Hupmobile Series E History

Introduced in 1925 alongside the final four-cylinder Model R, the Series E carried a new inline eight-cylinder L-head engine producing 60 horsepower on a 118.25-inch wheelbase chassis. It positioned Hupmobile squarely against mid-price competition from Buick and Chrysler rather than Ford and Chevrolet, completing the company's deliberate move upmarket. A companion six-cylinder Series A ran alongside the eight through 1928, giving buyers a range of refinement levels.

The strategy briefly worked spectacularly: annual production climbed to a company record 65,862 units in 1928 — the high-water mark of Hupmobile's entire history. The Series E was succeeded by the Model M for 1929, but the timing proved catastrophic. The Great Depression arrived just as Hupmobile had locked itself into more expensive, lower-volume cars whose production economics required volumes it could no longer achieve.