1941 Hudson Models
The 1941 Hudson models mirrored the range of the year before, though wheelbases in each series were three inches longer.
 The 1941 Hudson Super Six station wagon had distinctive wood paneling. |
The basic car was the Hudson Six, or Model 10, on a 116-inch wheelbase. The Six came in two subseries. The Traveler, Model 10T, started at $695, only a few dollars more than the cheapest Ford and less expensive than any Chevrolet or Plymouth, and included a three-passenger coupe, a five-passenger club coupe, a two-door sedan, and a four-door sedan.
The Deluxe, essentially a better trimmed Traveler, was about $70 more expensive, model for model, which put it head-to-head with the Ford Super Deluxe and Chevrolet Special Deluxe. It was available in all the same body styles as the Traveler, and added a convertible (which Hudson called a "Convertible Sedan," though it was actually a two-door convertible coupe). The convertible could be had with or without rear quarter windows; if fitted, they went up and down with the power top.
Commercial cars were a bit of a mixed bag. Most of these were part of the Six series, designated 10C. Styles included a Utility Coupe, with a box inside the trunk (not a sliding box as on earlier Terraplanes), a Utility Coach two-door sedan with readily removable rear seat, a half-ton pickup, a cab and chassis, and the nearly forgotten All-Purpose Delivery, a boxy "stand-and-drive" unit aimed at the bread and milk trade.
Standard engine for the Six series was the small version of Hudson's venerable side-valve six-cylinder engine. Its "economy" 175-cubic-inch displacement was achieved by cutting 7/8 inch from the stroke of the Super Six engine, which could be substituted as an option.
There were two other series of six-cylinder cars, both on a 121-inch wheel-base. The Model 11 Super Six was the bread-and-butter model, and the Model 12 Commodore Six its more expensive sibling. Super Sixes came as two- and four-door sedans, a club coupe, a convertible, and an attractive Cantrell wood-bodied station wagon. Commodore Sixes also had a three-passenger coupe, but no wagon.
These cars used the 212-cid "3 × 5" engine that debuted in 1934 to power Hudson-built Terraplanes. For 1941 it offered 102 bhp when equipped with a dual-throat carburetor; a single-barrel version fitted to some of the commercial cars produced 98 horses.
Hudson's eight was essentially a Super Six with two extra cylinders, though the stroke was shortened by half an inch, resulting in 254 cubic inches of displacement. The eight developed 128 bhp.
 This 1941 Hudson Commodore Eight shows off the two-door convertible body style. |
Commodore Eights came in three series and two wheelbases. Models 14 and 15 on the 121-inch platform, and Model 17 with 128 inches. Model 14 cars came as two- and four-door sedans, three-passenger and club coupes, a convertible, and a station wagon. Model 15 Commodore Custom Eights came only as three- and four-passenger coupes. Model 17 Commodore Custom Eight sedans were sold in six- and eight-passenger versions.
The 128-inch wheelbase also was home to the six-cylinder "Big Boy" commercial series. The Model 18P sedan and Carry-All were eight-passenger models, the latter having removable rear seats for enlarged cargo capacity. The Model 18C trucks appeared as a three-quarter-ton pickup and a chassis with cab. All used the 98-bhp version of the 212-cid engine.
Continue on to the next page to read about the 1941 Hudson's symphonic styling.
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