Hudson Wasp
Encyclopedia
Hudson Motor Car Company
The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other brand automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, from 1909 to 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation to form American Motors. The Hudson name was continued through the 1957 model year, after which it was dropped.- Company strategy...
of Detroit, Michigan between 1952 and 1954. The Wasp was also built by American Motors Corporation
American Motors
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...
in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
and marketed under its Hudson brand for model years 1955 and 1956.
1952–1954
The Wasp (Series 58) was introduced for the 1952 model year as an upgraded version of the Hudson Pacemaker, replacing the Hudson Super Custom models from 1951. The Wasp was available in two and four-door sedan, convertibleConvertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
, and a 2-door hardtop
Hardtop
A hardtop is a term for a rigid, rather than canvas, automobile roof. It has been used in several contexts: detachable hardtops, retractable hardtop roofs, and the so-called pillarless hardtop body style....
designated the Hollywood. The Wasp was built on Hudson's shorter 119 inches (302 cm) wheelbase
Wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
using the company's unitized, "mono-bilt" step-down chassis design with an overall length of 201.5 inches (512 cm). Hudson's mono-bilt unitized structure used a permiter frame which provided a rigid structure, low center of gravity and side impact protection for passengers.
The base Hudson Wasp used the 232 cid L-Head straight 6 from the Pacemaker. Hudson also offered the Super Wasp which used improved interior materials and a more powerful Hudson 6 cylinder engine. Instead of using the Pacemaker's 232 cubic inch straight 6, the Super Wasp used Hudson's 262 cubic inch L-Head 6 fed by a 2 barrel carb. The 262 cubic inch 6 was rated at only 127 HP (with single 2 bbl. carb) while the top-of-the-line Hudson Commodore Custom Eight's 254 cubic inch straight 8 was rated at 128 HP. Many thought that the 262 cubic inch 6's power was underrated so it would not outshine Hudson's flagship 128 HP straight 8. The narrow block 262 cubic inch 6 was the basis for the stroked and reinforced Hornet 308 cubic inch 6 cylinder engine first introduced in 1951 which dominated NASCAR from 1952-1954. The Super Wasp was offered with an aluminum twin H manifold and twin 2 bbl carburetors. Super Wasp performance with twin H induction matched the performance of the big 2 bbl. 308 cubic inch straight 6 equipped but heavier Hudson Hornet.
Wasp model year production saw 21,876 units in 1953 and 17,792 units in 1954, its final year before the Hudson merger with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation took effect.
1955
In its final two model years, the Wasp became a product of the newly formed American Motors Corporation (AMC). Following the 1954 model, Hudson's Detroit manufacturing facility was closed and production of Hudson models was shifted to Nash's factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin. All Hudsons would be based on the senior Nash models, but would have exclusive Hudson styling.After Hudson's 1954 merger with Nash, 1955 Hudsons were built on the unitized Nash platforms. The 1955 Hornet was built on the 1955 Nash Ambassador unitized platform and was offered with the big Hornet 308 cubic inch 6 as well as a detuned 320 cubic inch Packard V8. The 1955 Hudson Wasp was built on the Nash Statesman platform. For 1955, the Wasp was offered with Hudson's 202 cubic inch 6 previously used in the Hudson Jet compact sedan and Hudson Italia. The 202 was offered with twin H Power and put out 120 HP.
The 1955 Hudsons used Nash's long travel coil spring suspension, integrated and advanced Heating and ventilation system and were offered with air conditioning and reclining seats. Although comfortable, the Nash based Hudsons were no longer competitive on the race tracks where they dominated from 1952-1954.
Hudson Wasp sales dropped to 7,191 units for the year as traditional Hudson buyers left the marque, viewing the cars as something less than the legendary Hudsons of the past.
1956
For the 1956 model year, AMC executives decided to give the Wasp and Hornet more character in hopes of boosting sales. However, the plan backfired. Design for the vehicles was given over to designer Richard ArbibRichard Arbib
Richard Arbib visionary American industrial designer.-Family:Richard Henry Arbib was the son of Robert Simeon Arbib, Sr...
, who provided Hudson's with one of the more distinctive looks in 1950s, which he called "V-Line Styling". Taking the traditional Hudson triangle, Arbib applied its "V" form in every conceivable manner across the interior and exterior of the car. Arbib's front-end combined a tightly woven egg-crate grille (a nod to the 1931 Hudson Greater Eight
Hudson Greater Eight
The Hudson Greater Eight was a premium line of automobiles produced by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan during 1931 and 1932.- History :...
) bisected by a prominent "V" (a nod to the 1954 Hudson Italia
Hudson Italia
The Hudson Italia was an automobile styling study and limited production two-door compact coupé produced by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan in cooperation with Carrozzeria Touring of Italy during the 1954 and 1955 model years...
). Combined with tri-tone paint combinations, the Hudson's new look was unique. However, the plan to build a better Hudson identity failed; the car's garish design failed to excite buyers. The Wasp was available only as a four-door sedan and its sales fell to 2,519 units in its final year of production.
End of Hudson
For 1957, AMC stripped Hudson of eleven of its fifteen models, including the Wasp and the badge engineered Metropolitan and Rambler models. This left only the Hudson Hornet in two body configurations available in two trim lines (Super and uplevel Custom) for sale. The Hudson brand name was pulled from the market at the close of the 1957 model year as AMC focused on the new RamblerRambler (automobile)
Rambler was an automobile brand name used by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company between 1900 and 1914, then by its successor, Nash Motors from 1950 to 1954, and finally by Nash's successor, American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1969...
, as well as the Metropolitan
Nash Metropolitan
The Nash Metropolitan is a car that was sold, initially only in the United States and Canada, from 1954–1962.It conforms to two classes of vehicle: economy car and subcompact car. In today’s terminology the Metropolitan is a “subcompact”, but this category had not yet come into use when the car was...
and Ambassador
AMC Ambassador
- 1958 :American Motors planned to produce a stretched a wheelbase version of the Rambler platform for Nash dealers to be the new Nash Ambassador, and another for Hudson dealers...
models.