Custom Automotive Coachbuilding in the United States, 1900-1940

Abstract

From the early days of the automobile until the sobering years of the Great Depression, a market existed in the United States (and in Europe) for custom designed and crafted automobile bodies. Some wealthy men and women; not content with the standard offerings of luxury automobile manufacturers such as Packard, Pierce-Arrow, and Lincoln; were willing to spend additional sums on coachwork custom designed and built by a separate company, and then placed upon the bare chassis supplied by the auto company. A few highclass automobile makers, such as Duesenberg and the American Rolls-Royce, deferred to this preference of their clientele, and manufactured chassis only. Such a custom-bodied motor car would be recognized by the owner's peers as a sign of uncommon taste and wealth. The American custom automotive coachbuilding industry stemmed from the earlier luxury horse-drawn industry, and reached its apex in the late 1920s, at a time when a flourishing carriage trade market was able to support more than a dozen luxury automotive coachbuilding firms. Yet, within a few years, after the October 1929 stock market crash, the field had been decimated as urban mobs often stoned any passing ostentatious conveyance, and the remaining upper crust chose a low profile public appearance. By America's entry into World War II, the industry was all but dead. The horse-drawn carriage, or coach as we envision it today, was developed in Europe in the seventeenth century; as doors, windows, and metal suspension springs came into use. By the end of that century, basic construction methods had evolved which were to continue largely unchanged through the first half of the twentieth century. Fundamentally, a consisted of a strong timber frame, strengthened by iron connections, covered by thin wooden panels and a leather roof, and placed on a spring suspension and wheels. In the early twentieth century, the wooden side panels and leather roof were replaced with aluminum or steel, but the crafts involved remained the same. With the advent of the automobile and the resultant demise of horse-drawn vehicles, the same firms that previously had made carriages saw the necessity to move into some aspect of the emerging automotive industry. Some, such as Studebaker, chose to design and manufacture the entire vehicle, and became full-fledged autoAll illustrations are from the automotive sales literature collection of the author.