A Crosley Panda Survivor

Part I - Brief Panda History and Introduction of a Prototype Survivor

With the demise and “self-off” of Powell Crosley’s automobile and related appliance empire beginning in 1952, the desire to continue with portions of his small car enterprise ebbed and flowed for a few more years. Crosley engines appeared in marine use, generators, refrigeration units, forklifts, and other industrial applications. Interestingly, there was a short flurry of interest in continuing with Powel’s micro car innovations as well. One attempt to continue with the Crosley “post-war baby cars” legacy was initiated in Kansas City Missouri by Finn S. Hudson. Hudson, a Norwegian Immigrant, former Crosley dealer, and mechanical engineer established Small Cars, Inc. in 1953. His goal was to manufacture the Panda, a small Crosley derivative, described as a “small utility vehicle”, more like a sports car, powered by the durable Crosley engine.

As Robert D. Cunningham noted in “Crosley Powered Roadster Proposal Resulted in Panda-Monium”,

“The one-piece Panda body would feature low-cut sides similar to the Crosley Hotshot, a rounded rear deck and long, smooth hood interrupted only by bullet-shaped headlights at the corners. Front bumpers would extend rearward to the front wheels and rear bumpers would extend forward across the sides to the cockpit openings. All four wheels would be enveloped, similar to the treatment Nash had employed on its larger cars.”

By the autumn of 1954, with the Panda Series I, Hudson had shortened a 1952 Crosley chassis from a wheelbase of 85 inches to just 70 and installed his first fiberglass roadster body.

As the Panda Series I (1953-54) and Series II (1955) prototypes (12) were being developed, Finn Hudson entered into negotiations with George Drumm and Crosley Parts-Service Motor company owner, Ed Herzog. At the time, Herzog was a former Crosley dealer and owner of the largest Crosley parts distributor. With Herzog’s extensive parts inventory, Hudson felt this deal would keep Panda builders supplied with sufficient parts to ambitiously accommodate the estimated production from 3,600 to 10,000 cars annually. Further, Hudson was so excited about the Drumm/Herzog deal that he convinced a Kansas City attorney, W.C. Boatright to help supply additional financing for this expansion.

Herzog reported twelve (12) pilot Pandas had been assembled and mass production was just a few months away. Prices would range between $1,000 for the base model and $1,500 for the DeLuxe. At the time, Small Cars magazine released an illustration of the DeLuxe Panda (possibly Series II) equipped with:

• Oversized bumper guards

• Two-toned paint with bright metal trim

• Concave grille

• Hidden door hinges

• Squared-off wheel well openings, and

• A one-piece windshield.

However, the actual prototype looked similar but included additional changes, including lower-profile doors, chrome trim that extended across the rear fenders, and a rear mounted Continental spare tire. 

Research suggests the following data related to the Panda proto-type production numbers:

2. There were actually three (3) "Types" of Panda with a total production estimate of Twelve (12) Prototypes. While 12 "pilot" or prototype units are the commonly cited figure, they were not all identical. The evolution was roughly:

• Phase 1 (1953): Early prototypes used standard Crosley CIBA (Cast Iron Block Assembly) engines. These were essentially rebodied Crosley Hotshots or Super Sports as shown  in the picture below:

• Phase 2 (1954–1955): The design evolved with a more distinct "Panda" look—featuring a concave grille, protruding headlights, and small tail fins quite different and lower-profiled than the Phase 1 car.

• Phase 3 (1955–1956): When Crosley folded in 1952, the engine rights went to Aerojet General and the subsequent Panda’s used an Aerojet (Crosley) platform. These engines were often marketed as "Aerojet" and were slightly more refined than the early Cast Iron Block (CIBA) Crosley engine versions.

Best surviving documentation suggests the following breakdown:

YearType Quantity Made

1953 Type I steel4–5

1955 Type II fiberglass 4–5

1956 Type III fiberglass Aerojet 1–2

Total Prototypes 10–12

Most auto historians and collectors agree 12 is the most accurate total.

By early 1956, Hudson’s Panda expenses continued to mount and the entire Panda program soon began to collapse. “All of the Panda pilot cars” (12 in total) soon disappeared as Small Cars Inc.’s financial debts were settled. With the final dissolution, Service Motors (Herzog) acquired Hudson’s parts and tooling for the cars. However, when it was soon obvious that neither Crosleys nor Pandas would ever return, the Panda tooling was sold at scrap metal prices.

Minimal Panda automobile documentation is currently available today.  Today, vague rumors exist among a diminishing few about the potential survival of any of the original 12 Panda prototypes. What emerges from the scant available information, in summary there appears to have been 3 design series of the Panda in its short 1953-56 development. The following presents a case for a surviving Panda, Series II prototype and supporting documentation.

A "Surviving” Panda Owner’s Story

When did you first see this car?

In about 2015, I was contacted by a man named Baker from Homestead, Massachusetts. After years of running an auto-body shop, restoring Corvettes, and collecting Crosleys, he was selling everything in preparation for his planned retirement to Las Vegas. My friend, Kerm, and I went to Homestead to see his collection.

Mr. Baker was also a huge, well-known Crosley collector in the area at the time. On site, he had 9 solid cars stored in 3 closed trailers and an entire open cowbarn with over 20 more Crosleys in varied conditions. Further, he had another 4 Crosleys in an “upstairs” barn and 4 more under his house. And, at the top of a small horse barn was additional storage full of more engine parts, car parts, gauges, and even Crosley sheet metal parts. The Massachusetts’ seller also had an upper barn with more Crosley engines and NOS parts. Finally, and more importantly, down from his house, I saw the Panda sitting outside along with a Crofton bug. The owner had commented that he had purchased all of Herzog’s Service Motor’s inventory circa the late 1970’s.

Tell me how did you get this Panda.

On this trip, I bought a Crosley convertible. In addition, I hauled away 4 trailers filled with parts in my Suburban. The Panda was included in the entire deal. However, my friend Kerm. who came with me saw the Panda, and said he would buy it and promised me he would restore it. 

With the passing of time, I had little contact with Kerm after he purchased the Panda. Sadly, in 2024, Kerm’s son called me to tell me his dad had passed away, and the family wanted to get rid of all of his cars and parts…Would I help them? The first question I had for his son was, “Did your father do anything with the original “Panda” he bought years earlier?” I recall he said, “It was in a box trailer on the property.” He also said he only recalled his dad only taking parts off of it from time to time. Well, knowing exactly what my friend had originally purchased a decade earlier, and being convinced it was close to the original car, I purchased the “Panda” from Kerm’s family.

Tell me a bit of your Panda’s history, as far as you know?

When my friend was originally buying the Massachusetts’ cars and parts, I recall the owner said that the car was one of a few “prototypes” made and was given to Boatright’s (original Small Cars, Inc. financial backer) daughter as part of repayment after the Panda company’s failure. (W.S. Boatright was the original attorney working on the development of the Panda with Hudson and Herzog.) As the previous owner’s story went, with the collapse of Panda, Boatright was partially repaid with one of the last of the remaining Panda prototypes. A fire several years ago at the Boatright’s residence “claimed” that the final “fiberglass” prototype was destroyed.

Did you find any information that might confirm this car’s authenticity?

Later, after I purchased it, I had a young guy working with me, and I was helping him restore a Crosley at the time. This young guy was on Ebay and found several pieces of literature about Crosleys and other cars. Well, in the stash of literature, he found a brochure including several artistic renderings of the Panda (See support material later in Part II of this serics.) and he gave them to me. To date, outside of minimal documentation and extensive “here-say” and unsubstantiated opinions, little information is available documenting any “surviving” Pandas. This one is different.

What are specific features of this car that confirm its authenticity to you?

Bob Cunningham in his early, seminal article on Panda’s unique features noted:

“The one-piece Panda body would feature low-cut sides similar to the Crosley Hotshot, a rounded rear deck and long, smooth hood interrupted only by bullet-shaped headlights at the corners. Front bumpers would extend rearward to the front wheels and rear bumpers would extend forward across the sides to the cockpit openings. All four wheels would be enveloped, similar to the treatment Nash had employed on its larger cars.”

 Below are several Panda “DeLuxe” Series II original photos compared to the “surviving” Panda Series II in question validating similarities with the original Kansas City photo below.

Panda DeLuxe Series II photo taken in Kansas City circa 1955

Surviving Protoype Panda Series II right profile

Protoype Survivor Panda Series II left side profile

(Note: similarity of rear wheel cutouts and fin extension notch forward into the cab)

Stay tuned for the Part II and final in this Panda Survivor series.

The first Part of this Panda Series provided a brief overview of the Panda, its 3 models, and an introduction to the Surviving Panda (II) auto. Part II will continue to validate this vehicle as a single surviving Panda prototype, highlighting striking similarities between an existing original Panda brochure (circa 1955) with current Panda surviving photos, and manufacturing details demonstrating the survivors authenticity.