The Hupp Motor Car Company is largely forgotten today, but the Detroit-based automaker was a major player in the years before World War II.
Robert Hupp started his company in 1908 after working at Olds, Ford, and the Regal Motor Car Company. By the late 1920s, Hupmobiles had become a hot commodity, racking up 65,000 sales in 1928. The 1936 Model 618 G listed on eBay was one of the last models Hupp produced, with styling that made it an instant classic.
As with fellow American automakers, Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg, Pierce Arrow, and Peerless, the Great Depression dealt a devastating blow to Hupmobile—one from which it never fully recovered. Determined to put its best foot forward, Hupp hired Raymond Loewy, the legendary industrial designer, to pen what it called the Aerodynamic Series, beginning in the 1934 model year. The 618 G was produced between 1936 and ‘37.
Loewy, who later went on to become head of design at Studebaker/Avanti, had begun his industrial design career in the late 1920s. His designs for locomotives, home appliances, and packaging were iconic. The Coca Cola bottle, Lucky Strike cigarette package, GGI electric locomotive, and the original Greyhound bus were among his contributions. (Also, check out Loewy’s Bread Truck listed earlier this year on eBay. It shows some similarity with the Huppmobile in its design of the front fascia.)
The Hupmobile’s aerodynamic profile and two-tone exterior emphasizing a high, aggressive beltline show the influence of Loewy’s locomotive designs. Its long coupe-like hood and narrow greenhouse foreshadows contemporary car and crossover utility exteriors.
The car’s monochromatic Art Deco interior reflects furniture and fashion design of the time. It was not unusual for car companies to emulate Style Moderne, the French version of Art Deco. Raymond Loewy, who was born in France, was familiar with the elegant hood ornaments produced by Lalique, a maker of perfume bottles, and Sonia Delaunay’s popular geometric fabric designs.
Under the hood is a 245 cubic inch inline six engine producing 101 horsepower. According to the seller, the current owner replaced the piston rings and did a valve job about 3,000 miles ago, so the car is in good running order. A three-speed manual transmission gives the Hupmobile the ability to cruise at low highway speeds.
By 1937, a labor strike made Hupp’s future more tenuous. The company produced a couple of more traditional models during the 1938-1939 period and made parts for the US government during World War II. The Skylark, sold as a 1941 model, was Hupp’s last automobile. After the war, the company moved its headquarters to Ohio where it was absorbed into Gibson and Easy home appliances—perhaps fading into complete obscurity if not for beautiful surviving examples like the 1936 Hupmobile 618 G now listed on eBay.
