ClassicCar

Well, I counted about 5-6 stepdowns, and another 3-4 30's era Hudsons/Terraplanes, some rodded, some stock. Also ran into some fellow Hudsonites from my local chapter, that were there without their Hudsons.



I do know that this show is like 'Mardi Gras On Wheels', it's pretty mind boggling. Theoretically, in order to see all 11,000 cars (which would be virtually impossible), you'd have to look at one every twenty seconds or so!



For what it's worth, I cruised up in my 262-powered '49 Super Six sedan along with several other local friends that all drive Brand X coupes of various makes and models. They all have 350 or larger V-8's. They were all quite impressed that my big six motor could hang with them at highway speeds without even breaking a sweat. At one point, I actually had to let off the pace a little so they could catch up!



But the best part was once I got to the show. There was a steady stream of interested people giving complements and glances to the Hudson, while walking by the Brand X convertibles with the six-figure restorations and the latest Vortec-mumbo jumbo technology under the hood. The Hudson would draw people like a magnet. A couple of times, my buddies were waiting by the Hudson, while I was off wandering the grounds, so of course, they became 'the owner' and thanked people for their endless string of complements. "Boy, this really brings 'em in doesn't it?", they'd say when I'd come back. I almost felt sorry for the guys parked by me that only had small block V-8 motors in their '57 Chevies! Some people actually thanked me for not having one of those in my car!



I'll take my basically stock Hudson (with a few enhancements for comfort...A/C, cruise, radials, etc.) over those other V-8 powered abominations anyday. Not that there's anything wrong with those, because I also have a couple of 60's muscle cars at home myself. It's just that they're almost like 'ticks on a dog' there are so many of them.



When talking of older collectible 'special interest cars' you'd be hard pressed to significantly improve on the Stepdown Hudson. When talking about roadability, reliability and repairability, nothing compares to Hudson powered Hudsons with Hudson front clips and Hudson brakes.



Proud to be All Hudson,

Doug

I've got a picture of a 'friend of a friend's' decent looking chopped Merc that was at the show. In the back window is the message 'Not A Hudson'. I had to laugh.

My dad made a statement the other day that the stepdowns were better looking copies of the Merc. I reminded him that the stepdown came out before the Merc