To compete against the Big Three, America’s independent automakers often had to seek special niches in the marketplace, especially during the 1950s. Their bread-and-butter cars tended to be large medium- to upper-medium-price vehicles, meant to compete in the Buick, Olds, Dodge, and Mercury segments or, in Packard’s case, against Cadillac. For a slice of the low price market, the independents resorted to compact cars, some very successfully (Nash Rambler, Studebaker Lark) and some unsuccessfully (Henry J, Hudson Jet, Willys Aero). Intending to tap into a new segment while adding a prestige “halo” car to their regular offerings, most of the independent automakers chose to introduce sports cars. The results were mixed.
Crosley Motors was the first of the better-known independents to field a sports car. Hoping to sell American-made autos to GIs who had caught the sports car bug while serving in Europe during World War II, the company introduced a pair of snappy little roadsters for 1950: the new Crosley Super Sports and Hot Shot. The doorless Hot Shot was priced at $872 (about $10,265 today)—cheap money, even back then. The Super Sports included doors and was tagged at $925 (about $10,890 today), still an amazing
