Matchbox 1952 Hudson Hornet Police

After the Hot Wheels review of the Hudson Hornet earlier this year I was impressed with the details of the casting, just not the wild flame appearance.  Since 2006 the Hornet has been popular thanks to Doc Hudson in the Disney/Pixar movie "Cars" and many replica's have been made, but what about the sedan version?  Well Matchbox wanted to try it out and the result is simply amazing!

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The Hudson Hornet is well-known for being a legend in the NASCAR series in the early 1950's with sheer power from the I-6, aerodynamic styling, and a lower stance thanks to a unibody design.  However, it didn't translate to successful sales over its body-on-frame competitors, so sales suffered and the Hornet became a body-on-frame car in its last year's.  One must wonder how good this Hornet would be as a police car?  Being quick and manuverable enough to outwit the fastest criminal, now that's a win for any police department.  Matchbox mad a replica of this not-often made police car by starting with the sedan bodystyle in black with white doors that say Sheriff on them.  The front has the classy Hornet look with round headlights, signal lights next to the bumper pads, the triangular bars on the grille leading up to the red badge, and police lights on the grille.  Now before I go on this car lacks the added trim and lighting detail so I added them on the car and as you can see it makes a huge difference on the appearance of the car than without the details.

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The hood has silver trim on the fenders and the center hoodline, with spot lights near the base of the windshield on each side, wipers, and a center window line that leads to the roof with the antenna, siren, and dual flashing lights.  One thing that Matchbox did do was the silver bullets on the front fenders, the chrome hubcaps on black wheels, and even with four doors it still has the coupe roofline.  The rear has a nice rounded trunk with bumper pads and oval taillights that stick out, and lest not forget the gas cap door on the left-rear fender.  The base shows off the drivetrain layout like the Hot Wheels version with detailed engine and transmission up front, but the difference here is the typical stock exhaust layout over the side-exit exhaust of the Hot Wheels version.  The interior has plenty of room for six people even though entry and exit is a bit compromised by the sloping roofline at the rear.  Doors at the rear also open in normal fashion over the reverse opening of some models of the era.  The dashboard is straight forward, clean, and has nice chrome trim details.  The radio lies in the center, the gauges behind the two-spoke steering wheel, and the three-speed manual shifter is also on the column.

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With the added detail touches this Hudson Hornet police car looks fine, fast and ready for duty.

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Update 1/9/19: Change of winds for 2018 as the Hornet goes for a fire chief deco in red, though the base is gray instead of chrome as Matchbox looks to reduce the amount of chrome used on the $1 models.  Such a shame as it looks just as fantastic in fire clothes as it does in police uniform.