Hudson Motor Car Company Founded

On this day in history, 1909, the Hudson Motor Car Company was founded by eight Detroit businessmen. Among them was department store owner Joseph L. Hudson who mainly funded the venture. Within one year of its founding, Hudson became the eleventh-largest auto company in the U.S.
A key to Hudson’s early success was the fairly cheap four-cylinder Essex introduced in 1919. By 1925, the company was third place in the auto industry behind Ford and Chevrolet.