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Hupmobile was a line of built from 1909 through 1939 by the Hupp Motor Car Company of Detroit. The prototype was developed in 1908.
The Model 20's pricing was set at $900. The touring automobile was built on the same principles as the roadster. The Touring was nearly identical to the runabout aside from a longer wheelbase, a stronger frame, a stronger rear axle, and other critical pieces.
The four-cylinder engine had a bore of inches and a stroke of inches and was rated at 16 to 20 horsepower. The valves were on the engine's left side, with spark plugs over the inlets and relief cocks over the exhaust. The flywheel also served as a fan, and cars delivered to hot areas were equipped with an extra belt-driven fan. The engine was lubricated with a unique Hupp system containing enough oil for a 250 to 300-mile trip. The car had a 110-inch wheelbase and was fitted with 30 × -inch tires in front and 31 × -inch tires in the rear. This model never became popular partly because of the low power and only a two-speed transmission with very wide-spaced ratios. The low-speed ratio was 2.7 to one, and the high speed was direct. Reverse had the same ratio as the low, which meant that the car moved quite fast when it went backward. It had a distinct selling value in that the car was guaranteed to be free of material and workmanship problems. Furthermore, the manufacturer would replace any damaged material at no cost except for the tires.
Nelson approached Hale & Kilburn Company in Philadelphia looking for help with developing an all-metal body for the Hupp 32. Hale & Kilburn had pioneered the replacement of cast iron with pressed steel for many parts for the interiors of railway carriages. According to Nelson, "None of the Detroit plants would contract" to make an all-steel body for the Hupp 32. Edward Budd and Joseph Ledwinka were employed at Hale & Kilburn at the time, Budd as the general manager and Ledwinka as engineer. Budd was interested in the project. Hale & Kilburn had built some body panels for King and Paige but Budd had grander aspirations the Hupp project would permit him to pursue.
Budd and Ledwinka worked with Nelson to develop means to manufacture Nelson's design for this body. They devised a system where the body's numerous steel stampings were welded together by hand and supported by a crude system of angle iron supports that held the welded subassemblies together. The disassembled bodies were shipped by rail to Detroit where they were put back together, painted and trimmed in the Hupmobile factory. Both the touring car and a coupe were made by this process and even one Hupmobile limousine. In 1911 no one, not Nelson, Ledwinka or Budd, thought to patent the process to manufacture all-steel bodies. While the Hupp 32 bodies were in production, Budd and Ledwinka left and formed the Budd Company. In 1914, Ledwinka filed for and received a patent for the process of making all-steel bodies. However, Budd later lost a patent infringement litigation it brought against C.R. Wilson Body Company when the court held that the Ledwinka patent was invalid. "After the art had developed...Ledwinka has endeavored to go back and cover by a patent that which had become public property.... He is endeavoring to bring under his patent those things which belong to the public." The court relied on the production of the Hupp 32 in 1911 as a major example of the prior art. The opinion does provide insight as to what was or was not novel about the process to manufacture the Hupp 32's body.
When Hupp left Hupp Motors in 1913, he informed the company his supplier companies would devote their full capacity to make parts for RCH. Facing the loss of manufactured parts from Hupp Corporation and increasing demand for the Hupmobile, Hupp Motors acquired seven acres for a new factory at Mt. Elliott and Milwaukee. It moved into the new plant in late April 1912. (This factory was demolished as part of site clearance for General Motors' "Poletown" assembly plant in the early 1980s.) Hupp Motors sold the Jefferson Avenue plant to the King Motor Car Company.
Several thousand all-steel touring cars were made before Nelson resigned as Chief Engineer in 1912. Hupmobile's commitment to this leading-edge approach did not survive his departure. The rest of the Hupp 32 production used conventional body assembly processes.
Hupp Motor Car Company continued to grow after its founder left. Hupp competed strongly against Ford and Chevrolet. DuBois Young became company president in 1924, advancing from vice-president of manufacturing. By 1928 sales had reached over 65,000 units. To increase production and handle sales growth, Hupp purchased the Chandler-Cleveland Motors Corporation (Chandler Motor Car) for its manufacturing facilities.
A new line of six- and eight-cylinder cars was fielded for 1938, but by this time Hupp had very few dealers, and sales were disappointingly low.
Desperate for a return to market strength, on February 8, 1938, Hupmobile acquired the production dies of the Gordon Buehrig-designed Cord Automobile 810, paying US$900,000 for the tooling. Connersville Chamber of Commerce Retrieved May 4, 2015. Hupmobile hoped using the striking Cord design in a lower-priced conventional car, called the Skylark, would return the company to financial health. Enthusiastic orders came in by the thousands, but production delays soured customer support.
The Skylark's grille later inspired the grilles used on Lincoln Continental models in the 1940s. Their heater technology became widely adopted in the industry. Buick picked up the Skylark name for Buick Skylark in 1953; the nameplate was subsequently used on a midsize model from 1961 to 1973, then on a compact model from 1975 to 1998. The Hupmobile dealership in Omaha, Nebraska, is a prominent historic landmark. "The Endangered List" Landmark News. April 2007. Retrieved 5/12/08. The dealership building in Washington, D.C., is now the H Street Playhouse.
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