The 1936 Hupmobile's Art Deco Touches

Hupmobile was an American brand whose popularity peaked during the late-1920s, declined in the '30s, and disappeared shortly thereafter.  Its Wikipedia entry is here.

As the link mentions, Hupp was in serious trouble in 1936.  But the styling of that year's models was interesting due to the amount of Art Deco / Moderne ornamentation applied to its otherwise conventional body styles.

Click on the photos below to enlarge.

Gallery

1936 Hupmobile rumble seat coupe, photo from a Wikipedia site.  The "fencer's mask" grille was a styling fad of that year which I discussed here.  The droopy headlights were a styling feature found on Hupps starting in 1934.  1932 and 1933 Studebakers had similar headlights.  The airfoil-shaped heat exhaust on the side of the hood is very Streamline Moderne.

Now for three views of a "for sale" Hupp four-door sedan.  Those doors are hinged on the B-pillar.  The windshield is sloped slightly, but not V'd as seen on many competing brands.

The two-tone paint job is unusual, but apparently a factory offering.

This quarter view is devoid of Deco touches abaft of the hood.

Now for a few photos I took of a 1936 Hupmobile in June at the Nethercutt Collection.  This might be the car shown in the previous images, but probably isn't because it has a medallion on the lower part of the grille and the artillery wheels are a slightly different color.

View of the front end.  The grille is divided into two sections with vertical "speed line" bars flowing over the top along with a few horizontal stiffening bars.  Note the stylized "H" medallion on the broad, painted center bar.

An even-closer look at the upper ornamentation.  I find the hood ornament especially interesting because it looks like the sort of rocket ship that might be seen in Buck Rogers comic strips or science-fiction magazine covers in those days.