Let's Go Terraplaning!

A 1934 Terraplane.  Professional driver on closed course; Do not attempt to run over your spouse.

When Hudson invited us to go 'Terraplaning' in their new lightweight yet fast 1932 Terraplane, the American highway system was well on its way to being what we expect today.  Pavement made leaps and bounds every year and the oldest paved alignments---barely ten to fifteen years old---were being bypassed for speed and safety.  In many cities, routing was moved from downtown and out onto new boulevards soon lined with businesses that predominately catered to the motorist.  Unlike the rest of America, the oil industry only suffered a slight dip in profits during the Depression.  People were on the move more than ever.

Another profitable business during the Depression was the Mo-Tel, that snappy abbrivation for Motor Hotel. The first one in the modern sense opened in San Luis Obispo, California in 1925 but the concept really took off in the 1930s, when construction costs lowered while traffic increased.  Tourist camps and cabins had existed since the 1910s, but these often involved bringing your own sheets and an outhouse, while the motel or 'motor court' was meant to be in the class of a modern hotel, but without the pesky bellboy and remote parking.  There was always a race to keep up with the place down the road: kitchenettes, 'Cooled By Refrigeration', Beautyrest mattresses. In fact, a number of 1930s motels were named Beauty Rest, trying to sell the motorist on a good night's sleep from the get-go.  Associations were formed to assure motorists beforehand of a standard of amenities and cleanliness---a harbinger of today's homogenized if not altogether reliable corporate motels.

The proverbial motor mouth had new competition, too: the car radio.  Radio's move from the living room to the dashboard was not without concerns over distracted driving, but once simplified and perfected in 1935 it became a popular accessory.  Soon another table was added to the free road maps handed out by service stations besides ones for point to point mileage and towns: the radio log.  As a station faded into static, one had to simply consult the table for the next station down the road, or chose the correct network station so they wouldn't miss their favorite show, such as NBC Blue for The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny.  The oil industry sponsored many radio programs, too---particularly news and sports---so it was in their interest to have the motorist's ear just as the gasoline tank was going on empty.

Terraplaning became too much of a good thing by 1938---at least as far as Hudson was concerned.  The model that pulled the company up and out of the Depression was now seen as a major sales distraction from their larger cars, so the Terraplane was hyphenated back into the Hudson family. Slightly upscaled out of its previous market niche, sales were dismal and the name Terraplane was happily abandoned in 1939.