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123-735: The Jeffery Quad , also known as the Nash Quad or Quad is a four-wheel drive , 1 1 ⁄ 2 -ton rated truck that was developed and built by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company from 1913 in Kenosha, Wisconsin , and after 1916 by Nash Motors , which acquired the Jeffery Company. Production of the Quad continued unchanged through 1928. The Quad introduced numerous engineering innovations. Its design and durability proved effective in traversing

246-566: A V8 engine starting for the 1955 model year. It was the Packard -designed and -built 320 cu in (5.2 L) engine rated at 208 hp (155 kW). All cars with the Packard V8 also came with Packard's Ultramatic automatic transmission as an option for $ 494 with the Nash 3-speed manual was also available at $ 295. Hudson dealers also sold Rambler and Metropolitan models under

369-593: A factory had been built in 1925 in Brentford in London . Hudson was the third largest U.S. car maker that year, after Ford Motor Company and Chevrolet . Hudson had many firsts for the auto industry; these included dual brakes , the use of dashboard oil-pressure and generator warning lights, and the first balanced crankshaft , which allowed the Hudson straight-six engine , dubbed the " Super Six " (1916), to work at

492-431: A female perspective on automotive design, hired Elizabeth Ann Thatcher in 1939, one of America's first female automotive designers. Her contributions to the 1941 Hudson included exterior trim with side lighting, interior instrument panel, interiors and interior trim fabrics. She designed for Hudson from 1939 into 1941, leaving the company when she married Joe Oros , then a designer for Cadillac. He later became head of

615-470: A good semi-automatic transmission. When coupled with an automatic overdrive, Drive-Master became known as Super-Matic. Re-engineering of the frame rear end to use lower springs reduced car height by 1.5 in (38 mm). Sheet metal "spats" on the lower body now covered the running boards and new wider front and rear fenders accommodated this. As the role of women increased in car-purchase decisions, automakers began to hire female designers. Hudson, wanting

738-473: A government demand for a four-wheel-drive passenger vehicle. The modern Geländewagen such as the Mercedes-Benz G-Class still feature some of the attributes, with the exception of fully independent suspension, since it can compromise ground clearance. The Unimog is also a result of Mercedes 4x4 technology. The first Russian-produced four-wheel-drive vehicle, also in part for civilian use, was

861-411: A higher rotational speed while remaining smooth, developing more power for its size than lower-speed engines. The Super Six was the first engine built by Hudson, previously Hudson had developed engine designs and then had them manufactured by Continental Motors Company . Most Hudsons until 1957 had straight-6 engines. The dual brake system used a secondary mechanical emergency brake system, which activated

984-577: A larger factory. A new facility was built on a 22-acre (8.9 ha) parcel at Jefferson Avenue and Conner Avenue in Detroit's Fairview section that was diagonally across from the Chalmers Automobile plant. The land was the former farm of D.J. Campau. It was designed by the firm of renowned industrial architect Albert Kahn with 223,500 square feet and opened on October 29, 1910. Production in 1911 increased to 6,486. For 1914, Hudsons for

1107-587: A mechanical differential between the front and rear axles. An example of this is the dual-motor variant of the Tesla Model S , which controls the torque distribution between its two motors electronically. According to the SAE International standard J1952, AWD is the preferred term for all the systems described above. The standard subdivides AWD systems into three categories. Part-time AWD systems require driver intervention to couple and decouple

1230-469: A merger with Nash. Mason already had the vision of merging the four independent automakers (Nash, Hudson, Packard, and Studebaker) into one company to compete with the Big Three, having floated the idea as early as 1946 with Packard to no avail. Mason had previously discussed the idea with Barit in 1952. On 14 January 1954 an agreement was reached and Nash and Hudson executives took the first steps to bring

1353-469: A new Four Wheel Drive Auto Company (FWD) truck, but found it to be unacceptable and sold the vehicle to begin their own design from scratch. By July 1913, Jeffery company had their 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) capacity truck ready for public demonstration of its capabilities. The Jeffery designed a four-wheel-drive truck, known as the "Quad" or "Jeffery Quad" greatly assisted the subsequent efforts during World War I by several Allied nations, particularly

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1476-475: A power-operated top. Big Boy trucks now used the 128-inch wheelbase. In 1942, as a response to General Motors' Hydramatic automatic transmission, Hudson introduced its "Drive-Master" system. Drive-Master was a more sophisticated combination of the concepts used in the Electric Hand and the automatic clutch. It contained a vacuum-powered module on the transmission to switch between second and third gear and

1599-534: A production GT sports car. While most 4WD systems split torque evenly, the Jensen split torque roughly 40% front, 60% rear by gearing the front and rear at different ratios. American Motors Corporation (AMC) acquired Kaiser's Jeep Division in 1970 and quickly upgraded and expanded the entire line of off-road 4WD vehicles. With its added roadworthiness, the top-range full-sized Grand Wagoneer continued to compete with traditional luxury cars . Partially hand-built, it

1722-435: A revolutionary approach to four-wheel drive and allowed the truck to traverse soft and poor conditions with unprecedented effectiveness. The Quad was fitted with a Borg & Beck Clutch, providing excellent reliability for the enduring environment. The Quad was one of the first successful four-wheel drive vehicles ever to be made, and its production continued for 15 years with a total of 41,674 units made. Concurrently with

1845-550: A total of 41,674 units made by 1928. Daimler-Benz also has a history in four-wheel drive. After the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft had built a four-wheel-driven vehicle called Dernburg-Wagen , also equipped with four-wheel steering , in 1907, that was used by German colonial civil servant, Bernhard Dernburg, in Namibia ; Mercedes and BMW, in 1926, introduced some rather sophisticated four-wheel drives,

1968-399: A two-door roadster, a two-door pickup truck, and a four-door phaeton, all equipped with a transfer case that engaged the front wheels, powered by a 1.3-litre, two-cylinder, air-cooled OHV V-twin engine. The 1937 Mercedes-Benz G5 and BMW 325 4×4 featured full-time four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, three locking differentials, and fully independent suspension. They were produced because of

2091-425: A vacuum-powered module to pull the clutch in and out. At the touch of a button, Drive-Master offered the driver a choice of three modes of operation: ordinary, manual shifting and clutching; manual shifting with automatic clutching; and automatic shifting with automatic clutching. All this was accomplished by a large and complicated mechanism located under the hood. They worked well, and in fully automatic mode served as

2214-412: A wheel is slipping, and only activates when wheel slip is detected. Therefore, typically no mechanism exists to actively prevent wheel slip (i.e., locking the differential in advance of wheel slip is not possible); rather, the system is designed to expressly permit wheel slip to occur, and then to attempt to send torque to the wheels with the best traction. If preventing all-wheel slip is a requirement, this

2337-423: Is a limiting design. The architecture of an AWD/4WD system can be described by showing its possible operating modes. A single vehicle may have the ability to operate in multiple modes depending on driver selection. The different modes are: In addition to these basic modes, some implementations can combine these modes. The system could have a clutch across the center differential, for example, capable of modulating

2460-441: Is distributed to all four wheels, a third or 'center' differential can be used to distribute power between the front and rear axles. The described system handles extremely well, as it is able to accommodate various forces of movement and distribute power evenly and smoothly, making slippage unlikely. Once it does slip, however, recovery is difficult. If the left front wheel of a 4WD vehicle slips on an icy patch of road, for instance,

2583-458: Is exceeded at the low-traction side. A fairly recent innovation in automobiles is electronic traction control . It typically uses a vehicle's braking system to slow a spinning wheel. This forced slowing emulates the function of a limited-slip differential, and by using the brakes more aggressively to ensure wheels are being driven at the same speed, can also emulate a locking differential. This technique normally requires wheel sensors to detect when

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2706-460: Is much less acceptable for 4WD vehicles, because 4WD vehicles have twice as many wheels with which to lose traction, increasing the likelihood that it may happen. 4WD vehicles may also be more likely to drive on surfaces with reduced traction. However, since torque is divided between four wheels rather than two, each wheel receives roughly half the torque of a 2WD vehicle, reducing the potential for wheel slip. Many differentials have no way of limiting

2829-412: Is typically linked via a transfer case providing an additional output drive shaft and, in many instances, additional gear ranges . A four-wheel drive vehicle with torque supplied to both axles is described as "all-wheel drive" (AWD). However, "four-wheel drive" typically refers to a set of specific components and functions, and intended off-road application, which generally complies with modern use of

2952-568: The Canadian Military Pattern trucks , of which 4x4s were by far the most prevalent of their various driveline configurations. All told, North America built about 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 million 4x4 driven vehicles during the war, Availability of certain critical components, such transfer cases and especially constant-velocity joints affected development. Though not used much on commercial vehicles, all-wheel drive vehicles all needed these; and they would use two or three times

3075-632: The GAZ-61 , developed in the Soviet Union in 1938. "Civilian use" may be a bit of a misnomer, as most, if not all, were used by the Soviet government and military (as command cars), but the GAZ-61-73 version is the first four-wheel-drive vehicle with a normal closed sedan body. Elements of the chassis were used in subsequent military vehicles such as the 1940 GAZ-64 and the 1943 GAZ-67 , as well as

3198-525: The Great Depression and the costs to transport vehicles from Massachusetts to Detroit becoming too expensive, the contract with Biddle and Smart was terminated in 1930, and Biddle and Smart went out of business shortly thereafter. At their peak in 1929, Hudson and Essex produced a combined 300,000 cars in one year, including contributions from Hudson's other factories in Belgium and England ;

3321-622: The Rambler Quadruple for its car-derived 281.4 cu in (4.6 L) Rambler four-cylinder that produced 21 hp (16 kW; 21 PS). Development called for a switch to a Buda manufactured 312 cu in (5.1 L) side-valve four-cylinder engine that was rated at 28 hp (21 kW; 28 PS), but actually producing 52 hp (39 kW; 53 PS) at 1,800 rpm. The Quad had four-wheel drive and four-wheel brakes , as well as an innovative four-wheel steering system. This novel approach to steering allowed

3444-539: The k. u. k. Hofwagenfabrik Ludwig Lohner & Co. in Vienna in 1899, presented to the public during the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris. The vehicle was a series hybrid car that used an electric hub motor at each wheel, powered by batteries, which were in turn charged by a gasoline-engine generator. It was clumsily heavy, and due to its unusual status, the so-called Lohner–Porsche is not frequently given its credit as

3567-585: The 1920s. Today in North America, the term is applied to both heavy vehicles and light passenger vehicles. When referring to heavy vehicles, the term is increasingly applied to mean "permanent multiple-wheel drive" on 2×2 , 4×4, 6×6, or 8×8 drive-train systems that include a differential between the front and rear drive shafts. This is often coupled with some sort of antislip technology, increasingly hydraulics-based, that allows differentials to spin at different speeds, but still be capable of transferring

3690-433: The 1925 Essex touring and coach were priced the same. The Essex found great success by offering one of the first affordable sedans , and combined Hudson and Essex sales moved from seventh in the U.S. to third by 1925. In 1932, Hudson began phasing out its Essex nameplate for the modern Terraplane brand name. The new line was launched on July 21, 1932, with a promotional christening by Amelia Earhart . For 1932 and 1933,

3813-444: The 1940 models, Hudson introduced coil spring independent front suspension, aircraft-style shock absorbers mounted within the front springs, and true center-point steering on all its models, a major advance in performance among cars in this price range. The Super Six model was reintroduced as well. Despite all these changes, Hudson's sales for 1940 were lower than in 1939 and the company lost money again. The advent of military contracts

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3936-450: The 1952 AAA Stock Car Championship and Frank Mundy in 1953. Often Hudsons finished in most of the top positions in races. Later, these cars met with some success in drag racing , where their high power-to-weight ratio worked to their advantage. Hudsons enjoyed success both in NHRA trials and local dirt track events. As the post-war marketplace shifted from a seller's to a buyer's market

4059-765: The 1955 Nash Ambassador and Hudson Hornet models. In July 1954, Packard acquired Studebaker to form Studebaker-Packard Corporation . However further talks of a merger between AMC and Studebaker-Packard were cut short when Mason died on October 8, 1954. A week after his death, Mason's successor, George W. Romney , announced "There are no mergers under way either directly or indirectly". Nevertheless, Romney continued with Mason's commitment to buy components from Studebaker-Packard Corporation. Although Mason and Nance had previously agreed that Studebaker-Packard would purchase parts from AMC, it did not do so. Moreover, Packard's engines and transmissions were comparatively expensive, so AMC began development of its own V8 engine , and replaced

4182-488: The 1955 Hudson used the inner body shell of the Nash, the car incorporated a front cowl originally designed by Spring and the Hudson team to be put on the 1954 Step-Down platform. The 1955 models also used the Hudson dashboard, "triple safe brakes" and the Nash Weather Eye heater with Harrison Radiator Corporation -supplied lower cost Freon /compressor type air conditioning . For the first time, Hudson offered

4305-474: The 6-cylinder engine received a new block with thicker walls and other improvements to boost horsepower by almost 18% and torque by 28.5% making Hudson a hot performer again. The GM -supplied 4-speed Hydramatic automatic transmission was now optional in Hornets and Commodore Custom 6s and 8s. Hudson's strong, light-weight bodies, combined with its high- torque inline six-cylinder engine technology, made

4428-672: The American Four Wheel Drive Auto Company (FWD) of Wisconsin , founded in 1908. (not to be confused with the term "FWD" as an initialism for front-wheel-drive ) Along with the 1 1 ⁄ 2 - and 2-ton Nash Quad (see below), the 3-ton FWD Model B became a standard military four-wheel-drive truck for the U.S. Army in World War I. Some 16,000 FWD Model B trucks were built for the British and American armies during World War I – about half by FWD and

4551-465: The American market were now left-hand drive. Coachbuilder Fisher Body Co. built bodies for Hudson cars (as well as many other automotive marques) until they were bought out by General Motors in 1919. From 1923, Hudson bodies were built exclusively by Massachusetts company Biddle and Smart . The lucrative contract with Hudson would see Biddle and Smart buy up many smaller local coachbuilders to meet

4674-529: The East Side of Detroit, occupying the old Aerocar factory. The new Hudson "Twenty" was one of the first low-priced cars on the American market and became successful with 4,508 sold the first year. This was the best first year's production in the history of the automobile industry and put the newly formed company in 17th place industry-wide, "a remarkable achievement at a time" when there were hundreds of makes being marketed. Successful sales volume required

4797-459: The Electric Hand should ever fail. Hudson was also noted for offering an optional vacuum-powered automatic clutch, starting in the early 1930s. For the 1930 model year, Hudson debuted a new flathead inline eight cylinder engine with block and crankcase cast as a unit and fitted with two cylinder heads. A 2.75-inch bore and 4.5-inch stroke displaced 218.8 cu in (3.6 L) developing 80 hp (60 kW; 81 PS) at 3,600 rpm with

4920-527: The Essex models. At the 1931 Indianapolis 500 , Buddy Marr's #27 Hudson Special (using a Winfield carburetor) finished the 200 laps in tenth place. In 1936, Hudson revamped its cars, introducing a new "radial safety control" / "rhythmic ride" suspension which suspended the live front axle from two steel bars, as well as from leaf springs. Doing this allowed the use of longer, softer leaf springs ("rhythmic ride"), and prevented bumps and braking from moving

5043-484: The Fisher brothers to begin devoting time to Hudson and their plant in anticipation of a deal. When news of these events reached Wall Street , the price of Hudson stock skyrocketed with the consensus by investors that a Fisher takeover would be the best thing for Hudson. However, the Fisher brothers tender offer fell short of Hudson's sudden increased market value and the deal did not go through. Production resumed after

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5166-673: The French. The Jeffery Quad became the workhorse of the Allied Expeditionary Force. These unique vehicles also saw heavy service under General John J. "Blackjack" Pershing as both the Jeffery armored car and as regular transports during the Army's 1916 Punitive Expedition through Mexico; Quads were also used extensively during Pershing's later European campaigns of World War I. The United States Marine Corps also adopted

5289-563: The G1, the G4, and G4 following. Mercedes and BMW developed this further in 1937. The American Marmon-Herrington Company was founded in 1931 to serve a growing market for moderately priced four-wheel-drive vehicles. Marmon-Herrington specialized in converting Ford trucks to four-wheel drive and got off to a successful start by procuring contracts for military and commercial aircraft refueling trucks, 4×4 chassis for towing light weaponry, and an order from

5412-491: The Hudson brand. A total of 4,357 Metropolitans were sold as "Hudson." When sold by Hudson dealers, both cars were identified as Hudson vehicles via hood/grille emblems and horn buttons. Hudson Ramblers also received "H" symbols on fuel filler caps (and, in 1956, also on hubcaps ). In 1956, ex-Hudson president A.E Barit resigned from the Board in protest over the likelihood that Hudson would be phased out of production. For 1956,

5535-447: The Hudson demand. Peak shipments came in 1926, when the company delivered 41,000 bodies to Hudson. An inability to stamp steel meant that their products were made using aluminum. On 1 July 1926, Hudson's new US$ 10 million ($ 172,105,263 in 2023 dollars ) body plant was completed where the automaker could now build the all-steel closed bodies for both the Hudson and Essex models. Biddle and Smart continued to build aluminum body versions of

5658-459: The Hudson line and were marketed by Hudson as "custom-built" although they were the same as the steel-body vehicles. With Hudson now building in-house, Biddle and Smart saw their work for Hudson drop by 60%. From 1927 Hudson gradually began to utilize local coachbuilders Briggs Manufacturing Company and Murray Corporation of America to supplement Hudson's production which was expanding domestically and internationally. With car prices falling due to

5781-506: The Iraqi Pipeline Company for what were the largest trucks built at the time. The early Marmon-Herringtons proved to be the exception to the rule — 4WD cars and trucks developed in the 1930s were mainly built for governments, with (future) warfare applications in mind. Dodge developed its first four-wheel-drive truck in 1934 — a military 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 ton designated K-39-X-4(USA), of which 796 units were built for

5904-493: The J1952 standard notes secondary classifications resulting in a total of eight systems, designated as: Two wheels fixed to the same axle (but on the opposite axle ends) need to turn at different speeds as a vehicle goes around a curve. The reason is that the wheel that is located on the inner side of the curve needs to travel less distance than the opposite wheel for the same duration of time. However, if both wheels are connected to

6027-616: The Jeep, and also inline-four powered, the Land Rover appeared at the Amsterdam Motor Show in 1948. Originally conceived as a stop-gap product for the struggling Rover car company, despite chronic underinvestment, it succeeded far better than their passenger cars. Inspired by a Willys MB – the ubiquitous WWII "jeep" – that was frequently run off-road on the farm belonging to chief engineer Maurice Wilks , Land Rover developed

6150-587: The Jeffery Quad, using it in the occupation of Haiti , and of the Dominican Republic , from 1915 through 1917. At least 11,500 Jeffery and Nash Quads were built between 1913 and 1919. In 1918 alone, Nash built 11,490 of its Quads, a world record at the time. "Four-wheel drive trucks had been built before ... but aside from the Jeffery Quad (Nash Quad, per subsequent purchase) earlier designs were inefficient, crude, and flimsy." Initially called

6273-517: The Nash Rambler and Metropolitan compacts to sell as Hudson products. One of the first things Mason did as CEO of the new company was to initiate talks with James J. Nance , president of Packard, for parts-sharing arrangements between AMC and Packard. At this time AMC did not have its own V8 engine and an agreement was made for the new 320 cu in (5.2 L) Packard V8 engine and Packard's Ultramatic automatic transmission to be used in

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6396-491: The Nash plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin building rebadged Nash cars with the Hudson brand name. Nash would focus most of its marketing resources on its smaller Rambler models, and Hudson would focus its marketing efforts on its full-sized cars. The first Hudson model to terminate production was the Jet . The new company could then focus on the more successful Nash Rambler. Henceforth, Hudson dealers would have badge-engineered versions of

6519-536: The North American market, the term generally refers to a system optimized for off-road driving conditions. The term "4WD" is typically designated for vehicles equipped with a transfer case that switches between 2WD and 4WD operating modes, either manually or automatically. All-wheel drive (AWD) was historically synonymous with "four-wheel drive" on four-wheeled vehicles, and six-wheel drive on 6×6s , and so on, being used in that fashion at least as early as

6642-423: The Quad's production, the company expanded its truck line by building conventional 1.5 ton trucks with double chain rear-wheel drive. The Quads ability to traverse terrain across the globe that challenged modern trucks meant civilians used their slow, but unstoppable work at least until the 1950s. In 1954, Nash Motors merged with Hudson Motor Car Company to form American Motors Corporation (AMC), which acquired

6765-591: The Twin H would disappear at the end of the 1956 model year. The Wasp used the 202 cu in (3.3 L) L-head Jet Six engine (up to 130 hp [97 kW]) and this model (in sedan version) was Hudson's top seller. For 1957, Hudson dropped the shorter-wheelbase Wasp line, selling only the Hornet Custom and Super, which featured a lowered profile and slightly updated styling. George W. Romney felt that Hudson and Nash were no longer relevant players in

6888-428: The U.S. Army in several configurations. Timken supplied front axles and transfer cases, added to militarized a civilian truck. The Timken transfer case was the first part-time design, that allowed the driver to engage or disengage four-wheel drive using a lever inside the cab. In spite of the limited 1930s U.S. military budgets, the '34 truck was liked well-enough that a more modern 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 ton truck

7011-480: The amount of engine power that gets sent to their attached output shafts. As a result, if a tire loses traction on acceleration, either because of a low-traction situation (e.g., driving on gravel or ice) or the engine power overcomes available traction, the tire that is not slipping receives little or no power from the engine. In very low-traction situations, this can prevent the vehicle from moving at all. To overcome this, several designs of differentials can either limit

7134-442: The amount of slip (these are called 'limited-slip' differentials) or temporarily lock the two output shafts together to ensure that engine power reaches all driven wheels equally. Locking differentials work by temporarily locking together a differential's output shafts, causing all wheels to turn at the same rate, providing torque in case of slippage. This is generally used for the center differential, which distributes power between

7257-606: The automotive market and retired both names at the end of the 1957 model year production. Both Rambler and Metropolitan became makes in their own right, and no longer were identified as Hudson or Nash. The last Hudson rolled off the Kenosha assembly line on June 25, 1957, although at that time there were proposals of continuing the Hudson and Nash names into the 1958 model year on the Rambler chassis as deluxe, longer-wheelbase senior models. The combined Nash and Hudson production volume

7380-435: The car off course. The 1936 Hudsons were also considerably larger inside than competitive cars — Hudson claimed a 145 cu ft (4.1 m ) interior, comparing it to the 121 cu ft (3.4 m ) in the "largest of other popular cars" of the time. With an optional bulging trunk lid, Hudson claimed the trunk could accommodate 21 cu ft (0.59 m ) of luggage. The 1936 engines were powerful for

7503-476: The company shifted its focus to the war effort. When brothers Fred and Charles retired from GM in 1944 they revived the Hudson takeover idea with the view of establishing new, independent automobile manufacturing operations. The brothers contacted Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands , Hudson's main stockholder, offering to buy. Using an intermediary, Queen Wilhelmina expressed her interest in selling, prompting

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7626-487: The company solvent. On March 20, 1954, the Hudson Motor Car Company reported a loss of $ 10,411,060 in 1953 as compared with a profit of $ 8,307,847 in 1952. After the company's high-priced Jet compact car line failed to capture buyers in its second straight year, Hudson CEO A.E. Barit engaged with George W. Mason , CEO of Nash-Kelvinator (makers of Nash and Rambler ) to discuss the possibility of

7749-510: The company's 1951–54 Hornet an auto racing champion, dominating NASCAR in 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1954. Herb Thomas won the 1951 and 1954 Southern 500s and Dick Rathmann won in 1952. Some NASCAR records set by Hudson in the 1950s ( e.g. consecutive wins in one racing season) still stand even today. Hudson cars also did very well in races sanctioned by the AAA Contest Board from 1952 until 1954 with Marshall Teague winning

7872-473: The complete front-engine, four-wheel-drive system. The AMC Eagle was offered as a sedan , coupe , and station wagon with permanent automatic all-wheel drive passenger models. The new Eagles combined Jeep technology with an existing and proven AMC passenger automobile platform . They ushered a whole new product category of "sport-utility" or crossover SUV . AMC's Eagles came with the comfort and high-level appointments expected of regular passenger models and used

7995-490: The design of the senior Hudsons was given over to designer Richard Arbib , which resulted in the "V-Line" styling motif, a combination of "V" motifs that carried Hudson's triangular corporate logo theme. Sales fell below the 1955 figures. With a wider front track than Nash used, Hudson was the better handling car and was powered by the famed 308 cu in (5.05 L) Hornet Six with the optional high-compression cylinder head and dual- carburetor manifold ("Twin-H Power");

8118-677: The design team at Ford that created the Mustang . As ordered by the Federal government, Hudson ceased auto production from 1942 until 1945 to manufacture material during World War II , including aircraft parts and naval engines as well as anti-aircraft guns. The Hudson "Invader" engine powered many of the landing craft used on the D-Day invasion of Normandy , June 6, 1944. During World War II Hudson had also an aircraft division that produced ailerons for one large eastern airplane builder. The plant

8241-409: The differential to the wheel, at different speeds. The differential does this by distributing angular force (in the form of torque ) evenly, while distributing angular velocity (turning speed) such that the average for the two output shafts is equal to that of the differential ring gear . When powered, each axle requires a differential to distribute power between the left and right sides. When power

8364-545: The driver of getting out to lock hubs and having to manually select between 2WD and 4WD modes, it dominated all other makes in FIA rally competition. Gene Henderson and Ken Pogue won the Press-on-Regardless Rally FIA championship with a Quadra Trac-equipped Jeep in 1972. American Motors introduced the innovative Eagle for the 1980 model year. These were the first American mass-production cars to use

8487-438: The early 20th Century. From 1926 the business had become part of General Motors. Just before World War II, the Fisher brothers contemplated a takeover of Hudson and commissioned engineer Roscoe C. (Rod) Hoffman, from Detroit, to design and build several rear-engine prototype vehicles for possible eventual production as Hudsons. One prototype was built in secret in 1935. World War II forced the brothers to shelve their plans while

8610-587: The early years of the war, they relied significantly on Lend-Lease vehicles, provided by the western allies. In 1943, they launched a further-developed version: the GAZ-67 . By contrast, the Axis powers ' closest equivalent to the jeep, the VW Kübelwagen , of which only some 50,000 were built, though being equipped with portal gear hubs, only had rear-wheel drive. Willys introduced the model CJ-2A in 1945,

8733-403: The eventual 1958 Rambler Ambassador show both Nash- and Hudson-badged versions. The Rambler brand was selected for further development and promotion while focusing exclusively on compact cars . Eventually, however, something close to the Hudson design was chosen for the 1958 Rambler Ambassador. Hudson brand enthusiasts will note the triangular grille guard and 1957-like fender " gun sights " and

8856-618: The fast-selling 1958 Rambler Customs wore 1957 Hudson-styled front-fender trim. Hudson, Essex, and Terraplane vehicles were either exported as complete cars or locally built from knock-down kits in many countries making the Hudson marque well-known internationally as well as domestically. In its 1929 report, the banking house Garden Detroit Company reported that in 1928 Hudson shipped 50,587 vehicles overseas, or 17.9% of total production. By March 1929 Hudson had topped all previous production figures having exported 44,295 cars in March alone, bringing

8979-492: The first four-wheel driven automobile. The world's first four-wheel-drive car directly powered by an internal-combustion engine, and the first with a front-engine, four-wheel-drive layout , was the Dutch Spyker 60 H.P., Commissioned for the Paris to Madrid race of 1903, it was presented that year by brothers Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker of Amsterdam . The two-seat sports car featured permanent four-wheel drive and

9102-530: The first full-production four-wheel-drive vehicle for sale in the general marketplace. Due to the ubiquitous World War II Jeep's success, its rugged utilitarianism set the pattern for many four-wheel-drive vehicles to come. Dodge also started production of the civilian 4WD Power Wagon trucks, for the 1946 model year. Both the Willys and the Dodge were developed directly from their WW II predecessors. Equally boxy to

9225-416: The following year brought relief. The 1941 Hudsons retained the front-end styling of the 1940 models but the bodies were new with 5.5 inches added to their length giving more legroom. A new manual 3-speed synchromesh transmission was quieter with all helical gears. Wheelbases increased by 3 inches, with offerings of 116, 121, and 128 inches, and height was decreased with flatter roofs. Convertibles now had

9348-703: The forerunner of the designs that followed from other manufacturers. The automobile press at the time tested the traction of the Eagles and described it as far superior to the Subaru's and that it could beat many so-called off-road vehicles. Four Wheeler magazine concluded that the AMC Eagle was "The beginning of a new generation of cars." The Eagles were popular (particularly in the snowbelt ), had towing capacity, and came in several equipment levels including sport and luxury trims. Two additional models were added in 1981,

9471-400: The front and the rear axles. While a drivetrain that turns all wheels equally would normally fight the driver and cause handling problems, this is not a concern when wheels are slipping. Some designs use gearing to create a small rotational difference that hastens torque transfer. A typical Torsen II differential can deliver up to twice as much torque to the high-traction side before traction

9594-457: The front axle torque from a full-time mode with the 30:70 torque split of the center differential to the 0:100 torque split of the 2WD mode. In 1893, before the establishment of the modern automotive industry in Britain, English engineer Bramah Joseph Diplock patented a four-wheel drive system for a steam-powered traction engine , including four-wheel steering and three differentials , which

9717-532: The front two in front-wheel drive or the rear two in rear-wheel drive . Similarly, a 6×4 vehicle has three axles, two of which provide torque to two axle ends each. If this vehicle were a truck with dual rear wheels on two rear axles, so actually having ten wheels, its configuration would still be formulated as 6x4. During World War II, the U.S. military would typically use spaces and a capital 'X' – as "4 X 2" or "6 X 4". Four-wheel drive (4WD) refers to vehicles with two axles providing torque to four axle ends. In

9840-404: The inclusion or exclusion of a low-range gear. On-demand AWD systems drive the secondary axle via an active or passive coupling device or "by an independently powered drive system". The standard notes that in some cases, the secondary drive system may also provide the primary vehicle propulsion. An example is a hybrid AWD vehicle where the primary axle is driven by an internal combustion engine and

9963-453: The lead "car men" and an organizer of the company was Roy D. Chapin Sr., a young executive who had worked with Ransom E. Olds . (Chapin's son, Roy Jr. , would later be president of Hudson-Nash descendant American Motors Corporation in the 1960s). The company quickly started production, with the first car driven out of a small factory in Detroit on July 3, 1909, at Mack Avenue and Beaufait Street on

10086-415: The military on a large scale, four-wheel drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles had not found their place. The World War II Jeep , originally developed by American Bantam , but mass-produced by Willys and Ford, became the best-known four-wheel-drive vehicle in the world during the war. The American Dodge WC series and Chevrolet G506 4x4 variants were also produced by the hundreds of thousands, as well as

10209-460: The more refined yet still off-road capable luxury 4WD Range Rover in the 1970s. With the acquisition of the "Jeep" name in 1950, Willys had cornered the brand. Its successor, Kaiser Jeep , introduced a revolutionary 4WD wagon called the Wagoneer in 1963. Not only was it technically innovative, with independent front suspension and the first automatic transmission coupled to 4WD, but also it

10332-448: The more up-scale Hudson line competing with Oldsmobile and Studebaker. Local coachbuilder Briggs Manufacturing introduced their first-of-its-kind closed coach body in 1922 for Hudson's Essex. It was the first closed vehicle available at a price close to its open-bodied brethren. The 1922 Essex closed body was priced at only $ 300 more than the 1922 Essex touring. Within three years, its popularity enabled Hudson to reduce its price so that both

10455-515: The muddy, rough, and unpaved roads of the times. The Quad also became one of the most successful vehicles in World War I . The Quad was produced in large numbers by Jeffery and Nash, as well as under license by other truck makers. The United States Army needed to replace the four- mule teams used to haul standard one-and-a-half-ton loads with a truck and requested proposals in late 1912. The company began development by purchasing and examining

10578-466: The number of driven axles, meaning more gears to cut for all the differentials. Produced up to the war by a few specialized firms with limited capacity, from spring 1942, Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet joined in fabricating these in a quantity more than a 100-fold greater than in 1939. Although Russia had their own jeep-like vehicle (the GAZ-64) up and running in 1940, a year earlier than the American jeep, in

10701-425: The off-road technology for an extra margin of safety and traction. The Eagle's thick viscous fluid center differential provided a quiet and smooth transfer of power that was directed proportionally to the axle with the greatest traction. This was a true full-time system operating only in four-wheel drive without undue wear on suspension or driveline components. No low range was used in the transfer case. This became

10824-455: The only way to compete with the "Big Three" was to stake the future of AMC on a new smaller-sized car line. Neither Hudson nor Nash brand names had as much positive market recognition as the successful Rambler and their sales were lagging. Together with AMC's chief engineer Meade Moore, Romney had completely phased out the Nash and Hudson brands at the end of 1957. The decision to retire the brands came so quickly that preproduction photographs of

10947-534: The original mechanism continued in use without major change and with complete interchangeability of parts until the end of the war. Hudson also manufactured millions of other weaponry and vehicle parts for the war effort. Hudson ranked 83rd among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts. The Fisher Body Company , later the Fisher Body Division of GM, manufactured bodies for many automobile marques throughout

11070-484: The outsourced unit by mid-1956. For 1955, both Hudson and Nash senior models were built on a common automobile platform using styling themes by Pinin Farina , Edmund E. Anderson , and Frank Spring. Common-body shell production for competing makes of automobiles was a manufacturing technique that had been used by the Big Three for decades. Anderson set up separate design studios for Nash, Hudson, and Rambler. Although

11193-572: The postwar GAZ-69 , and the properly civilian GAZ-M-72, based on the rear-wheel drive GAZ-20 "Victory" and built from 1955 to 1958. Soviet civilian life did not allow the proliferation of civilian products such as the Jeep in North America, but through the 1960s, the technology of Soviet 4×4 vehicles stayed on par with British, German, and American models, even exceeding it in some aspects, and for military purposes just as actively developed, produced, and used. Until "go-anywhere" vehicles were needed for

11316-472: The rear brakes when the pedal traveled beyond the normal reach of the primary system; a mechanical parking brake was also used. Hudson transmissions also used an oil bath and cork clutch mechanism that proved to be as durable as it was smooth. In 1919, Hudson introduced the Essex brand line of automobiles; the line was originally for budget-minded buyers, designed to compete with Ford and Chevrolet, as opposed to

11439-425: The rear wheels to track the front wheels around turns, such that the rear wheels did not have to dig new "ruts" on muddy curves because most roads of the day were unpaved and often badly rutted. This four-wheel steering mechanism was integrated with Muehl limited-slip differentials on both the front and rear axles. From the transfer case, shafts led to the top of both the front and rear solid portal axles giving

11562-493: The rest by other licensed manufacturers. Only about 20% of the trucks built were four-wheel drives, but the 4x4s were more often on the front lines. About 11,500 of the Jeffery / Nash Quad trucks were built for similar use between 1913 and 1919. The Quad not only came with four-wheel-drive and four-wheel brakes, but also featured four-wheel steering. The Quad was one of the first successful four-wheel drive vehicles ever to be made, and its production continued for 15 years with

11685-594: The restyled cars were named Essex-Terraplane; from 1934 as Terraplane, until 1938 when the Terraplane was renamed the Hudson 112. Hudson also began assembling cars in Canada, contracting Canada Top and Body to build the cars in their Tilbury, Ontario , plant. In England, Terraplanes built at the Brentford factory were still being advertised in 1938. An optional accessory on some 1935–1938 Hudson and Terraplane models

11808-489: The same axle driveshaft, they always have to spin at the same speed relative to each other. When going around a curve, this either forces one of the wheels to slip, if possible, to balance the apparent distance covered, or creates uncomfortable and mechanically stressful wheel hop. To prevent this, the wheels are allowed to turn at different speeds using a mechanical or hydraulic differential . This allows one driveshaft to independently drive two output shafts, axles that go from

11931-491: The secondary axle from the primarily driven axle, and these systems do not have a center differential (or similar device). The definition notes that part-time systems may have a low range. Full-time AWD systems drive both front and rear axles at all times via a center (interaxle) differential. The torque split of that differential may be fixed or variable depending on the type of center differential. This system can be used on any surface at any speed. The definition does not address

12054-412: The secondary axle is driven by an electric motor. When the internal combustion engine is shut off, the secondary, electrically driven axle is the only driven axle. On-demand systems function primarily with only one powered axle until torque is required by the second axle. At that point, either a passive or active coupling sends torque to the secondary axle. In addition to the above primary classifications,

12177-440: The slipping wheel spins faster than the other wheels due to the lower traction at that wheel. Since a differential applies equal torque to each half-shaft, power is reduced at the other wheels, even if they have good traction. This problem can happen in both 2WD and 4WD vehicles, whenever a driven wheel is placed on a surface with little traction or raised off the ground. The simplistic design works acceptably well for 2WD vehicles. It

12300-571: The smaller U.S. automakers, such as Hudson and Nash, found it increasingly difficult to compete with the Big Three ( Ford , GM and Chrysler ) during the 1950s. A sales war between Ford and General Motors conducted during 1953 and 1954 had left little business for the much smaller "independent" automakers trying to compete against the standard models offered by the domestic Big Three. The Big Three could afford constant development and styling changes, so that their cars looked fresh every year, whereas

12423-499: The smaller manufacturers could only afford gradual changes. Hudson's once-innovative "step-down" unit-body construction, while sturdy and innovative, also made restyling difficult and expensive. Although Hudsons dominated racing during this period, their feats did little to affect showroom traffic despite incorporating their NASCAR success into a marketing campaign known as "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday". Sales fell each year from 1951 until 1954, and only Korean War military contracts kept

12546-475: The standard 5.78:1 compression ratio . The five main bearing crankshaft had eight integral counterweights, an industry first, and also employed a Lanchester vibration damper. Four rubber blocks were used at engine mount points. A valveless oil pump improved the Hudson splash lubrication system. The new eights were the only engine offering in the Hudson line, supplanting the Super Six, which continued in

12669-474: The subcompact SX/4 and Kammback. A manual transmission and a front axle-disconnect feature were also made available for greater fuel economy. During 1981 and 1982, a unique convertible was added to the line. The Eagle's monocoque body was reinforced for the conversion and had a steel targa bar with a removable fiberglass roof section. The Eagle station wagon remained in production for one model year after Chrysler acquired AMC in 1987. Total AMC Eagle production

12792-460: The term "all-wheel drive" with additional subclassifications that cover all types of AWD/4WD/4x4 systems found on production vehicles. "Four-by-four" or "4×4" is frequently used to refer to a class of vehicles in general. Syntactically, the first figure indicates the total number of axle ends and the second indicates the number of axle ends that are powered. Accordingly, 4×2 means a four-wheel vehicle that transmits engine torque to only two axle ends:

12915-620: The terminology of the day, meant "built to an individual order and to a special design." In addition to assembling Hudson and Essex for Dalgety, the company also built vehicle bodies for Rolls-Royce , Wolseley, Dort, Benz, Fiat, and Turkat Méry. After a slump in the economy which caused operations to cease in November 1927, Smith & Waddington resumed production in June 1928, again building Hudson and Essex vehicles for NSW and Queensland, and further adding Dodge, Chrysler, Erskine, and Studebaker for

13038-453: The terminology. Four-wheel-drive systems were developed in many different markets and used in many different vehicle platforms . There is no universally accepted set of terminology that describes the various architectures and functions. The terms used by various manufacturers often reflect marketing rather than engineering considerations or significant technical differences between systems. SAE International 's standard J1952 recommends only

13161-408: The time, from 93 to 124 hp (69 to 92 kW; 94 to 126 PS). The 1939 models joined other American cars in the use of a column-mounted gearshift lever. This freed front-seat passenger space and remained the industry standard through the 1960s, when " bucket seats " came into vogue. Hudson became the first car manufacturer to use foam rubber in its seats. The Hudson Terraplane was dropped. For

13284-544: The torque from a wheel with poor traction to one with better. Typical AWD systems work well on all surfaces, but are not intended for more extreme off-road use. When used to describe AWD systems in light passenger vehicles, it refers to a system that applies torque to all four wheels (permanently or on-demand) or is targeted at improving on-road traction and performance (particularly in inclement conditions), rather than for off-road applications. Some all-wheel drive electric vehicles use one motor for each axle, thereby eliminating

13407-962: The total of shipments for the first quarter of 1929 to an all-time high of 108,298. Hudson vehicles were imported into Australia in 1913 by Brisbane company McGhie Motor Company. In 1915 the Sydney branch of Dalgety & Co. Ltd became the distributor of Hudson and Essex vehicles for New South Wales . The company was also the agent for Wolseley , Daimler, and Buick passenger vehicles as well as Lacre and Halley commercial vehicles. Motor bodies were produced by Messrs Henderson, Boulton, and Kirkham in Regent Street, Sydney. The company also did trimming, fitting, painting, mechanical work, and repairs. Established in 1922, Sydney company Smith & Waddington set up motor vehicle body building operations for NSW and Queensland at premises on Parramatta Road, Camperdown. The company built "custom" car bodies which, by

13530-469: The trucks a very high ground clearance allowing it to drive through mud up to its hubcaps. Engine power was transmitted by half-shafts with a u-joint and bearing that was connected by a pinion gear to each of the four wheels from the dual differentials that positioned parallel to but above the load-bearing "dead" axles. This pinion gear then drove an internal toothed ring gear at each of the four wheels. The Quad's combination of innovative features constituted

13653-440: The two companies together. On May 1, 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator to become American Motors Corporation . George W. Mason became CEO and president of AMC while Hudson's president, A.E. Barit retired to become an AMC board member. The Hudson factory, located in Detroit, Michigan, was converted to military contract production at the end of the model year, and the remaining three years of Hudson production took place at

13776-512: The vehicle operations of Kaiser Jeep in 1974 to complement its passenger car lines, later including the AWD/4WD AMC Eagle . The combined automaker's ancestry reached back to the famed World War I "Quad". Four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive , also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD , is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and

13899-413: The war and included a 128 in (3,251 mm) wheelbase three-quarter-ton pickup truck . In 1948, the company launched its "step-down" bodies, which lasted through the 1954 model year. The term step-down referred to Hudson's placement of the passenger compartment down inside the perimeter of the frame; riders stepped down onto a floor that was surrounded by the perimeter of the car's frame. The result

14022-487: Was a steering column-mounted electric gear pre-selector and electro-mechanical automatic shifting system, known as the "Electric Hand", manufactured by the Bendix Corporation . This took the place of the floor-mounted shift lever, but required conventional clutch actions. Cars equipped with the feature also carried a conventional shift lever in clips under the dash, which could be pulled out and put to use in case

14145-497: Was almost 200,000 vehicles. Hudson Motor Car Company The name "Hudson" came from Joseph L. Hudson , a Detroit department store entrepreneur and founder of Hudson's department store, who provided the necessary capital and gave permission for the company to be named after him. A total of eight Detroit businessmen formed the company on February 20, 1909, to produce an automobile which would sell for less than US$ 1,000 (equivalent to approximately $ 33,911 in 2023 funds ). One of

14268-793: Was also the first car equipped with a six-cylinder engine, as well as four-wheel braking. Later used as a hill-climb racer, it is now an exhibit in the Louwman Museum (the former Nationaal Automobiel Museum) in the Hague , the Netherlands. Designs for four-wheel drive in America first came from the Twyford Motor Car Company . The Reynolds-Alberta Museum has a four-wheel-drive vehicle, named " Michigan ", from 1905 in unrestored storage. The first four-wheel-drive vehicles to go into mass production were built by (what became)

14391-601: Was capable of large scale production of wings and ailerons as well as other airplane parts. On May 22, 1941, Hudson was given a contract for the Oerlikon 20 mm cannon with the Jefferson Avenue Plant, on Jefferson Avenue and Connor Avenue, responsible for converting the original Swiss drawings to American production standards. The company produced 33,201 Oerlikons for the United States Navy with

14514-617: Was developed, and 1,700 RF-40-X-4(USA) trucks were produced in 1938, and 292 TF-40-X-4(USA) in 1939. Starting in 1936, Japanese company Tokyu Kurogane Kogyo built roughly 4,700 four-wheel-drive roadsters, called the Kurogane Type 95 reconnaissance car, used by the Imperial Japanese Army from 1937 until 1944, during the Second Sino-Japanese War . Three different bodystyles were manufactured –

14637-469: Was equipped and finished as a regular passenger automobile. In effect, it was the ancestor of the modern SUV . The luxury AMC or Buick V8 -powered Super Wagoneer produced from 1966 to 1969 raised the bar even higher. Jensen applied the Formula Ferguson (FF) full-time all-wheel-drive system to 318 units of their Jensen FF built from 1966 to 1971, marking the first time 4WD was used in

14760-515: Was insufficient to justify all-new design and tooling; therefore, the Rambler's platform was expected to be adopted by the longer cars. One major trade magazine said rumors of discontinuance were false and the 1958 Hudsons and Nashes "would be big and smart". Factory styling photographs show designs for a 1958 Hudson (and Nash) line based on a longer-wheelbase 1958 Rambler. Front-end prototype photos show separate Hudson and Nash styling themes. American Motors' president, George W. Romney, concluded that

14883-401: Was not only a safer car, and greater passenger comfort as well, but, through a lower center of gravity, a good handling car. In time almost all U.S. automakers would embrace it as a means of building bodies. Automotive author Richard Langworth described the step-down models as the greatest autos of the era in articles for Consumer Guide and Collectible Automobile . For the 1951 model year,

15006-443: Was relatively unchanged during its production through 1991, even after Chrysler 's buyout of AMC. Subaru introduced the category-expanding Leone in 1972, an inexpensive compact station wagon with a light-duty, part-time four-wheel-drive system that could not be engaged on dry pavement. In September, AMC introduced Quadra Trac full-time AWD for the 1973 model year Jeep Cherokee and Wagoneer. Due to full-time AWD, which relieved

15129-425: Was subsequently built. The development also incorporated Bramah's Pedrail wheel system in what was one of the first four-wheel drive automobiles to display an intentional ability to travel on challenging road surfaces. It stemmed from Bramagh's previous idea of developing an engine that would reduce the amount of damage to public roads. Ferdinand Porsche designed and built a four-wheel-driven electric vehicle for

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