Americans In Paris

          In the 1920s it wasn't uncommon for Americans to find themselves drawn to the flash and glitter that was Paris at the time. A hotbed for artists of all types, the City of Lights drew from around the globe to inspire some of the greatest artists of the day.

          That was true of two artistic Americans who met in the states but who moved to Paris in 1923 in order to sell custom cars. Thomas L. Hibbard and Howard "Dutch" Darrin were both coach builders of some note but when they met and decided to pool their talents they began creating some of the most beautiful automobiles in Europe. At the time it wasn't unusual for a high end luxury car buyer to purchase the engine and chassis and the rest of the mechanicals from the manufacturer and then to commission a custom body from one of the noted designers of the time.

          Hibbard had come to a degree of design fame while working for a company called Brewster. But when he started to freelance he was fired and, with another designer started a firm called LaBaron. He left this when he and Darrin decided to make of go of it in Paris in 1923.

          Their venture lasted only eight years as Hibbard took a job on the design team of General Motors. Darrin stayed in Paris until 1937 when he moved back to the USA to open his own design shop in Los Angeles. He primarily did work for Studebaker and Kaiser (one such model was written about in this post: http://turnerbudds-carblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-influence.html).

          While the two were still working together, a Packard dealer in Paris sold a number of Hibbard and Darrin designs, including the one pictured here that was sold to an Argentinian national. Based on a 143 inch wheelbase chassis the car featured a 386 cubic inch inline eight. This is believed to be the only such convertible sedan that Hibbard and Darrin built. It is currently on display at the Citizen's Motor Car Company.