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| Nash Advanced Six | |
|---|---|
| Name | Nash Advanced Six |
| Manufacturer | Nash Motors |
| Production | 1940–1941 |
| Assembly | Kenosha, Wisconsin |
| Class | Full-size car |
| Body style | Sedan, Coupe, Convertible |
| Layout | Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive |
| Engine | Inline-six |
Nash Advanced Six The Nash Advanced Six was an American full-size automobile produced by Nash Motors for model years 1940–1941. Positioned between the Nash 600 and Nash Ambassador, it combined engineering features from Nash Twin Ignition practice with styling influences from Edmund E. Nash era management and coachwork traditions common to Fisher Body and Body by Nash suppliers. The Advanced Six competed with contemporaries from Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Chrysler Corporation, Packard Motor Car Company, and Hudson Motor Car Company.
Nash developed the Advanced Six during a period of intense competition among American automakers, responding to market shifts following the Great Depression and anticipating regulatory and consumer trends influenced by New Deal infrastructure programs and wartime procurement demands. Executives at Nash Motors worked with engineers who had training linked to Massachusetts Institute of Technology and advisers formerly associated with LaSalle and Pierce-Arrow design teams. Prototype testing occurred near Indianapolis Motor Speedway and at proving grounds similar to those used by Studebaker and Continental Motors Company. The Advanced Six program overlapped with defense mobilization planning by the United States Department of War and procurement discussions involving United States Navy technical liaisons.
Styling reflected the influence of coachbuilders and designers who had worked with LeBaron, Lehman, and independent firms that collaborated with Packard and Lincoln. The Advanced Six bodywork incorporated aerodynamic treatments inspired by contemporaneous Raymond Loewy concepts and streamlined motifs seen on Zephyr and Airflow designs popularized by Lincoln-Zephyr and Chrysler Airflow experiments. Nash engineers used materials sourcing networks tied to suppliers that also serviced Buick and Mercury production lines, while chassis geometry featured tuning reminiscent of suspension work at Bendix Corporation test facilities. Interior appointments were specified to meet standards similar to trim packages from Cadillac Division and upholstery houses that supplied Woolrich patterns for luxury interiors.
The Advanced Six lineup included sedan, coupe, and convertible body styles marketed similarly to competitor ranges from Oldsmobile and DeSoto. Trim levels paralleled the stratification strategies employed by General Motors divisions: entry-level appointments comparable to Pontiac offerings, mid-level features analogous to Buick Special options, and upscale appointments rivaling Studebaker President and Mercury Eight interiors. Promotional materials targeted regional dealers such as those in Detroit, Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, and Boston, aligning retail tactics with franchise models used by Packard dealerships and Hudson dealerships.
The Advanced Six was powered by an inline-six engine with power output and displacement competitive with engines from Chevrolet and Dodge. Mechanical features reflected contemporary practices at Continental and Hercules Engine Company with attention to lubrication, cooling, and ignition systems similar to those found in Lincoln V12 preparatory work, yet adapted for Nash packaging constraints. Braking and steering components were specified in line with standards from Bendix and steering gearmakers that supplied Ford and General Motors. Fueling systems were influenced by carburetion developments associated with firms that supplied S.U. style and Stromberg type carburetors for American applications.
Assembly took place at Nash's primary facilities in Kenosha, Wisconsin, employing workforce practices influenced by production planning methods from Harvard Business School case studies and industrial engineering approaches used at Ford River Rouge Complex. Supply chains mirrored those servicing Packard and Studebaker plants, with stamping, welding, and finishing operations coordinated with vendors from Cleveland and Milwaukee. Manufacturing during 1940–1941 was affected by resource allocation policies linked to War Production Board precursor activities and by personnel shifts comparable to those seen at General Motors during early wartime conversions.
On introduction, the Advanced Six was reviewed in trade journals alongside models from Automobile Manufacturers Association member firms and received mixed praise for its combination of features that echoed innovations by Chrysler and Buick. Sales performance was constrained by economic and geopolitical factors similar to those that affected Packard and Hudson in the early 1940s, and production ceased as Nash realigned priorities in the face of United States entry into World War II and industry-wide shifts. The vehicle's engineering and styling influenced later Nash postwar designs including successors marketed with technology carryovers seen in models that later entered the portfolios of American Motors Corporation after the Nash-Hudson merger. The Advanced Six remains of interest to collectors and historians frequenting events hosted by organizations like the Antique Automobile Club of America and communities linked to Classic Car Club of America.
Category:Nash vehicles Category:Full-size vehicles Category:1940s automobiles