HOST: This is a 1953 Hudson Hornet. The Hudson Motor Car Company
was an independent automobile manufacturer that was in operation from 1909 to 1954. She's 60 years old and still rides like a dream. Roadshow stopped at the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum, where I met up with appraiser Noel Barrett to take a look at some very cool, vintage model cars. Noel, these car models we see here, they're not toys, are they?
APPRAISER: No, they're not toys, although I must say, I see things like this at toy shows. They are actually used in the design studios of the car maker, in this case, Hudson. And they would use these to come up with different kinds of color schemes.
HOST: So this is more a tool than a toy. They would actually use this to paint on, and then you could see how it was going to look?
APPRAISER: Yes, they might paint the roof a different color, different contrast and see what it was going to look like.
HOST: And these were never supposed to leave, but somehow they wandered out and a few of them are in existence.
APPRAISER: Somehow over the years, they have turned up.
HOST: If you were to find one of these, what would you expect to pay for something like this?
APPRAISER: They're generally priced at around $1,200 to $1,400. Maybe a little more, of course, depending on condition.
HOST: So there are a few of them out there in the market.
APPRAISER: They do turn up.
HOST: Tell me about this much larger model you have here.
APPRAISER: This is a quarter scale model, and these were made for display at the 1932 New York Auto Show and then they were later on display at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. They were hand-made in the Hudson Factory of die-cast aluminum, and they are amazing scale models. The hood ornament, the latches, everything is exact. As far as we know, I think only five have turned up, although there's rumors of others. The most recent that sold at auction was a sedan, and it was totally restored and it was just in the last few months, and it sold for $34,000. I think that this is a much more desirable model. Most collectors love this kind of small coupe, rumble seat style. It just has a great feel to it.
HOST: And so if the sedan went for auction about $34,000, we can assume that a model like this would go for much more.
APPRAISER: I'm not so sure about much more, because that's already a lot of money, but I would think it would definitely bring more. It could bring $40,000, $45,000, who knows. But this one ain't going anywhere. That's for sure. Thank you very much, Noel, it's been fun talking to you.
