Hudson Commodore 8
Getting into this Hudson really means getting in because the floor is quite a bit lower than the threshold. This special construction is therefore called the ‘Step-down’, and gives the car a lower centre of gravity, resulting in improved roadholding.
Another advantage was its safety: the chassis frame effectively surrounds the passenger compartment. It was so advanced that competitor General Motors immediately obtained a couple of these cars in order to fully test their motoring performance.
The Hudson Commodore, a design by chief stylist Frank Spring and engineering director Sam Frahm, was available as a coupé, sedan and convertible. By 1953 the step-down design had become dated, but no successor for this large Hudson was ever made as the factory decided to produce a more compact model. Hudson merged with Nash to form American Motors in 1954 and the Hudson marque was dropped altogether in 1957.
In 2006 a Hudson Hornet, a six-cylinder model similar to the Commodore, starred in the Disney/Pixar animation movie ‘Cars’ as the ‘Doc Hudson’ character.