Aside from marking the beginning of a new political era in America the year 2009 will be celebrated as the centennial of one of this nations greatest automakers – Hudson. The contributions made to the development of the American automotive industry is a lengthy one but it pales to the stunning array of racing victories claimed by drivers at the wheel of Hudson built products.

This weekend I will post a detailed summary of this amazing company. Additionally I will be penning a series of articles on cars built by Hudson for Cars & Parts beginning with my column, The Independent Thinker, in the January issue.

Here is a sneak peak at this weekends post.

Hudson was the first company to mass produced closed, all weather sedans –

Hudson was the first to offer balanced crankshafts in production models –

Hudson built cars were the first to complete a double transcontinental trip without mechanical failure. This was in 1916 –

In 1940 a Hudson sedan driven by John Cobb captured almost every AAA record for closed cars. Many of the records established would stand well into the 1950s when they were shattered by drivers at the wheel of new Hudsons –