Doc Hudson

Doc Hudson, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A nicely presented Hudson Hornet sedan. I couldn't tell if it was original or a mellowed older restoration-either way it really popped on the show field.

A surprising number of kids shouted "DOC!" when they saw this car. He won the Piston Cup, after all!

The Fabulous Hudson Hornet

Doc Hudson #2, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Hudson's Hornet was a revolutionary design in the early postwar years, featuring a "step down" design wherein the floorpans were dropped, allowing for the lower roof line that was the car's hallmark. It also allowed a lower center of gravity, which proved to be a bonus on the racetrack, and the Fabulous Hudson Hornet became a force to be reckoned with on the stock car circuit.

Unfortunately, this unique feature would also prove to be the car's downfall. When Hudson became part of American Motors Corporation, the step-down design proved to be difficult to update, and by the mid fifties the Hornet was definitely looking a bit old fashioned. After 1955, Hornets would be based on senior Nash models.

This one's about a '52, and features the Twin-H Power dual-carb engine, the one that made the Hornet's name on the tracks.