Ypsilanti, here we come: ‘Orphan car’ buffs know it well

Ypsilanti. There is only one incorporated community with this name in the entire United States of America. Ypsilanti is located in southeastern Michigan and has become the “orphan car capital of the world.” 

With some 20,000 permanent residents, and another 22,000 or so students enrolled at Eastern Michigan University, this small city welcomes all who know how to pronounce it: ip-suh-LAN-tee. There, that’s not so hard.

 

“The city’s name is not Native American in origin, despite the way it sounds, but instead, Greek,” reported automotive journalist Jim Donnelly. 

Demetrius Ypsilanti (1793-1832) was a general in the Greek army during the country’s struggle for independence from the Ottoman empire. A highlight of the general’s heroism was his successful defense of the Citadel of Argos in 1824 where, with some 300 soldiers, he held the fortress for three days against an army of up to 30,000 men. 

The story goes: “After having exhausted his provisions, Ypsilanti escaped one night beyond the enemy lines with his entire command, having not lost a single man,” according to Greek News of Astoria, N.Y., edited by Apostolos Zoupaniotis. 

His newspaper reported: “Such an exploit was calculated to touch the world’s fancy, and in America the name of Ypsilanti was lauded.” The town originally named Woodruff’s Grove renamed itself Ypsilanti, as a tribute to Gen. Ypsilanti – recommended by Judge Augustus Woodward himself.

 

Returning to the topic of the day, “orphan cars” are officially defined as: “Any marque or brand of vehicle produced by a company that has discontinued business entirely.” 

(Purists insist the term “orphan car” shall not apply to a brand that is terminated, if the parent company continues to exist. Thus, some brands such as a Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Mercury and Plymouth would not qualify as orphans. Pshaw.)

Undisputed legitimate orphans – Hudson, Kaiser-Frazer and Tucker – all have “featured automotive stories” in Ypsilanti. These tales are preserved at Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum, which evolved out of the last viable Hudson dealership in the United States. 

Antique auto buffs are attracted to the annual Ypsilanti Orphan Car Show, which will be staged this year of Sept. 18., at the city’s Riverside Park. Expect a special tribute to the car show’s founder, the late Jack Miller, who was revered as “Mr. Hudson.” 

He died in late 2020 at age 81. (This will be the first Orphan Car Show without him, as the 2021 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

 

Miller’s father, Carl L. Miller, owned the Hudson dealership in Ypsilanti from the early 1930s into the late 1950s.

 

With the creation of American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1954, essentially a marriage of the venerable Hudson and Nash automakers, Miller Motors welcomed Nash products to the showroom floor – including Ambassadors, Ramblers and Metropolitans.

When AMC president George W. Romney decided to discontinue the Hudson brand in 1957, AMC company executives began “ramping up pressure on Miller Motors to modernize and relocate to a higher-traffic location,” wrote Kurt Ernst, another car writer. “Carl Miller refused, and in 1959 the automaker pulled his franchise.” 

Without new cars to sell, the Millers focused on selling used Hudsons and offering garage services and repairs to Hudson vehicles. Ernst wrote: “As the years progressed, Jack took over the business, building an inventory of Hudson parts and restoring Hudson automobiles for sale.”

 

“Selling at least one restored Hudson each year was a point of pride for Jack Miller, who took his title of ‘Mr. Hudson’ and his shop’s reputation as the last Hudson dealer very seriously,” Ernst added.