Hupmobile - Absolute rulership corrupts absolutely... of the road.

In 1930, Deco was The Shit, even way out in the hinterlands, where The Country Gentleman found a place on every desk, workbench, and haybail. This ad for Hupmobile (?) features a nice stylized deco illustration of the car instead of a painting or photo. Daring! You don't see this any more.

Hupmobile? Yep. I never heard of them either. If Wikipedia is to be believed, the company was based in Detroit, and was started by former Ford and Oldsmobile man, Robert Hupp. In a startling leap of creativity, he tacked "mobile" on the end of his name and put an end to several seconds of brainstorming.

The company didn't do well, once the depression started gathering steam, and was dead by 1940. So what did a Hupmobile look like in the flesh? My dad would argue otherwise, I imagine, but to me, it looks exactly like every other car of it's day. Not that that's a bad thing, but I just can't tell a Ford from a Chevy before 1960-something. Perspective.

This ad promises you Absolute rulership of the road. Wow! Brave words. And I didn't even know there was a power vacuum in The Road back then. I guess anyone riding in the back seat would automatically be given a cabinet-level position. Maybe it's because I've never had a hunger for power, but I don't want to rule the road. Everybody would blame me for traffic problems or, as  was likely the case in rural america at the time, the odd horse carcass blocking the way.