The 1947 Hudson Super Six Pickup

By the 1930s, the Hudson Motor Company was a well-known and competitive automotive company in North America. It was most well known for its cars, but it sold a lot of trucks under various brand names such as Terraplane. The first pickup truck under the Hudson name didn’t appear on the market until 1947.

In the years before World War II, Hudson’s Terraplane was building several models of pickup trucks, box vans, and other commercially-aimed vehicles. They did well, but were competing against heavy competition from General Motors, Dodge, and Ford. To set itself apart, Hudson needed to do something different with its sub-branded Terraplane trucks.

So it took a gamble on a brand new designer who had just graduated from the Cleveland School of Arts. Her name was Betty Thatcher. She became the first woman ever hired as a designer for a major American automotive company. And she would almost single-handedly transform the Terraplane Big Boy into what would eventually become Hudson’s most collectible pickup truck, the 1946-47 model we’re looking at today.

Thatcher took the design for the Big Boy and took the front cabin and engine cover (hood) off. Then redesigned both of them to resemble the best-selling Hudson Commodore sedan. Interior touches, look, and appeal were all made more car-like and comfortable. This was a huge step away from what pickup trucks of the day had been like. This new design resulted in a new Big Boy that would have changed the industry from that moment on. But then came the war.

During the period of WWII, most automotive manufacturers were no longer making automobiles. Hudson included. Instead, machines and munitions for the war were the focus. Hudson was making everything from ammunition to aircraft engine parts to marine engines. By the time the war ended, Thatcher had married and had become Betty Thatcher Oros. She had quit work at Hudson in order to avoid conflict of interest with her new husband, who worked for Chrysler.

With the war over, demand for new cars and trucks for the domestic market exploded. Hudson, eager to capitalize, added a few detail touches to the Thatcher-designed Big Boy truck to make it more upscale and ritzy for a higher-end truck buyer and marketed it as the 1946 Hudson Super Six Pickup.

The name capitalized on the popularity of the long-running Hudson Super Six cars, which were touted for their performance and poise. The 1946 and 1947 models of the Hudson Super Six Pickup sold well, earning good profits. They were easy to make as the new front end was pulled directly from the factory line for the re-continued (1942-era) Commodore, making costs for the new truck significantly lower.

But then came another revolution: the “step down” design that would make the Hudson Hornet famous. This arrived in 1948 and, sadly, did not translate to the new truck. No longer able to capitalize on the Commodore’s front clip, the truck was discontinued as it would not be profitable enough on its own. Thus ended the two years and about 95,000 produced units of the Hudson Pickup Truck.

But while it lasted, it was a true beauty. It used a reliable “Commercial 6” engine to get around. This 3.5-liter (3,474cc/212 cu-in) engine produced about 103 braking horsepower. It was a commercial derivative of the “Hudson Invader'' engine produced during WWII which had been related to the Terraplane Six before that. The engine connected to a three-speed transmission (shifted on the column) for rear-wheel drive.

Almost every aspect of the Hudson Super Six Pickup was different from other available pickup trucks of the time. It had a more car-like front suspension and steering system, making it more comfortable and easier to drive. Inside, the cabin was beautifully fit with trim pieces, added comforts, and relatively plush seating. Behind, the bed was almost entirely taken from the pre-war Big Boy, with a seven-foot length and nearly 48 inches between the wheel wells. This made the truck both useful and compatible with pre-war tool boxes and accessories.

The Hudson Super Six Pickup seen in the attached photos is a 1947 model that resides in the Frontier Relics and Auto Museum in Gillette, Wyoming. It is in a large room wherein several other Hudson models also live, including the infamous “Fabulous Hornet” and a Commodore to show where this truck’s likeness came from.