can see why

[@bwofficial1776]

They're incredible-looking cars in real life too. I was at a car show and the regional Hudson club brought a few. It was the only time I've ever seen a real Hudson.

[@Astronautdudz]

@@bwofficial1776 I’ve only ever seen 4 out of the tens of museums and car shows along with auctions. They’re rarer and cooler to look at than a Ferrari

[@VSTARMAN51]

I have actually driven a 1951 Hudson Commodore 6 (two door sedan) with basically the same drive-train, I believe. It was YEARS ago, but I recall that if felt powerful, smooth and really 'buttoned down' (for a unibody welded to a secondary frame!!) It's so great that PIXAR has given the 'new age' a view of how cool and unique the styling is on these vehicles (Doc Hudson!) Thanks again for your review - it takes me way back to my drive in the '51 Commodore...

[@BRUH-ne2zf]

Doc Hudson is here LETS GOOOO

[@JakeTerch]

Loving all of the Cars comments, great movie that I remember its release like it was yesterday. It’s better now that I recognize the car models and understand the culture surrounding it!

[@jeffgolden253]

If I remember correctly, in "On the Road" Jack Kerouac wrote that the Hudson Hornet was his favorite car for a cross-country trip because you could sit 4 across in the front seat. The arm rests on the doors were very low ... about the same height as the seat cushion. The way you did it was the outside people sat with one cheek on the door arm rest. The prism on the dashboard is so you can see traffic lights, but unnecessary on this car. They were usually put on cars that had an outside sun visor over the windshield.

[@davidp2888]

What a well kept car! Even if it's been repainted, it's done really well.

[@T-41]

Very nice Hudson! Hudson produced fine, well engineered, well built cars. The step down Hudson’s were first introduced in 1948 . The styling was contemporary for that time, but by 1953 the market was changing fast and these were looking out of date. Hudson didn’t have the capital to design and tool up a new body because it had bet the farm on the compact Jet which sold poorly. . The automatic transmission was Hydramatic, purchased from GM. As you indicate these have four speeds which are needed to produce adequate acceleration. Hydramatic uses a fluid coupling which has fixed blades , not multiplying torque like a variable vane torque converter.

[@ilkkasaari1267]

Doc Hudson made it famous, again.

[@jeremyanderson1139]

The Fabulous Hudson Hornet!

[@fortheloveofnoise]

My grandmother took out her family's Hudson as a small child (manual) eventually caught by police and made to go home 😂 (wasn't the Hornet I think, but a cheaper model from that era).

[@garyhoward2490]

When I was 16, I worked part time,at night, at a small Datsun dealer. I busted tires off of the steel wheels, and remounted then on either...US mags wheels, or the fake wire wheels that we called "baskets". The service writer at that dealer, Vinnie, had a Hudson Hornet that he drove to work every day. I think it was a 52. It was a step down car. You literally could not tell that the engine was running, unless you looked at the fan. So unbelievably smooth running. And the car rode so smooth also. I'll never forget that!!! Incredible car!!!!

[@seanhoward8025]

The 1952-53 Hudson Hornet was one of the most beautiful cars of this era. Vince Piggins was the mastermind behind the racing program at Hudson. Don’t know who Piggins is? Vince went to Chevrolet after Hudson merged with Nash. He was the father of the big block Chevy, the ZL1 aluminum block 427, the L88…and…the Z/28. Note: the 4 speed automatic was the GM-supplied Hydra-Matic. This transmission was sold to various independents in the 1950’s.

[@4yules]

70 years old ....beautiful car

[@bennetfox]

The traffic light reflector on the dash is called a prism.

[@timothykeith1367]

You are knocking it out it the park with these reviews! These are sturdy cars, they look sporty to me, styled similar to the '49 Mercury - but Hudson was then perceved to be an old man's car by the public. But, younger people could not afford new Hudsons - actually few young people could afford any new vehicle - like the economics are becoming now

[@willgeary6086]

Funny thing is Hudson beat Mercury with this styling by a year, Step-Down came out in 1948. Oddly despite the old man image it's chassis was well ahead of anybody else in the American auto industry.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

@@willgeary6086 What most don't know is that the 49 Mercury was originally going to be the 48 full-size Ford, (there would have also been a small Ford with a 106 inch wheelbase), the 49 Baby Lincoln would have been the 48 Mercury, and 49 big Lincoln was to have been the 48 base Lincoln. There would have been a Lincoln Continental above that. It would have been a whale of a car, about the size of the huge 58 - 60 Lincolns. Ernest Breech decided that the proposed 48 Ford would have been too big and heavy to be a Ford, so he moved all the proposed 48s up a division and instituted a crash program to design a new Ford that would be smaller and lighter. That is what became the 1949 Ford.

[@dividedstatesofamerica2520]

Yeah, bullsh't. That was the era where someone could support a family of three by themselves along with a paid off house and car.

[@jackalnerf6230]

My absolute dream car, and the car that has propelled me to daily drive a classic car, even if its not this one. One day I will have a Hudson if it's the last thing I do.

[@LITTLE1994]

Real life Doc Huston!

[@blautens]

These were amazing cars and a shining example of how competition breeds better products.

[@Doctor_Robert]

I am SO JELLY, ZACK!! This is a dream car of mine! I have mixed feelings about Pixar's Cars... because on one hand, it made the Hornet an icon for another generation (which is more than what can be said about any other 40s~50s car), but on the other, it made them more valuable... Which sucks, because I want one badly and have since quite a while before Cars came out.

[@CarsofGlasgow]

I feel like calling you 'Doc' when you are driving that Hudson. I loved Cars when I was a child

[@That_AMC_Guy]

The "Dual Range" in "Dual Range Hydramatic" refers to the fact that it has TWO forward ranges. The initial version of the Hydramatic simply had one range, "D" for all forward speeds. Dual Range came with a modified valve body and TWO forward ranges on the Quadrant. D4 allowed shifting through all four speeds. D3 simply locked out 4th. Why?? Well, by that time period, cars engines were getting more powerful and thus, could run a numerically lower final drive to aid fuel economy. During Testing, General Motors found that with this higher gearing, Hydramatic had rather dull performance in top gear and a propensity to get into top gear a little too quickly. A band-aid fix was the new Dual Range with the option to hold the transmission in 3rd. By 1956, GM would improve the Hydramatic yet again and raise shift points.

[@daviddisandro821]

now i know why my uncle reminised about that car. when i was a kid he told us about his hudson. i m not sure if it was that particular model. they must have all been great

[@matthrivnak6572]

AMC later came out with a hornit, pretty nice car!

[@roberteshaw9520]

Great body design. Interior used materials that were beyond crap they use so often these days. Ran well.

[@gordonmckenney4525]

Dad was A Hudson, International Truck, Texaco Oil and Gasoline, and A Sub Chevy Dealer. I grew up, Personally Owning Seven Hudsons, As A High School Scholar and From Age 16, I did The Light Body and Paint Work, Drove An Early Oil Transport Truck before School and took Wrecker Calls after hours, I was A Privileged Youth and loved Flipping Cars!

[@hothatchpa]

Wow what a stunning HH! This really made me appreciate this car and the details on a new level. That stance alone means business. I truly hope to see this vehicle in person someday.

[@Gr8Passion4Music]

One more thing is that this car has small quarter windows in the back that greatly enhance outside visibility especially when reversing the car. Cars of that era, albeit a few, were more closed at the back, even back screens were smaller and reversing took quite some experience.

[@cavecookie1]

One of my favorite cars, from decades before the movie; those step-downs are one of the all-time greats. I lived in Radiator Springs (Seligman, AZ) for a couple of years...one of my favorite movies!

[@Koulis_]

Love the styling of these.

[@bazilwreckerloughead]

What a great 'do all' car; handles well, lots of room & lots of trunk space!

[@ralphgilson9989]

Dad had a 53 Hudson. I want it back!

[@rickjames6867]

Interesting car. Very informative review. Great content. Thanks brother. ✌️💙

[@awan12334]

bro heart is beating for that legendary hudson😭 I LOVE IT SO MUCH IT UNDESCRIBABLE❤❤ I WILL DO ANYTHING FOR THAT HUDSON UGHHHH ITS SO BEAUTIFUL🤩

[@FTRVDenny]

Absolutely love it! This is my first time seeing the interior so thank you for showing!

[@gordonmckenney4525]

The Early GM Hydraulic Transmissions parked in Reverse, the Reverse Gear was The Parking Gear. Once The Engine was stopped, with Your Foot On The Brake Peddle and Then You put The Transmission in Reverse and let off on The Brake and You were in Park and heard An Audible Click.

[@youtubedenizen1068]

You should have seen him when he first came to town; shiny blue paint. Not just the Hudson Hornet, he was already calling himself, *THE FABULOUS HUDSON HORNET!*

[@American_Voyager101]

watching this reminds me of my 6 year old self watching disneys pixars cars, that time i loved that movie and was obsessed with it and all the characters

[@jamesmooney8933]

Around '68, I was driving a '63 Pontiac Catalonia 389 ci 2 barrel automatic. A guy in a '50 Hudson Hornet, wanted to race me at the red light. So the light turned green. That car pulled out like I was standing still. The 4 speed hydromatic was common in the '50's. My brother and I had a '57 Cadillac with a 4 speed hydromatic. In the early 60's, Cadillac quit using the 4 speed hydromatic and went to a 3 speed hydromatic. In '87, I had a 4 speed hydromatic in an Olds 88 with a 3.8 V6. 200hp. When you floor that Olds, it pinned you back in the seat. GM went back to the 4 speed hydromatic because the cars were under powered. Now car makers are sell 6 speeds, which is too much shifting.

[@NoName-ik2du]

That lens on the dash for stoplights is awesome. I'm tall, so I often can't see stoplights if I'm the first or second car in line at them. I may have to start fitting lenses like that to the dash in my cars with low windshields.

[@georl1]

I also read that one of the reasons Hudson couldn't compete with the big three was its styling. They kept basically the same body style from 1948 to 1954 when they merged with Nash. Their style changed for the 1955 model year which looked similar to the Nash until its demise in 1957.

[@imagrandpa]

My dad had a light blue Hudson just like this in 1953. Wish I’d been driving then!

[@JimGrey]

zOMG would I ever love to drive one of these! I've loved them since I was a kid in the 70s. They were old cars even then!

[@davidkastin4240]

What an excellent example of a 53 Hudson Hornet 💙

[@Trenton-om9qs]

"I didnt come all this way to see you quit"

[@WayneTheBoatGuy]

Those were good looking cars and certainly styled as well as or better than their competitors at the time.

[@dudovich13]

Friend of mine in college had a Hudson his father was rebuilding. Damn, that was one comfortable car.

[@gordonmckenney4525]

In The 50's If You drove A Hornet, You were King of The Road. My 52 Hornet with An Overdrive would do 90 mph in Second Gear and at 120 mph it was still gaining speed! I had bought That Hornet from A Race Driver, it was His Personal Car!

[@gordonmckenney4525]

The Front Wheel With were About 5" Wider then The Rear Wheels. The Hornet was well Balanced40% Rear and 51% Front Weight, making The Hudson's have Great Traction in The Snow and Suburb Handling. The 308 came Valve and Intake Chamber was Milled from The Factory.

[@michaellowery6201]

He did what in his cup

[@dj33036]

I can remember to this day when as a kid my Uncle picked me up at the train station in St. Louis in his Hudson Hornet Convertible.

[@gordonmckenney4525]

The A Pillows, on A 48-54 Step Down Hudson, were A Double Steel Enforcement Construction.

[@gordonmckenney4525]

Same 4 Speed Transmission that was used in The Pontiac, Olds and Cadillac.

[@devastator_1985]

One of the goats of the nascar world

[@herniagaming]

It's performance is actually really impressive for the time, very cool car

[@HenrySchecker]

just realized there's a Hudson, AMC, and now Dodge Hornet

[@NSNBPEINFLDTECH]

"Ever since June 9, 2006.." ..you didn't say why that was significant but that's when the movie Cars came out 😂 I was also inspired by Cars, though

[@sprezzatura8755]

I wonder if they had a fold-down rear seat option. This car would have made a great little camper.

[@gordonmckenney4525]

The Cooling System was Large that prevented overheating under Stressful Driving Conditions.

[@jerrykautz6572]

When cars had style and music had a melody. What a beautiful luxury automobile! I wish someone would make some nice body styles like this again and i'd buy one. Everything looks ugly as mud these days.

[@seed_drill7135]

Loved the Hornet, but it was a 40's design. In 1954 it still looked like a '40's design and there was little that they could do to change that without totally changing the architecture of the car. Of course what they came up with after the takeover by Nash (derisively called the Hash) was basically a Nash with some of the tackiest fins grafted onto it in the industry while losing all the handling advantages that the step downs had. But they did finally get a V8, first a Packard then a Nash.

[@nighttrainist]

The 4-spd auto transmission that got raved about was a Hydra Matic, which was used in Lincolns, GM's excepting Buicks, and I believe Nash. It wasn't that unusual. Other than that, a good video on a great car.

[@glennso47]

Chevy didn’t use hydra-matic either. They just used Powerglide automatic transmission.

[@glennso47]

Buick had the radio antenna on the roof similar to the Hudson

[@glennso47]

Let’s all do a backseat review. Rhymes! To test out the backseat you should have a hot chick 😅

[@thirdpedalnirvana]

My dad has a 54 hornet with a manual

[@user-sf5iq2fl1l]

Am euro and i find this car incredible wtf, this looks so modern, i d love to try one one day

[@kestrelhawkins8728]

That is such a beautiful car, and in such great condition! Wow!

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome you got to review one of these man I wanted to drive one since forever.. =)

[@bwofficial1776]

Incredible car. They looked stunning and had the engineering to back it up. They drove well and had tons of room. It's a shame Hudson didn't last. I've seen a few Hudsons in person courtesy of my regional Hudson club. Had it not been for that 2006 movie I would never have known what they were. They're rare cars, I've never seen a Hudson other than that one time.

[@gordonmckenney4525]

As long as You were moving 1 MPH, The Hudson Started very Lightly wit The Center Steering System and no Power Steering as An Option until The 54 Model Year.

[@gordonmckenney4525]

The Commodore and Hornet were Fitted with The Top Interior Trim Levels.

[@chrisjeffries2322]

Mmm, Simply DeLuxe! 💋

[@btrdangerdan2010]

The Cars movie icon

[@gordonmckenney4525]

The Differential would Lock so Both Rear Wheels Spun, when You were Spinning Hard to get unstuck, out of A Bad Situation!

[@peterruddick1952]

I'll never forget when my Dad in his beautiful black '54 Monterey raced a '53 Hudson Hornet from a stoplight... it easily dusted that Merc which, as a 7 year old, I loved so much. The Y block OHV Merc was not nearly as good an engine as the trusty Hudson six... yet Mercs easily outsold Hudsons

[@DuddleBug5]

Ah yes the car that was in cars and was also used as a NASCAR car in 51-54

[@christianbattestin9747]

Correct. No torque converter. It has a fluid coupling.

[@billpayne3983]

Excellent. Informative as well as entertaining.

[@gordonmckenney4525]

Hudson's were Equipped with A Duel Braking System, with A Mechanical Back Up in case of Hydrologic Failure.

[@dave11686]

So cool!

[@evanswinford7165]

I think it was the flathead engine. Packard went down because they didn’t have the deep pockets to develop an overhead valve engine. High compression V8s were the future.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

Packard did indeed come out with a modern high-compression Overhead V8. What killed Packard was their introduction of a small low priced 6 cylinder model. That destroyed their image. Then after the war, they continued to produce it, cementing Cadillac's place as America's finest car.

[@rightlanehog3151]

Zack, When given a choice between the Hudson Hornet, Dodge Hornet and AMC Hornet, I will take the AMC Hornet Sportabout wagon every time.🤩 I will give the Hudson a silver medal while the Dodge version will have to make do with a participation certificate printed on twice recycled paper. 😂

[@jimtomassetti8928]

Great Vidio.... Love the Hudson. Beautiful car in and out! Thank You!!🎉

[@robertmoir5695]

The fabulous Hudson Hornet Very flashy cars in their day

[@chrishenniker5944]

These Hudsons were groundbreaking in their day, especially because of their monocoque chassis and a transmission that can be manual with a clutch, manual without one or full automatic.

[@christophermalone6124]

I had a lot left in me i never had a chance to show em

[@damson_jmonay42069]

Lmao!!! June 9, 2006 ... I still remember that date to this day

[@envirosong]

turn left to go right!

[@jrburger95]

8:30 that is 1 day after the movie Cars came out, coincidence?

[@paulsheehan5010]

Paul Newman, was a Hudson Hornet, in Cars 2006.

[@jameslesinski6251]

That is one buet ! What a perfect example. ❤

[@GXKid06]

So its a 1950s BMW 340i

[@neildickson5394]

53 is my favorite Hudson year, especially the hardtop. 54's were ugly, especially the weird taillights. This car is too hiked up in back, the backup lights are in the wrong place, and aftermarket reflection strips.