page_title: Hudson Hornet
section_title: Second generation
hierarchical_section_title: Hudson Hornet / Second generation
caption_attribution_description: 1957 Hudson Hornet V8 Super Hollywood Hardtop - photographed in Aspen Hill, Maryland, USA.
context_page_description: Hudson Hornet is a full-sized automobile that was manufactured by Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan from 1951 until 1954, when Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson merged to form American Motors Corporation. Hudson automobiles continued to be marketed under the Hudson brand name through the 1957 model year.
  The first-generation Hudson Hornets featured a functional "step-down" design with dropped floorpan and a chassis with a lower center of gravity than contemporary vehicles that helped the car handle well — a bonus for racing. The Hornet's lower and sleeker look was accentuated by streamlined styling, sometimes called "ponton" styling. Hornet owner Spencer Blake, writing for Popular Mechanics in 1999, notes that "the car's unique, low slung appearance and silky handling earned Hudson an image that — for many buyers — eclipsed luxury marques like Cadillac."
  In order for American Motors to build Hudson cars on the newer factory assembly line for Nash Statesman/Ambassador unibody chassis, all second-generation Hudson Hornets became restyled Nash automobiles that were badge engineered as a Hudson.
context_section_description: In its final three model years, the Hornet became a product of the newly-formed American Motors Corporation (AMC). Following the 1954 merger of the Hudson Motor Car Company and Nash-Kelvinator, Hudson's Detroit manufacturing facility was closed and production of Hudson models was shifted to Nash's Wisconsin factory. No longer built on the "Step-down" platform, all Hudsons were now based on the senior Nash models, but featuring distinctive Hudson styling themes.
caption: 1957 Hudson Hornet V8 Super Hollywood Hardtop
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