There is something poignant about this picture of executives presenting what was sure to be a major hit and quickly bring Hudson back to success. Sadly a future merger with Nash-Kelvinator would not save the Hudson name. However the resulting feisty American Motors bought Jeep and brought us the Pacer and Gremlin before disappearing into what is now Fiat-Chrysler.

The Hudson appeal seems to grow as the years go by. At the time its styling was not as well-received as the cleaner, less fussy, offerings from Packard like this 1948 model I owned.

The "stepdown" design, though attractive to some, was of unibody rather than body-on-chassis construction. That made all but minor cosmetic updates a matter of comprehensive re-tooling, a very expensive undertaking for a "major-minor" manufacturer.

Together with the sales disaster that was the smaller Hudson Jet, Hudson's fiscal inability to match the Big Three in restyling frequency finally led to a financial failure only temporarily remediated by merging with Nash to form what became American Motor Company. By 1958, AMC was producing only Ramblers ...; oh, and the Anglo-American Metropolitan.

Full break, full break, full break, no break, no break, moderate break. It's all personal preference.

But the guy needs to get his trousers properly hemmed, or tighten up his suspenders a bit.