Until World War II most of the great prestige automakers like Duesenberg or Packard would readily supply only a running chassis which wealthy buyers would have fitted with custom bodywork.

LeBaron, Carrossiers Inc. free-lance design consultants was founded in New York City in 1920 by American designers Raymond H. Dietrich (1894-1980) and Thomas L. Hibbard (1898-1982) who had met while working for Brewster & Co.[1] Dietrich and Hibbard remained among the Brewster personnel so they invented a new name LeBaron, Carrossiers from a list of French words that could be easily pronounced but still sounded impressive.

They found more work and Hibbard offered the LeBaron administrative jobs to his friend, Ralph Roberts, who had just gotten his Bachelor of Science degree from Dartmouth College.

As a Briggs subsidiary, LeBaron handled special custom work, provided design ideas for the main business, and supplied exquisite custom bodies for various car companies such as Chrysler's luxury Imperial line, Duesenberg, Packard, and Cadillac.

In 1932, for example, they built 28 Imperial Custom Convertible Coupes, Chrysler's top model, which rode a 146-inch wheelbase and used a 384.8 cubic-inch straight-8 engine.