The Fabulous Hudson Hornet | Full Documentary
Go fast, turn left and check out our in-depth documentary film on Hudson Hornet race cars! Learn the history behind how Hudson accidentally built a competitive racer that made waves in NASCAR when paired with early stock car champions, Herb Thomas or Marshall Teague!
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This documentary film uncovers the serendipitous turn of events that led small Detroit manufacturer, Hudson, to become a standout champion in the emerging stock car racing craze of post-war America. Combining some of the best drivers of the day, with support from an automaker that quickly came to understand the mantra, “win on Sunday, sell on Monday,” the influence of this chapter of motoring history sets the stage for modern day racing.
At the center of the story is a humble, self-trained racer named Herb Thomas, one of stock car racing’s first stars. To this day, Thomas retains the highest win percentage of any NASCAR driver - most of which was done at the wheel of Hudson Hornets. Featuring Thomas’s sons and grandson, Jay Leno (@jaylenosgarage Richard Petty (@Pettys-garage ), NASCAR historians, Pixar’s Jay Ward, and Hudson experts, the film gives a fresh perspective on the early days of America’s beloved stock car racing sport. You may be familiar with aspects of the story, as it was popularized in Pixar’s (@pixarcars ) Cars franchise that drew inspiration from Thomas’s career and the Hudson racing program for its character “Doc Hudson.”
The 1952 Hornet at the center of the film, owned by Michigan collector Al Schultz, was inducted into the Hagerty Drivers Foundation’s National Historic Vehicle Register in 2022, and is the only remaining factory racing Hornet and the oldest NASCAR winning car known to exist. Through the National Historic Vehicle Register, the Hudson’s history will be documented and kept in the Library of Congress in perpetuity. The car is currently on display at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation @TheHenryFord through Oct. 22! When it isn’t at shows or traveling to museums it can be found available to the public at the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum/National Hudson Motor Car Company Museum.
The Hagerty Drivers Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, exists to ensure the future of car culture. Please check out our website driversfoundation.org to learn more about our many efforts and consider a donation to support future projects like this.
I didn't know Paul Newman voiced the Hudson in Cars. He's one of my favorite people, raced a 240z, started a food brand where all the profit goes to charity, just a great role model.
It was very tasteful of Pixar to mourn Paul by way of mourning Doc. Very respectful and somber
Paul Newman’s favorite driving car of all time was a ‘69 vw beetle convertible.
If you can get Paul Newman to do a weathered, old but true blue character in your movie, you don’t think twice, do you? Think Road to Perdition. You just feel thankful
Theres a Charity called Barrettstown ,(near where I'm from, in Ireland) , for children recovering from serious health conditions. Paul Newman created Barrettstown and Fundraised for it. He's a legend .
Long ago, when my wife and i lived on the west coast, we lived down the street fromone of his family members. Got to meet him when we were moving in. Spotted my wife's 42 Hudson pickup in the driveway. Had to come take a look at it, ended taking a drive in it, when we took the Uhaul back. After lending a hand with what was still in it. Ended up at the relative's house for dinner. Saw Paul regualrly for the 9 years we lived there. Miss the man dearly.
The Hudson hornet. There is one here in South Africa in a private collection affectionately called "The Long Runner", simple because the Hudson takes a bit of time to get up to speed, but it just gets faster and faster and faster and it keeps that speed round sweeping turns. An awesome cross country cruiser in my opinion.
Saw one for sale in pretoria about 4 years ago, a 3 speed 4 door. Not going out to check it out at the time still feels like one of the biggest regrets of my life. While not mint, she still looked like a runner
Saam kyk ek sal wat gee vir so Hudson Hornet. Dis 'n iconic kar vir my met baie geskiedenis
It's long been said - and as a multi-owner Corvair enthusiast for 50 years - it's really not how fast one can accelerate in the long run, but how little one must slow down. I never raced a Hornet, but having street-raced three Monzas (two 110s and a 140...one three-on-the-floor and two 4spds) and a Corsa turbo - not to mention my few appearances at Thompsonville Speedway and Lime Rock (vanity appearances only, just for the thrill of having been there) - it's amazing what a purportedly underpowered car can do against the competition when one doesn't have to hit the brakes. One also scares the everloving s**t out of one's competitors! When one can pass five or six opponents on the outside of a curve on the throttle, when everyone else is forced to slow down due to understeer it just makes one's day. (Clue - when a LM Corvair's brakes were barely applied, because of the car's mass displacement it suddenly became a perfect 50/50 F/R displacement and one could do wonders with that little air-cooled six-banger.)
So glad you guys got Jay for this one too, after his time in the Turbine car documentary. Not to mention The King and Herb's kids too!! What a great episode this was....
Absolutely. Hagerty isn't missing the beat at all. They said insurance is one, thing, now to build a younger audience, the younger audiences are here on social media.
Better yet. How about a documentary on the EV1, how and why they killed it, and document one of the few working examples hiding.
@@toyotaprius79 "Who Killed The Electric Car 2006"
Surprised the video doesn't mention that Oldsmobile came back to take the NASCAR titles back away from Hudson by 1953... just skips on to '55 Chevy and Chrysler, instead...
My Dad was Nelson m. Daniels. He had. 3 Hudson just before the end of world War 11 my mother and father lived in California near Sanfrancco ln. Palloaltow, California where my Dad gotta the Frist one (Hudson) It was a two tone Brown dark brown on bottom an lite Brown on top He ! really loved that car He got A Transfer to. V R 22 t o Norfork , Va. Were he gotta the second one in 1952 it was A 1948 two tone Blue Dark blue on bottom. An lite blue On. Top. He got the second one for my Mother to drive She really loved that car I. Think she drove that car till 1967. With out A Driver license in. Late 1967 He had it restored and repainted. And. Re-posted for my Mother,! the Family. Mom an. Dad. We all took it to Ponta,city, Oklahoma for one last time as A Family we all had the best time of our lives i will never FOR GET. That Trip. There was one more he gotta it was and. black an white. 1948 ithink he got it for my Uncle jerry
It's a damn shame Smokey is not in the Nascar HOF, Also this is a fantastic film about the Fabulous Hudson And its history
He's not because he pissed in their face too many times.....rule book?...Okay, let's see what we can do 'bout that!!
@@imtheonevanhalen1557 best explanation for The France Family's hatred of Smokey I've heard yet.
I'd smoke too if I was a.........he should be in the hall for sure though.
So true!
@@imtheonevanhalen1557 If I can do something that's not on the rule, it's not illegal
Man, I smiled all the way thru this video. I knew of the Hornet decades and decades before the Pixar movie. I had a high school classmate (73) that owned a 52 he had bought from his grandfather. I mean seriously there was no other car in the school parking lot like it. The interior was huge in comparison to most the cars in the parking lot. The more crap we gave him about a straight six and a three on the tree the better he loved his car. I mean most the cars in the schools lot were V8 four speed pony cars. No doubt about it this car is of NASCAR LEGEND.
My high school buddy had a 1948 Hudson, straight six, three on the tree, super roomy inside and it was pretty dang fast! Loved that car!
A fabulous documentary, A fabulous video, A fabulous channel, A fabulous title, And a fabulous Hudson Hornet.
This post is..... Fabulous. 👍
Very well put I would say.
lol
A fabulous comment 👍
The Hudson is a very special car to me. Before I was born, my grandfather fell asleep at the wheel coming home from work and t-boned a semi, knocking the driveshaft out of it. The police officer told my grandmother that if Grandpa had been in any other vehicle, he'd have been killed. So thrilled and emotion filled that the Herb Thomas 92 survived!
This documentary was so well done. I am a huge Cars movie fan as my son grew up watching it over and over. We set up whole scenes in his playroom and would play for hours. We continue to visit CarsLand in Disneyland and get goosebumps walking into the Rt 66 setup. We now live in a home that has ties to Hudson and Studebaker sales and service so this really hit home no pun intended.
use to play mafia mafia 12 plus 3 I like the classic cars from mafia 1 and 2 plus grand theft auto online plus the gta series my father was raised during the great depredation in the state of Colorado.
This is so sweet to hear. I’m 23 and I still collect the diecast cars myself. I know I want to play with them with my future kids when I have them one day.
@@BMoney8600 good man ! ... do that for sure
Im 74 years old and well remember the Hudson as a young boy. Mid fifties our family moved from Northern Ohio to Southern California. Dad headed to Cal. first to find a house then Mom's brother drove us (Mom and the four boys) in his burgundy Hudson on route 66. I'll never forget that road trip and remember my father had doubts about the reliability of the five year old car (at the time) and berated my uncle to make sure the car would not leave us stranded. Sure enough, the fuel pump quit in New Mexico late at night so Uncle Mort hitchhiked into the next town and three hours later came back with a fuel pump and changed it on the side of the highway with a set of tools he has in the trunk and the all important flashlight. We were on our way inside of 4 hours. Always love the looks of those old Hudsons.
My great uncle was Jerry Karl. He was Smokey’s last Indy driver. My family has a lot of cool stories about this incredible legend in racing.
Thank you! Great episode. A lot of it hits home. My son got into Hudson with the movie Cars and now he owns a 53' Hornet coupe and we've been to the museum. We have a hobby to share together and with a great group of folks in the Hudson Essex Terraplane Club.
How cool is that!
Been a Hudson fan since the 80s. After the movie "Cars" came out, I discovered that I also used to live in Radiator Springs (Seligman, AZ, the inspiration for the fictional town). I kinda feel like I'm a part of the whole thing! LOL!
My uncles raced Hudsons in the early 60s. I remember being in the garage with them, they were drinking beer and talking racing. My Dad and Grandad were both there too. Of course I had no idea what it was all about, but I remember that.
I was two years old when it first showed up. We were poor but somehow the old man came up with this 1951 Hudson Hornet. It was a goldish color 2 door with burgundy leather seats. It was always odd to see it in front of the mill shack in which we lived. The car was way nicer than the shack. It was the H45 with 2 one barrels, a three on the tree with overdrive and freewheeling. It loved to coast and the old man liked to push it. It also had mechanical brakes. It was great exercise for the right leg. I remember an ivory color to the plastic knobs and the fact that it was easy for all three of us boys to fit in the back. For the tiny kid that I was, riding in the backseat was the most secure feeling in the world when my mother was driving. Dad, on the other hand, was as one neighbor said to me when I was a bit older, "I never even knew your old man drank 'till I saw him sober once.", usually drunk. He sure loved to drink and drive and seemed to have a true talent for it. I got my first cat because of that old Hudson. We were visiting friends down in the Redwoods where we lived as well and we left the car windows open on a warm summer day. We left after a while and when we got close to home we kept hearing this sound like a cat whining. The old man pulled the Hudson over to the side of the road and started checking for the sound. In a few minutes he found a tiny orange cat embedded in the wiring under the dash board. He extracted the cat, now named Jack because we already had a dog named Rochester. Jack Benny was big on the radio about that time. Jack lasted for 12 years and Rochester, the little black cocker spaniel, 21. Thanks for the great memories.
Great memory thanks for sharing!
Thanks for a firsthand AMERICAN memory !!!
Wow, amazing memories. Warm
Very nice memories. Totally alien culture to me as I'm English but I enjoyed your nostalgic stories and care for the kitten.
When I was growing up in northern Wisconsin, the town constable owned a Hudson Hornet. He supposedly successfully pulled over a car that was clocked at 115 mph with the old Hudson. The town police cruiser was a 1965 Pontiac Catalina with a 421 police engine, and would reportedly do 140 mph. Those were the days! Cars may be faster now, but lack the personality of the old cars. I think it’s criminal that only one vehicle in the Buick lineup is manufactured in the USA while places like Detroit and Flint Michigan continue to decline.
Buick hardly exists in the US now, though. Buick really only exists because of China, and even that looks like it is failing, not because of Buick, but because of China's economic failures.
BTW, I am unsure that car manufacturing will ever quite be what it was. Demand for automobiles looks set to permanently decline with much of the population aging out of driving and younger people indifferent to driving and generally not getting licenses owing to expense and anxiety, among other things. The result is that fewer people are buying cars, and those who are also appear to be driving them less, so that they last longer. So the world needs to move past automobiles.
In days past the car was a sign of independence and was celebrated with almost as much love as a pet. Often getting a new one every few years but missing the old one. Now we turn in our leased car for a new one in the same color combination (and likely the interior is a shade of gray). Over time the car became anonymous and just a tool. Most people don't wash their car themselves anymore. That activity was often a way for dads and kids to spend time together on a weekend afternoon.
@@unconventionalideas5683That may be the case in the big cities but not outside those and in the rural regions. What will happen is a return to lower cost old school motor vehicles without whistles and bells that are simple to repair. People lease vehicles today to avoid their high cost of repair after their warranties have expired. They're buying or leasing EVs or Hybrids due to the absence of dealerships that can perform warranty repairs outside the major urban areas. Nobody is interested in buying a used one that's out of warranty since their repairs must be done at the dealerships IF they can obtain the parts from the manufacturer. They only had a limited number of replacement parts made due to their low sales numbers so struggle with their suppliers to have more made when those stocks are gone.
Well american car companies build junk. Now it seems even the Germans and Japanese are following the lead. New cars are just stupidly expensive. And everything has a computer. Impossible to fix. Cars are just expensive appliances now😢
What a fabulous story ! I was born in 1953, and my dad was just out of the Army as a corporal in the 101first paratroopers. One of the first cars he would purchase and I have my picture in front of as a little one was a black Hudson Hornet !
SWEET!
Thanks for sharing your family memory ! My dad was a Buick owner , and we have similar photos of dad , mom , and me ( as a baby ) in front of a big , beautiful , Buick ! The coolest car I ever owned ( late 1980s ) was a 1953 Buick Super two door hardtop with a " Fireball V8 " and a " Dynaflow Transmission " !!!
@@8176morganre
OMG SMOKEY!!! This FULLY explains why Doc Hudson went “come on old Smokey, show me what you got” when he put new tires on and went for that run around Willy’s Bute when Lightning was secretly watching. THAT WAS HIS TUNER OMFG. That little attention to detail in Cars that I see now as an adult genuinely makes me appreciate it more.
Thank you for bringing back memories of this era and the fabulous Hudson Hornet from an 84 yo Aussie.
I wish there was still a strictly stock class in NASCAR racing today🙃
Cleetus does his stock car race with standard ford ex police cars which is a great race to watch... with KZhead car video makers
That would be nice, but the cycle would just repeat itself. You'd have broke guys trying to race a bone stock Mustang against a well-funded team who has a super-performance Camaro that had just enough models produced to qualify as a 'production vehicle.' Gradually it would just devolve into what we see now, with 450 different classes, bans against cars that use the rules to their advantage, and very little skill utilized to win races, as opposed to money. NASCAR ruined racing.
OMG! The Hudson Hornet! That brings back memories. One of the guys in our Marine Corps Reserve unit had one that was a bit long in the tooth, but boy would that car raise dust going down the Interstate! Four of us were on our way to summer camp at the US Marine Corps Base at Twentynine Palms, Cali. He must have been doing 70 when suddenly the hood latch mechanism let go. The hood raised up like the upper jaw of a humpback whale and slammed into the upper frame of the windshield. WHAM!!! For some reason I will never understand, the windshield didn't crack. Our driver stuck his head out the window in the door so he could see past the hood and gradually brought the car to a stop on the edge of the highway. There was a pregnant pause in the conversation, then we all erupted in laughter! For ordinary people, such an experience would require, at the very least, a change in underwear. But we were all young and indestructible. Well, we searched in the trunk and found some bailing wire and a pair of pliers and proceeded to wire down the hood in the approximate correct position and proceeded on our way ...... at a somewhat slower speed!
As a young man I had a 53 Hudson with Twin H Power. It was a nice old car (prolly close to 20 years old ...) that would take a bunch of us to the skating rink after church. Comfy and roomy. But even old and worn, it'd run 😁
And when cars of that Era " broke down " , the average owner could figure out what was wrong , and how to repair it !!!
The Green Hornet lives in Evansville IN, owned by its original racer Gary Ellard. One of my hero’s! He runs a factory engine bored and runs twin four barrel carbs. It still looks amazing. Former national record holder in IHRA!
I was specifically looking thru the comments for confirmation...I've talked to the owner at Car Shows, looked at all his pictures!I just knew he was from here, in Evansville!!! Cool Beans!!!
In NASCAR history , that is referred to as " The age of Iron cars , and IRON Men " !!!
I enjoyed taking my daughter to see Cars when she was little. She loved it. And it taught young people not just about racing history, but also the effect the interstate highway system had on once-vibrant small towns when they were bypassed and forgotten by the interstate highways. I still enjoy driving the "mother roads", a lot more interesting than the boring interstate highways (although when you just need to get from point A to point B quick (and somewhat safer) they're the best way to go). That movie also helped revive some of those old towns with renewed interest in Route 66.
The first Cars movie was my introduction to the original Hudson Hornets and since then, I still think that the Fabulous Hudson Hornets were, and still are, the greatest race cars in NASCAR history! Back in a time when the sport was still young and very entertaining to watch!!! “Hot Snot!” - Doc Hudson R.I.P. Paul Newman
I had no idea of the story behind the doc Hudson hornet.. thank you for the story in detail it's an amazing piece of automotive history 😊
My only connection to Hudson was in 1959 when we moved to the suburbs when I was three my dad bought my mom a 1956 Hudson Rambler. I still remember my dad's brothers calling it a "Hash" because there was very little difference between the Nash and Hudson versions of the same car. Sadly the same year mom was involved in an accident where the other car ran a stop sign and T-boned us (I was in the car too in the back seat ) and it shook her up so much she refused to ever drive again.
The Hudson Rambler did have a unique feature from the Nash model: the badge on the front. That's it. In 1957, they were Ramblers not distinguished as Nash or Hudson. In 1957, Nash and Hudson receded into history.
My great-grandfather had a 1951 Hudson Hornet. He died when I was just 14, so my only memory of it was when it was sitting inside the garage behind his house. His was a dark green and you "stepped down" into it because the frame was so high. I never got to ride in it - I just sat in it once or twice. His had a six-cylinder engine and a three-speed manual transmission, but it certainly looked fast.
A Fabulous tribute to the Hudson Hornet! Thank you, Hagerty.
The tears that welled watching this… thanks to all who made this massively important piece.
38:39 Wilhem Scream. Great documentary, glad to see the Cars movie gettng some love. Not well liked by cinema buffs, but it's a really personal project by John Lasseter.
I love Cars, and knew that Doc Hudson was based on a real car. I’ve lived in Michigan for decades and have seen a few Hudsons. I hadn’t known the whole story until now. Thanks.
I knew a man who was in the U.S. Army during WWII. He was stationed in Europe. I once asked him if he saw battle while there. He said no, he was always a couple weeks behind the battle area. After he passed away I read his Obituary and found out he had seen battle. He was there on D-Day and several other battles and had been wounded. He made the rank of Gunnary Sargeant and was awarded the Purple Heart. RIP my friend D.F. McNinch. You a hero in my book and I am honored to have known you.
What an awesome documentary on the Hudson Hornet. One of the most touching films I have watched in a long time. Long live the Hudson...
Thanks for educating me on the history of the Hudson Car Company and that famous#92 Hudson Hornet! My father owned a 1951 Hudson Commodore 6 sedan he purchased in 1958 and I spent my childhood riding on the drop down middle back seat going to Hudson Meets in OH and MI at least one weekend every month. He refurbished that car over the years but made sure the car went to another collector in 2013 and in 2015 when he died one of his dying wishes was to get the original extra Hudson parts he still owned sourced from those decades old swap meets to a local club Hudson owner as he never wanted the parts to be sold for scrap metal. I found two collectors nearby and I felt so satisfied the chrome parts, transmissions, and other parts would be used as he intended. Somewhere in heaven Lyle Heusinkvelt was smiling down that day…I hope someday to visit the museum.
The second car doc to ever make me shed tears. What a story!
Thank you for this. Not sure I'll ever get the chance to visit the museum, but if I do, this 56-year-old-kid would love the opportunity to sit in that car!
That brings a tear to the corner of my eye. I built a 255 ci Mercury flathead and put it in a 35 Ford Tudor at 13 and was allowed to race it. I did some porting and got it to run 3 2 vs authentic with homemade headers and big oval shaped center pipes sideways and got the air/ fuel and the exhaust flowing with the 292 OHV V8s I was beating 202 hp 292s with the Borg Warner T85-C R-11 overdrives. That 35 with juice brakes in 1973 was a blast on the little dirt track inside the asphalt track the big boys drove on. I think it had to be making 220 hp. That was so much fun! And I’ve been a Ford Guy ever since. The FE is my absolute favorite and at 63 I have one more in the barn to build! My 13 yr old Granddaughter wants to help me build it! She is a beauty. My wife and I had to put valve guide seals on his 74 390 to pay for our wedding, 😝. I built the 390 to have more guts for towing. I put a set of ‘ 63 heads on with the little Yates style chambers and ported them a little on the intake side, 2.095 intake valves with a bigger eyebrow on the intake side to the plug with the 5 degree angles and 1.6 exhaust with a single 52 degree angle. L2291 .040 over and ARP rod bolts and head studs. 2inch primary 3.5 collectors on a 74 F250. It still ran great on 89. The cam was a little noisy being a 282S Billy Godbold ground for me on a 110 for great towing. Twin 3 inch pipes and the first Dynomax 3 inch welded mufflers that were quiet but really breathed. A FORD Dual Plane MR with a 750 3310. The head gaskets made for a nice tight.034 quench and 10:1 CR a I curved the Dspark myself for 34 total and 10 degrees vacuum advance, idling at 14. It sounded like a 500 Cadillac. Towing was a joy. I supplied the rocker arms , adjustable and the shafts. My father in law was amazed how that C6 would just pull with the shift kit I put in it and a little looser converter cause you could shift it manually and hold the gears and just rev so nice you could hear the carb and pipes in sync. Bro in law got T-boned. The insurance got it. I wanted that .030 over 390 with those 427 heads back.
As a petrolhead/car girl myself, I have (like so many others) Disney Pixar’s Cars to thank for sparking my love for all things automotive. Thank you for such a documentary that speaks to the glory days! ☺️
I wish they could bring the Hudson cars back. Awesome vehicle.
This was very enlightening! My great grandfather had a '54 Hornet four door. I was very young before he became too ill to drive anymore but have a few memories of riding around the countryside in the backseat of that old car. I became intrigued with the cars again when Pixar's Cars came out in 2006 and have been searching for one to restore someday in his memory. Thank you for this wonderful documentary! Was never able to find much information on Herb Thomas or Marshall Teague and it all helps complete the story. These were the glory days of racing, it's a shame NASCAR is no longer the grassroots organization it once was and the cars themselves are as far from stock as you can get now.
Such a wonderful journey back in time. My dad saw him race on the beach at Daytona. He made movies of the old races. Alas, I think the glory days of Nascar will never return. Thanks for the memories!
Even though the marque is no longer around, it good that this one example still remains to carry on this fabulous history and those involved with it.
I'm 70 y.o. & have loved Hudsons since I first started noticing cars. As a kid, I read encyclopedias for entertainment. I always looked at the car section...that car & a '36 Cord boattail were my favs. I'd go to stores with my folks & leaf thru mags to look for new car ads. Such fun for an 8 y.o. girl....lol I still love cars, going to car shows...well, cars & Star Wars.
Thank you for preserving automotive history. I really appreciate how you feature incredible cars and the wonderful people behind them. Keep on motoring and making documentaries.
There's a Hollywood movie in Herb Thomas's story. It has to be made, not just for him but for Hudson.
This is so cool to see. My father grew up with Hudsons in their heyday, "borrowing" his dads cars to race on the weekends. I, in turn was raised with them. Wrenching on them into the wee hours of morning, fighting with old rope seals galore. Eventully learned how to drive in a Hornet. I'll always remember spending so much of my youth hanging out in the Hudson clubs all over the country. Docs Meet in Front Royal, VA was especially meaningful for me. Used to hang around Ed trying to soak up his wealth of knowledge. Miss those days. Everyone was so great. My father recently passed and Hudsons are one thing thay will forever link me to him. One day I'll get into Hornet again and go visit all my old friends.
Very well put together....for me very annoying background music
The Genius of Smokey Yunick and Hurb Thomas driving skills 🏁
Years ago I worked for a company called Clifford Research. The owner Jack Clifford had a thing for these Hudson's. I never understood why. I started at the worst job that they had and before I left them I answered to two people .The plant foreman who other than myself the most laid back guy I've known and Jack. R.I.P Jack Clifford you were one helluva man to work for.
I have the 6=8 Sticker proudly on the vent windows of my 53 Hornet.
@@willgeary6086 I still have a Clifford catalog from the early 1980s (my 6=8 sticker went with the 1950 Hudson Pacemaker I had when I sold it).
I just bought a Clifford performance intake for my jeep
I just saw this car at the Ford museum in Dearborn a week and a half ago! I assumed it was just a replica based on the cartoon so I just took a quick photo and moved on. I had no idea it was real. So cool.
I don’t think I have ever been moved to tears with a documentary about a car….. but this is absolutely beautiful…. Wow
At a previous shop, I had a customer who owned a Hornet. Great car, felt surprisingly modern to drive. They truly were ahead of the times.
Good job, Hagerty. I’m waxing nostalgic, remembering my 51 Hornet coupe I had in the early 70’s. One of my favorite cars. The most comfortable bench seat I’ve ever sat in. Never left me stranded.
A fantastic documentary. Really brought the Hudson hornet to life.
Never been happier to stumble across any other video on KZhead the fact the doc was and is still a real life thing adds so much more to the cars film. Definitely sharing and will show my son as we watched cars closing in on 100 times also. Thanks for a great documentary.
Excellent documentary y’all. Left me tears.
I watched all those Hudsons racing and winning at the Minnesota state fair in 1951/52. I was 12 years old then! My father was Service Manager for a Hudson dealership in Minneapolis, named Hencir Motors.
Hooray to Hagerty for telling this story. Herb Thomas, like Ken Miles, is an unsung racing hero.
Ah Ken Miles. He's quite well known in England, being one of our motor sport heroes though his best achievements were with Caroll Shelby. He was cheated out of the 66 LeMans victory but we all know he won it really.
This is an amazingly done documentary. Thank you. Would love to see more of these.
Got to see the car this year at greenfield village on Father’s Day.
This documentary puts a smile in my face and warms my hearth. Thanks!
I love this documentary . This is exactly why we owne a 52 Hudson Hornet with a 7X , manual & overdrive . My son and i watched & loved the movie so much that we searched a long time until we finded the right one . And the funny thing about this is that i owne let's say a hand full of american cars from the 30's to the 50's and i work on them for 25 plus years and this car is one of my all time favorite in every way .
I have the wonderful memory of my parents having a 51 Hudson Hornet for the family car. It was in the family till the late 1980s when my older brother sold it still running like a top.
What a wonderful documentary ! Great to see all the folk giving their own memories about this fabulous machine! Thank you for creating this video - loved it!
In late '54 my dad bought a Hudson 4 door freom a neighbor. The car was originally a Commodor 8 but the neighbor had bought a wrecked '52 Hornet. He pulled the front subframe and put it in the commodor 8. The Hornet engine with twin high power, aluminum head, split exhaust manifold with dual exhaust would run all day at 100 mph. In 57 we took a trip from our home in Oregon to Arizona to visit people Dad and Mom went to school with. On the way home we went through Nevada, back then they didn't have a set speed limit on the open road. Dad drove all the open road at 100-110 mph, 58-60 minutes for 100 miles. I was only 8 but I remember that trip really well. Dad got the car for what the Olds dealer offered the neighbor trade-in on a 55 Olds with the high performance engine with a 4 speed. Dad won a number of races with the Hudson because everyone thought it was the 8 cylinder which was really slow. One of the races he won was against the 55 Olds on an 8 mile trip from the nearest town to home. Dad said that he passed the Olds when the Hydra-matic shifted into 2nd and was out of the car with a cigarette lit when the neighbor showed up. Dad drove it until 59...
Fantastic video about the Fabulous Hudson Hornet! As a Hudson owner, I find it fascinating when younger kids come up and instantly recognize the Hudson brand. Although my Hudson is a 1950 Super Six,some kids would call mine, "Doc Hudson" and I'd say, "not really, that's Betty Hudson, Doc's older sister" and, they'll still want to sit behind the wheel and pretend to be racing. Thank you all for producing and releasing this video.
Such a beautiful car, loved learning about the history
this has been sitting on my watch list for a week or two. glad i finally came back to watch it. what a beautiful telling of a tragic story but thankful the car lives on. its amazing ive been through the years to merced speedway in california. never knew that was Herb's last win in 1956. not sure but i think the only time nascar went to that track.
"Racing is living, everything else is waiting". - Steve McQueen Before I was old enough for a license I was given a 1954 Hudson Hornet with a bad rod. I bugged my dad who raced his 32 Ford in high school until he finally decided that helping me fix it was better than hearing me whine. My thanks to AMC for not only finding the parts but looking for the shop manuals which were a gift from the corporation when they found out that a 13 year old was putting it back on the road. I drove that car for four years and then swapoed it for a 49 Mercury Deluxe with a man who shared my passion for the "old iron". Not a bad car but I missed " Horney". Whatta you expect, I was a teenage boy and it had very plus fold down seats! Thanks for all of this and for inviting strangers like me to see an important part of your lives.
Very good story. Herb Thomas would be proud 👍
32.50 I was born in the 60s and I did not know about the legend of the Hudson Hornet. Thank you for keeping it alive.
Back in 1957 when I was 10, our landlord had two Hudsons, I remember them well but had no appreciation for them at the time as wonderful, new, cool models were pouring out of Detroit...
Finally i waited years for this after seeing Doc Hudson in the Cars Movies
I am 78 years old now and I remember the early 50s Hudsons because they were my Dads favorite cars. He had a 49 and then a 52. I was real young then and don't know what engines they had but all were 4 doors. We had 5 kids in the family and all of us fit in the back seat with one in the package tray! Dad like to stretch it out too because I remember my mom always telling him to slow down!
After watching this it makes me feel lucky enough to of ridden in my brother's old 1950 Hudson Hornet back in the mid-60s, which there was still quite a few old Hudson's driving on the road during that time, but by the time 1970 came around I didn't see them anymore
Wow. What a superb job covering this historically significant car company and car. A wonderful documentary. Thank you!
My Optometrist had this on his wall. I recognized it, been friends ever since!!!
I’ve got a 1948 Hudson commodore and every kid asks me is that a doc Hudson I have to say it’s his big brother,it’s my first American classic car and it’s awesome to race light to light long live the Hudson x
What an amazing story after watching this it made me watch some of your other content and I love it. Super cool stories you guys share
Absolutely fantastic! I came here not knowing anything about Hudson cars and thoroughly enjoyed learning about this literally fabulous car's heritage. Thank you!
From Europe: Years ago I had an American friend who owned a pristine Bentley 'R'-type. I used to tell him to get rid of it and buy a 'Stepdown'. He thought, smiled, nodded,...but never quite made it. This video is a work of humanity's art. Thanks so much for posting
wow, well done. one of he best shows I have seen in a while.
My grandfather (my father figure) was the Jones of “Bourne & Jones Hundson” dealership here in Richmond, VA. We (family) still own what was the used car lot of the Dealership & just across the street (same side of a Broad St) is the New car Hudson show room (parts department, etc) which is now a wine bar. I have some things from this time & his life as an owner/salesman. He actually took a 1912 Hudson & renovated it to where they then used that as an “attraction getter” for people to come into the dealership. That car (was originally burgundy when he rebuilt it, now blue) has been in the Luray Caverns Car Museum since before I was born. Too many stories… just thought I’d share some info for enthusiasts…. Love this documentary/story. I’ve been a stock car fan since I was born because of him & Hudson.
Hands down one of the best documentaries I’ve ever watched👌🏻 something magical about all that.
I didn't expect this was about Herb Thomas whom I never heard of before and little about Marshall Teague whom I knew as the Hudson guy. Back in the day my buddy Jimmy Adams and I went to a race at Raceway Park in Toledo and watched Marshall Teague humiliate the Olds 88s and Chrysler Firepowers. Jimmy and I sneaked into the pits and were able to see Teague's Hornet close up and Marshall Teague himself close up. He was a big guy, a bit overweight. We didn't try to talk to him because we were sneaking around trespassing in the pits. One other car and driver I recall from that race was Kenny Niemeyer driving a little 50 Plymouth fastback and he put on a good show but not placing. Jimmy and I were an the 8th grade at Glann School in Reynolds Corners and were about 13 at the time. Whatever became of Jimmy, a good friend is never forgotten.
The best are those good old memories. It couldn't be better.
I cried. What a beutiful story. Watching cars again.
Awesome Video !!!! My brother in law owns A HORNET AND i CAN VOUCH FOR WHAT A WONDERFUL CAR THEY ARE STILL TODAY !
A late acquaintance of mine had about a dozen Post-War cars, 1946-1956, and I drove several of them. They drove like old cars---except for one of them. His 1951 Hudson Hornet 4-door. I drove it once in 1980, and it handled, accelerated, and stopped as well as any large 1980 American car on the road. It was just an amazing machine.
My first car was a 1949 Hudson Commodore. It was such a solid car I wasn't able to break it. It's a great life when you can say you owned a Hudson as your daily driver.
great format, just finished watching this (after previously having watched the Turbine episode), it's amazingly good and I'm sure this will take off properly in the future. good job, Hagerty!
Absolutely amazing! And all the people talking about it. Perfectly put together video! Including the animators behind Cars bringing the light back to it for other generations
Excellent presentation! Love it!
44:53 Love the throaty sound of that big flat six. 🙂🙂🙂
My father had a Hudson Hornet when I was a kid. Cool car.
Guy I know has a standard hornet dressed in blue. I keep telling him he should do it up as a tribute car because he likes to do car shows but it’s an old survivor that’s pretty much all stock wearing it’s thin in some places factory paint and he doesn’t want to change it. Car runs and although I haven’t drove it I’ve rode in it a few times. The Hudson Hornet was legitimately fabulous. Very well built car with a fabulous history. As far as Cars, Pixar did the Hornet and Newman dirty by having Larry be Mater. I don’t think nobody could have been a better Doc than Newman, but damnit Mater is just the chit!! Doc/ the Hornet EASILY takes 2nd in my books.. The Christmas after the first cars movie I thought an old lady was going to try to fist fight me for my Mater night light in Walmart. She literally tried sneaking it out of my cart 3 times and the 40 year old kid in me wasn’t having no part of someone kidnapping my Mater..😂. I have no doubt some young kid had a rotten Christmas that year, but to bad..lol. I continue hunting for a matching Doc Hudson, but I’ve yet to find one and honestly don’t even know if one was made because I love Doc Hudson also. The Hudson Hornet was a legitimate badazz back when stock car racing was still a thing. Not the BS we have today..
I met a older gentleman years ago in Klamath falls Oregon that drove for Hudson back in the day he had a bunch of trophies and pictures and even had a old Hornet he was going to get around to restoring. He was called Whitey never got his last name but he was the real article. And a absolute wealth of information on the early days of Nascar - stock car racing. I hope he's tearing up the track in the sky.
The first car I remember my dad having was a Hudson Hornet that’s was in the mid 1950s fast an a smooth ride!
I saw the 92 car in the Henry Ford Museum earlier this year. I was looking at a 1917 Cadillac and saw this car sitting in the corner. It didn't have a sign by it or anything. I just thought, this can't be real. But it was and I tell you that car is a car to put smiles on your face. There is a lot of history sitting in that lump of metal.
My parents owned a Hudson Hornet in 1956-57. It's in the background of a photograph of my two older brother and I standing in an early vinyl wading pool in our backyard. I was 2.5 years old so don't remember riding in it. We moved in with my grandmother in '57 after her husband passed away. He paid cash for a new '56 DeSoto in 1955 so they sold the Hudson.
Back around 1982 I spent several hours talking to Smokey in his garage in Florida. Very interesting and intelligent guy.
My Mama loved that car. It was the best handling car and went exactly where you pointed it. Plenty of room in the back for four kids.