How it started
Origin
A group of businesspeople established the Hudson Motor Car Company. Several had experience in the developing industry and shared a desire to build their own automobile company. The name "Hudson" came from Joseph L. Hudson, a Detroit department store entrepreneur and founder of Hudson's department store. He provided the initial capital and allowed the company to be named after him.
A total of eight Detroit businessmen officially incorporated the company on 20 February 1909. With approximately $90,000 in primary capital provided by Hudson, who was named chairman, the goal was to produce an automobile that would sell for less than US$1,000 (equivalent to approximately $35,833 in 2025 funds).
One of the lead "car men" and an organizer of the company was Roy D. Chapin Sr., a young executive who had worked with Ransom E. Olds (Chapin's son, Roy Jr., would later be president of the Hudson-Nash descendant firm, American Motors Corporation in the 1960s). Others with automotive experience included Howard E. Coffin, an engineer; Fred Bezner, a purchasing agent; and James Brady, a mechanic and operations manager.
Advertising for the new car drew approximately 4,000 potential customers to send in $25 deposits. The new company leased a vacant factory on the corner of Mack Avenue and Beaufait Street on the East Side of Detroit. This building was built in 1906 for the Aerocar Company.
The company quickly started production, with the first car driven out of the small factory on 3 July 1909. The new Hudson "Twenty" was one of the first low-priced cars on the American market and became a success, with 4,508 sold in the first year. This was the best first year's production in the history of the automobile industry and put the newly formed company in 17th place industry-wide, "a remarkable achievement at a time" when there were hundreds of makes being marketed.
From Wikipedia’s article on Hudson Motor Car Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2