SIA Flashback – Hudson Jet driveReport

The subhead to Ken Gross’s story about the Hudson Jet in SIA #60, December 1980, succinctly sums up his well-argued position: “There was nothing wrong with this early compact… except that it killed the company.” Gross laid blame squarely on meddlesome Hudson president Ed Barit, but also noted that the Jet was years ahead of its time, while also highly lauded by European car enthusiasts. Either way, as he relates, the Jet also proved to be the last new Hudson product before the 1954 merger with Nash.