Bobby Hupp

Robert Craig Hupp (June 22, 1877 – December 7, 1931) was an American automobile engineer and company founder.

Bobby Hupp
Born
Robert Craig Hupp

(1877-06-22)June 22, 1877
Grand Rapids, Michigan
DiedDecember 7, 1931(1931-12-07) (aged 54)
Detroit, Michigan
Burial placeWoodlawn Cemetery
Occupation(s)Engineer, businessman

Biography

Bobby Hupp was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 22, 1877.[1][2][lower-alpha 1] He worked for Oldsmobile, where he co-designed the Curved Dash runabout.[4] He also worked at Ford Motor Company.[5]

In 1909, he co-founded Hupp Motor Car Company, with Charles Hastings, formerly of Oldsmobile, who put up the first US$8,500 toward manufacturing Hupp's car.[3] They were joined by investors J. Walter Drake, Joseph Drake, John Baker, and Edwin Denby. Drake was elected president; Hupp was vice president and general manager. Emil Nelson, formerly of Oldsmobile and Packard, joined the company as chief engineer. Hastings became assistant general manager.[1][2]

While serving as vice president and general manager for Hupp Motors, he formed the Hupp-Yeats Electric Car Company in 1910,[6] and acquired a collection of companies to supply parts for Hupmobile and other auto manufacturers.[7] Hupp's expansive business plans met with skepticism by his investors, and in August 1911 they bought him out.[8][9] Hupp immediately brought out the automobile company RCH.[10][11] He also combined all of his business enterprises into Hupp Corporation.[7] Fearing confusion between the Hupmobile produced by Hupp Motors and the RCH and Hupp-Yeats produced by Hupp Corporation, Hupp Motors sued Hupp Corporation and the Hupp brothers to force them to change the corporate name.[12] The suit was successful; in early 1912, Hupp Corporation changed its name to R.C.H. Corporation.

When Hupp left Hupp Motors, he informed the company that his supplier companies would devote their full capacity to make parts for RCH.[13]

Robert Craig Hupp, who is credited with many early automotive design inventions including hydraulic braking systems, died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the Detroit Athletic Club on December 7, 1931, following a game of squash.[5] He collapsed in the locker-room, but doctors attending to him were unable to save him. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit.

Notes
  1. Historian David Burgess-Wise gives his birth year as 1861.[3]

References
  1. Cuthbert, Bill (2003). The Hupmobile Story From Beginning to End. Evansville, IN: M.T. Publishing Company. Ch. 2. ISBN 1-932439-13-7.
  2. Ward, James (2003). Three Men in a Hupp. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Ch. 1. ISBN 0-8047-3460-7.
  3. Burgess-Wise, David (1974). "Hupmobile: Mass-Production Pioneer". In Ward, Ian (ed.). The World of Automobiles. Vol. 9. London: Orbis. p. 990. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  4. Burgess-Wise, David (1974). "Hupmobile: Mass-Production Pioneer". In Ward, Ian (ed.). The World of Automobiles. Vol. 9. London: Orbis. p. 991. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  5. "Robert C. Hupp is Death Victim". Lansing State Journal. Detroit. AP. December 8, 1931. p. 13. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Hupp-Yeats Electric". The Horseless Age. Vol. 26, no. 6. August 10, 1910. p. 201. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Google Books.
  7. Godshall, Jeffrey (1978). "Hupmobile: Always a Good Car". Automobile Quarterly. XVI (1): 62–97. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  8. "Hupp Sells Stock in Motor Company". The Automobile. Vol. XXV, no. 7. August 17, 1911. p. 281. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  9. "Hupp Makes Announcement". Motor Age. Vol. XX, no. 8. August 24, 1911. p. 6. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  10. "Studebakers Entertain Their Agents". Motor Age. Vol. XX, no. 10. August 24, 1911. pp. 6–7. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  11. "New R.C.H. Gasoline Car". The Horseless Age. Vol. 28, no. 10. September 6, 1911. pp. 346–347. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Google Books.
  12. "Seeks to Enjoin R. C. Hupp". The Automobile. Vol. XXV, no. 12. September 21, 1911. p. 479. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  13. "Trade and General News High Lights". The Automobile. Vol. XXV, no. 13. September 28, 1911. p. 553. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
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