Thomas Nottleman, proprietor of the Serious Coffee franchise in Sidney BC, uses a 1947 Hudson pickup as his daily driver. Thanks to the previous owner's attempts at modifying it sure ain't pretty but it runs perfectly. Recently Thomas discovered another postwar Hudson pickup in the nearby town of Metchosin and decided to pay the owner a visit. As Hudson pickups are extremely rare this was quite a coincidence. The vehicle began service with a shop that used it for roadside flat tire repairs. It was later purchased by the municipality and subsequently sold to Thomas' new friend though not after the asking price of $150 was bid-up to a whopping $175!

Thomas says it is a complete and basically correct truck. It had been repainted at some stage and the engine is out of a 1950 model, but the owner has the original somewhere in his huge pile of Hudson, Model A, and Model T parts collection. The gentleman also owns a restored 1928 Lincoln with aluminum body that he occasionally drives. A "bit of a hermit" says Thomas: he has at least 100 flathead engines sitting under his porch. The gentleman offered the Hudson to Thomas Nottleman for $15,000 but neither he nor I can afford another car at this time. Of course I could always sell my Ford Focus and utilise the line-of-credit...

[Photo: Thomas Nottleman]