1959 Nash by Joe Quattrocchi

22 August 2012 boatingonthehudson.com While most U.S. automobile makers were following a ever, management calculated that it would not be viable to “bigger-is-better” philosophy, Nash Motor Company execu- build such a car from scratch in the U.S. because the tooling tives were examining the market to offer American buyers costs would have been prohibitive. The only cost-effective an economical transportation alternative. The Metropolitan option was to build overseas using existing mechanical was designed in the U.S. and it was patterned from a concept components, leaving only the tooling cost for body panels car, the NXI (Nash Experimental International), that was built and other unique components. by -based independent designer William J. Flajole for With this in mind, selected the Austin Motor Nash-Kelvinator. It was designed to be the second car in a two Company and Fisher & Ludlow, both English companies car family – for Mom taking the kids to school or shopping or based near Birmingham, to build the Metropolitan. for Dad to drive to the railroad station on his way to work. The Fisher & Ludlow would produce the bodywork, while the “commuter/shopping car” resembled the big Nashes, but was mechanicals would be provided, as well as final assembly tiny, as the Met’s wheelbase was shorter than the Volkswagen undertaken, by the Austin Motor Company. This was the first Beetle’s. time an American-designed car that was to be exclusively The NXI design study incorporated many innovative fea- marketed in North America, was entirely built in Europe. It tures, and attempted to make use of interchangeable front became a captive import – a foreign-built vehicle sold and

and rear components (the symmetrical door skins were the serviced by Nash (and later by American Motors) through its only interchangeable items that made it into production). dealer distribution system. Austin completed the first pre- Although more complex, the new vehicle also incorporated production prototype on December 2, 1952. Nash’s advanced single-unit (monocoque) construction. It The styling for all Nash vehicles at that time was an amal- was displayed at a number of “surviews” (survey/previews), gam of designs from Pininfarina of Italy and the in-house in January 1950 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, to Nash design team. The different models from Ambassador gauge the reaction of the American motoring public to a car down to the Metropolitan utilized very similar design fea- of this size. The result of these “surviews” convinced Nash that tures (fully enclosed front wheels, notched “pillow” style there was indeed a market for such a car, if it could be built at door pressing, bar style grill, etc.). While Nash used the fact a competitive price. that styling was by Pininfarina in their advertising for their A series of prototypes followed that incorporated many of larger models, Pininfarina refused to allow his name to be the improvements from the “surviews” that included roll-up associated with the Metropolitan as he felt it would damage glass side windows, a more powerful engine, and a column- his reputation with other Italian car companies to be linked mounted transmission shifter with bench seat (rather than to such a small car. bucket-type seats with floor shift fitted in the concept car). Initial reviews of the Metropolitan were mixed. However, In addition to positioning this new car as a second car for owners of the cars reported that the “Metropolitan is a good women, or an economical commuter car, the Metropolitan thing in a small package”. was also aimed at returning Nash to overseas markets. How-

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24 August 2012 boatingonthehudson.com Automotive industry veteran Floyd Clymer,took several Metro- politans through his tests. He “abused” a 1954 Metropolitan con- vertible and “got the surprise of my life,” its “performance was far better than I expected”, that he “felt very safe in the car”, and that “it may well be that Nash has started a new trend in American motoring. Perhaps the public is now getting ready to accept a small car.” He summed up his experience – “I cannot praise the Metropolitan too highly. It is a fascinating little car to drive, its performance is far better than one would expect, and the ride is likewise more than expected”. Motor Trend praised the car’s economy: their test results were 39.4 mpg- at 45 mph, 27.4 mpg- at 60 mph, and 30.1 mpg “in traffic.” Mechanix Illustrated editor Tom McCahill wrote: “It is not a sports car by the weirdest torturing of the imagination but it is a fleet, sporty little bucket which should prove just what the DockRoad,Marlboro,NY doctor ordered for a second car.” In 1954 Road Test magazine said “on roadability and respon- ! &ULL 3ERVICE -ARINA sive handling, the Met shines. It also offers easy maintenance and downright stinginess when it comes to gasoline consump- tion. Also, it’s literally a brute for punishment.”    In surveys, Americans had affirmed a desire for economy cars, but in practice they bought the Metropolitan in relatively small VHF Channels 16 &19 numbers. Although Nash merged with Hudson in 1954, and mar- Launch Ramp•Ship Store keted the car as a Hudson Metropolitan in 1955, demand never Gas&Diesel took off from the original level. 25 Ton Open End Travel Lift Production ceased in April 1961. Approximately 95,000 Metro- politans were sold in the United States and Canada, making it one of the top-selling cars to be imported into those countries at the time, and its sales in 1959 helped to spur the introduc- Call for prices on tion of the Big Three’s (, Ford, and ) new compact models. “The Metropolitan’s staying power and its never-ending cute- ness have earned it a place among the Greatest Cars of All Time” COMPLETE in the opinion of automotive writer Jack Nerad, a former editor of Motor Trend magazine. I bought this featured Metropolitan early this year, thinking I WINTER PACKAGES could quickly restore it and have a fun “summer car.” Once we ripped the car apart we found completely rusted out floors and package includes: a few other dents, but, luckily, not much bondo. But, there was enough damage that if it was going to be a “summer car” it was NOT going to be summer 2012. Our expert metal fabricator, Duke HAUL Simpson, painstakingly created the entire floor of the passenger compartment, which was then welded into the car. Addition- ally, Duke reinforced the frame and “created” new rocker panels. BLOCK The doors were then fit/adjusted to the monocoque body. At this point, we have to weld a few more holes in the bottom of the car. To do that, we will put the car on a rotisserie so we are WASH BOTTOM not welding “upside down.” Once we are satisfied that we have addressed all of the metal fabrication issues, we will spray the WINTERIZE ALL SYSTEMS entire body, doors, trunk lid and hood in “spray poly.” This will fill in all microscopic blemishes. Next we will sand it, prime it, block sand it again and then paint it the original two-tone - “Caribbean SHRINKWRAP Green” over “Snowberry White.” While this is all happening, our mechanic will be sorting out the mechanicals and I’ll start order- STORAGE ing the exterior and interior parts that we will need, as well as sending parts that need to be re-chromed to Frankford Plating in Philadelphia. If all goes well, we will start reassembling the car in September and have it done in time for me to take my “summer car” out for a spin before the snow gets too deep. All Storage Areas Joe Quattrocchi is the owner of Wheels of Time , auto restorers located in Pine Plains, NY and Action Canvas , an auto and boat uphol- Fenced and Secure stery company in Pougkeepsie. He can be reached at 518-398-7493.

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