Owned One!
with ingenuity and a few dollars. Between 1933 and 1939, Bill did buy four new cars – the last being his Hupmobile Skylark –
and four new motorcycles, but over the years Bill owned literally dozens of other used cars and motorcycles. Bill’s father was a
loyal owner of a Franklin for many years, and although he could never afford a new car, he and Bill nevertheless attended the
comings of new cars at the annual new car shows of the 1920s and 1930s. Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg products impressed Bill,
and in 1934 he bought a tired, repossessed 1931 Cord L-29 sports coupe and brought it back to life. Through this car, he
came to know the owner of Erhart Motors, the local A-C-D dealer in Buffalo. When the 1936 Cord 810 was introduced, Bill
thought it was an absolute beauty, although his father thought it “looked terrible”.
Then, in late 1938, Bill read about Hupp’s plan to build the Junior Six based on Cord sheet metal. A letter to the Hupp
Corporation expressing his interest in the project was answered with some details about the engineering under way – with
some hint that he might well buy stock in the company. In early 1939 Bill received a letter from the Hupmobile plant, informing
him that a new Skylark would be shown for one day only at Erhart Motors, which was now also a Hupmobile dealership – there
would be no demonstration rides. On the scheduled day, William G. Gewand was introduced by Mr. Erhart to Wallace A.
MacDonald, Hupp’s vice-president in charge of sales – and a blue Skylark (which Mr. Gewand believes was Skylark No. 1, the
prototype). Mr. MacDonald was kept busy trying to speak to as many of the interested visitors as possible, and when Bill finally
got a chance to speak with him, he confirmed his wish to buy the first Skylark available. Bill recalls that Mr. MacDonald pulled a
note book out of his pocket and asked, “Bill, how do you spell your last name?” With the meeting over, and convinced that the
Skylark was even better looking than the Cord, Bill drove off home.
In mid-June, Bill received a letter directly from Mr. MacDonald stating that his Skylark was on its way to Buffalo. It would be the
only Skylark ever sold by Erhart Motors. Driven from Detroit to Buffalo, the Skylark arrived with 400 miles on the odometer and
badly in need of a wash. Bill walked into the shop where Mr. Erhart said “Bill, there it is!” Perfectly thrilled with the car, Bill
walked around the car several times, climbed into the driver’s seat, and said “I like it! Let’s make out a registration form and I’ll
drive down to the City Hall. When I come back, I’ll drive my Packard (trade-in) into the shop”.
Since Bill wanted a “new” car, he asked to have it registered as a 1940 model, although the car was undoubtedly a 1939
model. Paperwork which had come with the car simply called it a Skylark. Looking over the sales brochure, Mr. Erhart decided
to call it a Mainliner – thus it would be registered. Later service sheets issued by companies other than Hupp imply the Skylark
should have been called a Model 915-R; 9- for the 1939 model year, 15- for the 115 inch wheelbase, and R for the Skylark
model. The sales brochure listed the Mainliner model at $975, but Bill never saw the sales price, nor what had been allowed on
his 1937 Packard 120C touring coupe in trade – he simply agreed on ten monthly payments and the Skylark was his. However,
when applying for registration at the license bureau later that day, Bill was informed that as a 1940 model, the Skylark could
not be registered until after July 1st. So, with Erhart Motor’s approval, he drove the car away (given a free carwash before
leaving), temporarily using a set of Erhart Motors’ dealer plates.