Essex Four History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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The first Essex, launched as a 1919 model by the Essex Motor Company (a Hudson subsidiary), was a moderately priced four-cylinder car built to undercut the larger, costlier Hudson and compete with the mass-market makes. It was an immediate success, and a 1919 endurance run helped build the brand's reputation, the car averaging over 60 mph for thousands of miles in a publicity test.
Its lasting significance is the body, not the engine. In 1922 Essex offered a low-priced closed 'coach' — an enclosed two-door body — for around $1,495, only modestly more than an open touring car. By making the weatherproof closed body affordable to ordinary buyers, the Essex coach is widely credited with accelerating the industry-wide shift away from open touring cars toward enclosed passenger compartments.
Hudson absorbed the Essex Motor Company in 1922 and ran the brand directly thereafter. The four-cylinder car gave way to a new six for 1924, after which Essex was a six-cylinder marque for the rest of its life.
Body styles
- Touring
- Coach (closed 2-door)
- Roadster
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