Upside Down to Prove Its Strength

The advertisement in this post does more than just simply pitch a product, it captures a moment in history. A moment in history when Lewis Reed’s Rockville Garage represented several franchise nameplates along with Dodge, including Hudson and Essex. The Hudson and Essex were sold at Reed Brothers from roughly 1917-1923. Rockville–Hudson-Essex–Garage, is highlighted in yellow in the ad below. In addition to franchise car dealers, there were also factory stores. In the early days, the factory stores did the national advertising. A factory store, also known as a branch store or branch dealer, was a dealership owned and run by the manufacturer. A list of area Dealers was placed in fine print at the bottom of the ads.

The upside down coach on the dealers sales floors to demonstrate strength and sturdiness of construction is what proved effective in selling the Hudson and Essex.

We make this test at our store to show the strong, rigid body construction of the Hudson and Essex Coaches. In this position it is supporting a crushing load of 2700 pounds. Come see it. Test the doors and windows, which operate with ease, showing a total absence of body strain.

Rockville Garage Hudson-Essex Advertisement: The Evening Star, Washington DC Thursday, March 1, 1923

Hudson introduced the Essex brand in 1919. The Essex was intended to compete with Ford and Chevrolet for budget-minded buyers. The Essex offered one of the first affordable sedans and by 1925 the combined Hudson and Essex sales made Hudson the third largest automobile manufacturer in the United States.

The Hudson Motor Company, assisted by advertising a stripped Coach body and a chassis, and by a display of the individual parts that go into the Hudson and Essex cars, resulted in the sale of 75 Hudson and Essex cars the first 10 days. During its production run, the Essex was considered a small car and was affordably priced. The Essex is generally credited with starting a trend away from open touring cars design toward enclosed passenger compartments. By 1922 the Essex Motor Company was dissolved and the Essex officially became a product of Hudson.

In 1923, the big news was the demonstration the values the Hudson and Essex purchasers received. The advertisement below demonstrates the strength of the rigid body construction of the Essex Coach.

From The Hudson Triangle, Detroit Michigan, December 1, 1922.