ClassicCar

Hudson308 wrote:

Any ideas why it seems that half the stepdowns out there are (or at least originally were) some shade of green? Both my '48 and '49 were originally green. It's my understanding that most of the cars Hudson made were built per customer order. One would think all those new car buyers coming back from the ETO (and Korea) would be pretty sick of OD green. :confused:

I think Hudson must have really gotten a deal on Jefferson Green paint, which I always thought was a butt-ugly color. You're right, though, I'll bet 45-50% of the stepdowns were that color, or some variant of green.

Seeing as how Hudson had more single and two-tone color choices than any other manufacturer and would even do custom colors upon request, it's even stranger that so many of them were green. In the end, I'm sure it was a dollar and cents decision. My sedan was originally JG, but, (thank God), it is no more.

In my way of thinking (and we know we are not playing with a full deck of cards in my case) there are only three colors in the car world. Henry Ford's "any color as long as it is black;" "Resale Red;" and "British Racing Green." You put a DeVilbus in my hand and it is going to end up one of these colors. My 39 Roadster will be Resale Red and the English Hudson will naturally be British Racing Green with Black highlights and fenders. On the serious side--if that is possible for me--Green was a big color from the late 40's to the mid 60's, and if I look back over my notes of the cars I have owned over the years eighty percent were either green or Red. I had a pea green 58 that defined ugly. But then, that is just me....

C'mon, Dan;

Try to share with the group how you really feel, now.

I have a two-word rebuttal for your Sea Foam Green assertions... Calypso Coral. :eek:

You may be onto something that more green cars simply survived longer, due to less youth appeal. It's just interesting to me that the prewar and Nash-built Hudsons I've seen seem to have a wider color palette, without such a verdant focus. I don't quite buy into the fact that this was an economical decision. First, because I understand the color choices were determined by the customer, and second, because you would think basic black would be at least as cheap to manufacture.

After thinking more about this, maybe the guys coming home missed some of the brotherhood they depended on while over there. The explosion of motorcycle clubs right after the war has been pinned on this. If the vets wanted to somehow show others they served in some subtle way, a green car might accomplish that.

But you gotta admit, Dan, a two-tone sea foam and silver is a joy to behold! Especially with a Resale Red interior!



There's an olive drab Nissan Altima at a local dealer- he had it priced at $5,600, now down to $3,800, still no interest. I don't know exactly what Sea Foam Green looks like, but it can't be any uglier than that Altima!

I like Dan's theory. Less apeal means it gets parked, stored, driven less, thus survives. I also like theory that there was a heck of a lot of green paint left over after the war and the factory converted back to car production and said "hmm what are we gonna do with all this green paint?" I know for a fact that all 30 1954 Hudson Wasp Club Sedans (broughams) that Hudson made were "spring Green with matching interiors". LOL