Today’s gallery of Hudson dealers covers the good days of the step-downs to the pains of the Nash/AMC transition. As tends to happen with independents, information on these seems more scarce than usual. A few had their locations registered while others are just a mystery. Also, some of those showrooms look quite humble. But the focus is the cars, isn’t it? And in that sense, many of these Hudsons don’t disappoint.
The lead pic is from Calumet Motors, in Hammond IN.
C & P Hudson, in Burbank CA.
Landsdown Motors, Danville IL.
1951 Liquidation Sale.
Nelson Motors, Minneapolis MN.
Specker Motor Sales, Marquette MI.
Moore Motor Sales, Riverside CA.
At the showroom.
Eisele Sales.
I’m a bit too young to remember if we had a Hudson dealership in my town when I was growing, though I have strong memories of Gil Ashcom Rambler, later Toyota, which has been featured here at CC several times. So I did a quick search to see if Ashcom had sold Hudson previously (they had not) and found this treasure trove.
https://www.hudsonjet.hetclub.org/hudsondealerships_c.html#ca
Some of the ad copy is priceless:
STOP! WAIT! MAKE A CHECKUP!
Don’t Buy ANY 1955 Model Car Until You Get the Facts and Figures . Ballyhoo, Tremendous Advertising Campaigns and Sales Propaganda Do NOT Produce a Top Car
It Requires Engineering, Top Quality Materials and Experience. Since the Birth of the Automobile, HUDSON Alone, of All American Makes, Has Introduced More New Features, Now Copied By Competitive Cars, Than ALL Competitive Makes Combined.
Like No-one Has Ever Seen Before.
More great pic selections! Excellent choice for the lead pic. The composition and lighting are professional grade. Unique to see an editor at CC, also present excellent art direction skills.
Typography on the ‘Moore Motor Sales’ facade is gorgeous. Great looking cars all around. Black and white photo really beautifies all the imagery.
Check out the ultra rare last iteration Diamond T at the far right of the Specker Motors lot. I also see Willys lined up and wonder if they handled these other lines as well? Love these views…
Found this on Specker Motors and Mr. Speakers bullishness on Hudson, such that he built the new showroom. Note the old dealership looks like a livery stable, and boasts a Federal Truck sign. Mr. Specker looks like a frugal businessman who claims to have made money throughout the depression and if he sold Federal, probably also sold Diamond T. Wonder how he rode out the Hudson/AMC wave into the future? https://www.flickr.com/photos/autohistorian/40774389885
Great find! From what I can figure out, it seems that Specker Motor Sales survived into the 1980s as an AMC/Jeep dealership, and also had a Dodge franchise for at least part of that time.
Absolutely love that fist pic of the night shot with the cars in the elegant showroom all lit up. Those always bring me back to a more simple time in life even if I wasn’t alive when that one was taken. Thank you.
+1
I thought it was only much younger people, products of our failing public schools, who made the now common mistake of using an apostrophe and an “S” to make a singular noun into a plural. The sign painter back in ’51 for the liquidation sale may have not done well in English grammar because I am sure that distinction was taught then and before – like it was drilled into me in the ’60s.
I was thinking the same thing when I saw the mis-applied apostrophe. Poor grammar like that was pretty rare in the 1950s.
Incidentally, I think that dealership might be Lewis Motors in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The address on the side of the building says “3536”, and Lewis Motors was located at 3536 Lee Rd. There’s a similar-era building at that address today, but if it’s the same building, then the curve of the showroom was squared off at some point. Not 100% sure about this one… but the matching address is a good clue.
There are a few times I find it alright to use an apostrophe to indicate plural; i.e. if I was referring to collectively three Lexus RX 350 vehicles, i’d write Lexus RX’s rather than Lexus RXs which makes it look like the model may be called the RXS, especially in handwriting. But yeah, it’s misapplied here and many other places, both in the recent and distant past.
Looking at the painted signs again, I see that whoever did this wasn’t terribly detail-oriented. The Q and N are upside-down and backwards:
The Eisele picture answers a question I’d sort of wondered about. When Hudson merged, did Hudson dealers also carry Nash? No. The Rambler definitely has the Hudson badge, and I think the Metro does also, though the picture isn’t clear enough.
A previous post had a better photo of a Rambler with the Hudson badge. Here is the link:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/vintage-snapshots-and-photography/vintage-snapshot-55-nash-wagon-on-its-way-to-las-vegas/
Took me a while to track down the Eisele Sales building, but it was at 2308 W. 7th St. in Fort Worth, Texas. The building was actually still standing until fairly recently – it was captured in the (grainy) 2007 Google StreetView image below. Shortly afterwards, the block’s buildings were razed and the place was redeveloped.
Incidentally, the two-story building next to the Eisele Sales building was not part of the dealership; it was an architect’s office (Charles T. Freelove – that’s the hard-to-read sign on the front of the building). I believe that slightly after this photo was taken, Eisele moved to a bigger facility elsewhere in Ft. Worth, which may be where the final picture here was taken. I assume that’s Mr. Eisele in the photos.
God, that first photo. That gorgeous fat and smooth aero Hudson, just bursting for a night takeoff.
I’m still waiting for my late ’40’s noir film to begin. Can we have the lights down now, please?
Just superb.
Reminds me of the movie The Two Jakes, the so-so sequel to Chinatown. Star Jack Nicholson motors all around Southern California in a beautiful 1949 Hudson Commodore convertible.
One more to join all your fine photos—maybe 1947?
The picture of the Liquidation sale dealership is McClure Motors 373 Main Street, Manchester, CT. The building is still there. It became a Pontiac dealership after the Hudson dealership closed. Now its a used car dealership.
I was trying to figure out the location of that photo last night, and thought it might be Lewis Motors in Shaker Heights OH. Afterwards, I came across another photo of this dealership, which seems to confirm it’s Lewis Motors.
In the photo below, there’s a reflection of the “Lewis Motors” sign in the center window pane. The building is still there (3536 Lee Rd.), but oddly enough the rounded showroom was squared off, which is why I initially doubted it was the same location. But the reflection seems to make a strong case for it.
Here’s a blow-up of the Lewis Motors sign reflected in the window:
So many great pictures ! .
I always get a kick out of Dealers “fine used cars” signs ~ I guess no one wants a “crappy used car” .
-Nate