To modern ears Hupmobile, as the name of a car, might sound a little odd. Oldsmobile, yes, for Olds has a pleasant ring to it but Hupmobile? Still, that didn't prevent more than a million owners from buying and enjoying these mid-size, middle-class, and often distinctive motor cars until the marque's demise in 1940. After all, it was Robert Hupp who, as the founder, attached his own name to the car.

Robert Hupp's Hupmobile was a hit almost from the day it was offered in 1908 as a light runabout with two bucket seats. He soon added a touring car and a variety of open and closed models, but Hupp himself left the company in 1911 following a dispute with the directors. 12,000 Hupps (as owners liked to call them) were made in 1913 and ten years later some 38,000 left the production lines. Until 1925 all Hupmobiles featured four-cylinder engines, yet when the company upgraded for more power it went straight to an eight, along with four-wheel brakes and "balloon" tires. A six accompanied it the following year, at which point the venerable four was dropped.

Styling, however, was not something Hupmobiles were noted for, at least until the talented designer Amos Northrup was allowed to work his magic on the 1928 model. Sales jumped to more than 65,000 and in 1929 production totaled 50,979. That, unfortunately, was only half the intended 100,000 cars. The company was in trouble and the stock market crash was about to decimate sales of all new automobiles. Hard times were ahead for Hupmobile. Nevertheless the company survived, in part because of its reputation for building strong, dependable automobiles. Indeed, a Hupmobile was entered in the 1932 Indianapolis 500, finishing a very credible fifth.

The great industrial designer Raymond Loewy, who had previously made minor contributions to Hupmobile styling, was assigned to create an aerodynamic sedan for the 1934 model year. With faired-in headlights and a spare wheel tucked into the fastback rear deck, it was a handsome automobile, more attractive than Chrysler's streamlined Airflows, although it was the latter that garnered most publicity, then and now. This vehicle might have restored Hupmobile's fortunes had it not been for a battle being waged by management, stockholders, and a character named Archie Andrews who briefly served as chairman and was determined to control the company. He was soon ousted by other board members but in late 1935 production was suspended and with a Federal Reserve Loan denied, some of the plants were sold to raise money. Once again back in business, Hupmobile introduced new six-and-eight-cylinder engines for 1938. The aerodynamic design, unfortunately, was dropped in favour of a more traditional shape.

All this did the firm's image no good, with a mere 1890 cars coming off the lines that year. Radical steps were needed, resulting in a remarkable concept by new general manager Norman DeVaux. He negotiated the purchase of all the body dies and tools used in the defunct "coffin nose" Cord, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful American cars ever made. The Cord featured front-wheel-drive, hidden headlights and a V-8 engine by Lycoming, which meant the body had to be converted to fit the rear-drive, 6-cylinder Hupmobile, a task given over to another famous designer, John Tjaarda. His solution was a revised front end with conventional headlamps, leaving the balance of the body relatively untouched. Not quite as stunning as the Cord, it was still quite elegant and was given the name "Skylark." Unfortunately the company was, by then, out of funds, having failed to get relief from the city of Detroit for unpaid taxes.

Hupmobile had one last chance at survival. An agreement was made with Joseph Frazer, whose own auto company, Graham-Paige, was also in financial difficulty. Graham-Paige would manufacture the Skylark for Hupmobile, while producing a badge-engineered version, the Graham Hollywood. Four Skylarks were made in 1938 for show purposes, another 1231 in 1939, and a final 319 in 1940, the year that Hupmobile filed for bankruptcy. Graham-Paige produced a small number of Hollywoods that same year before switching to production of war materials. Even though its last cars were dressed in someone else's clothes, we can at least say the Hupmobile went down in style.

Photo Credit: SubDriven