#1948Hudson

Most car guys look back over many years with fondness at their favorite misspent youth car. Roger Ward just looks in his garage. Unfortunately, a favorite car is usually found in an out of focus, badly faded photograph-at best.

But Roger Ward clung to his family-owned 1948 Hudson like grim death, and he still owns it well over 40 years later.

[Note: A significantly expanded and updated version of this article can be found here]

That air presented the greatest obstacle to automotive speed and economy was understood intuitively, if not scientifically since the dawn of the automobile. Putting it into practice was quite another story. Engineers, racers and entrepreneurs were lured by the potential for the profound gains aerodynamics offered. The efforts to do so yielded some of the more remarkable cars ever made, even if they challenged the aesthetic assumptions of their times. We’ve finally arrived at the place where a highly aerodynamic car like the Prius is mainstream. But getting there was not without turbulence.