As near as I can tell, the principal managements of both Willys-Overland Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company never actively discussed merging the two independent automakers together. In the post-World War II era, Hudson was a traditional, conservative automobile builder located in Detroit, while Willys-Overland was primarily a commercial vehicle builder situated down in Toledo. There aren’t many miles from Detroit to Toledo, but in terms of products, they were a great distance apart from each other.
Hudson built medium- and upper medium-priced cars while Willys built work vehicles and, beginning in 1953, a line of compact sedans and hardtops. Indeed, if I hadn’t had my brain cells stimulated by a design idea submitted by artist (and reader) Bob Hovorka, I never would have even thought of the idea of a Hudson-Willys merger. But now that I’ve had time to think it over, I can see that it makes sense in many ways. Consider these nine points:
1. Willys’ vehicle line complemented Hudson’s, in that Willys didn’t offer anything to compete with Hudson except in the compact market, starting in 1953.
2. The two brands’ compact models could have shared a common body shell. Rather than invest its limited product development capital in producing the lackluster Jet, Hudson could have had Willys produce a version of its Aero Willys compact as the Jet. This would have resulted in a better-looking, more sales-worthy Jet—as you can see in the drawing shown here—while generating millions of dollars in savings on tooling and better per-car amortization of development funds. That would have left Hudson with sufficient money to redesign their big-car lines.
3. Hudson dealers would have had a full line of commercial vehicles to sell alongside their passenger cars, earning more profits and strengthening the Hudson dealer network.
4. It’s even possible, though admittedly unlikely, that Willys could have fielded a version of the Hudson Wasp as a full-size Willys car.
5. Both companies had fairly weak dealer networks. But, if Hudson dealers had added Willys products to their showrooms, and Willys dealers began selling the Hudson line, both brands would have increased their networks by a good amount, likely spurring a significant increase in sales volume. The size of the “Hudson-Willys” dealer body could have been significant.
6. Hudson, which had limited export sales, would have also had access to Willys’ considerable export network, thus adding important overseas sales volume.
7. Eventually, the two companies could have consolidated their engine and transmission lineups for further savings, increasing factory efficiency. In the meantime, Willys’ larger Jeep vehicles could have benefited by using one of the powerful Hudson engines as an option.
8. Reductions in white-collar worker count, especially in upper management, would have yielded good savings. After all, as a combined company they could have eliminated one of the accounting departments, and consolidated sales, service, and parts departments for more savings. The number of vice presidents could have been reduced as well.
9. Lastly, Hudson would have benefited from Willys’ experience selling to government entities, which could have helped them sell more fleet cars.
This is not to mention the energizing effect a corporate marriage can have on companies. Doubling a company’s assets virtually overnight can greatly reinvigorate a business, as can the advantage of sloughing off dead wood and streamlining a company.
A Hudson-Willys merger makes a lot more sense than one would first think. It never happened; apparently it wasn’t even considered with any degree of seriousness. That was partly because brash Henry J. Kaiser made merger overtures to Willys-Overland well before anyone else even thought to do so. In greater trouble than Hudson, Nash, or Packard, Henry had more incentive to make the move. Once he realized that Willys held the key to the survival of Kaiser-Frazer Corporation, he moved heaven and earth to close the deal. Jeep, nearly always profitable, thus saved Kaiser’s company, though not its passenger car lines, and it would later go on to save American Motors, Chrysler, and Fiat. Who knows? It might have saved Hudson.
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