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Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Museum

hutchman

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Today I had the pleasure,........no the privilige of visiting the Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Museum in Auburn , IN. It is by far, the best auto museum I have ever seen.

The museum is located in the ACD factory administration building on the old factory sight. It was built in the Art Deco design and is beautifully restored and is now a registered National Historic Landmark.

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But how did the company get to this point? Weeeelll, it started in 1874 when Charles Eckhart, of Auburn, IN , started the Eckhart Carriage Co.

Eckhart had two sons who experimented with making cars. They absorbed a couple of local car companies, moved into a larger factory in 1909, and were somewhat successful until material shortages in WW I forced the factory to close.

After the war, the company was sold to a group of investors from Chicago, with no automobile experiance. By 1924, the company was in trouble again and they approached a gentleman named Errett Lobban Cord, a very successful car salesman and offered him the job of running the company. EL Cord accepted the job on the condition that he be paid in stock rather than money, and they agreed. He was successful in turning the company around and the agreement resulted in a leveraged buyout for Cord after a year or so.

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That is how EL Cord became the owner of the Auburn Automobile Company!

There is quite a bit more to the story.......
 
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hutchman

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So back again.......

Now that E L Cord owned Auburn Automobile Company, he decided he wanted to build the best car in the world. Fred and Augie Duesenberg owned a car company that built highly engineered and high quality cars under their family name. E L Cord wanted their engineering ability for his new luxury car, so in October of 1925 he bought Duesenberg and brought the company under the Auburn family. Fred became Vice President in charge of engineering and experimental work. Since E L Cord and Augie Duesenberg virtually hated each other, Augie was not part of the new company, but rather built all Duesenberg race cars built afterwards. The race cars were built on the Auburn plant grounds but in a completely separate building. Augie was hired as a VP, I think, after his brothers death.

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This is an image of a Model A Duesenberg in the museum.

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So no full image of the car.....my bad. It is said however that the Model A Duesenberg was a better car than the later Model J because of cost cutting measures required by Cord himself.

But regardless, that's how Duesenbergs became part of Auburn.
 

hutchman

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Time for another installment. We have discussed the Auburn and Duesenberg brands, but what about Cord?

Apparently, E L Cord was somewhat like other well to do men who have an ego.....he wanted a car company bearing his name. Furthermore, he wanted this car to represent cutting edge technology. Apparently, the Cord grew from these basic desires.

So let's take a step back for a minute.

This is a 1925 Miller Junior 8 that placed 2nd in the 1925 Indianapolis 500. It was designed by Harry Miller and had a supercharged 121 ci straight 8 engine....it is also front wheel drive with a Di Dion tube front suspension. Harry Miller is known as one of the greatest creative minds in racing history and his cars are artistic result of his genious.

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E L Cord attended the 1925 race and was so impressed with Harry Miller and his cars, he asked him to help engineer a FWD passenger car that later became the L-29 Cord.

Cord desired a bigger, high tech car than his Duesenberg. There was 1 prototype built and this is the car:

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This car was originally built with a V16 and FWD. It is a huge car and to my eye, out of proportion. It is hideous.... Apparently there were performance issues with it along with the visual issues, and Cord ordered it destroyed. Someone made the decision to take it apart but not destroy it. The car was saved, but the V16 engine was lost. Another Cord V12 had been built as a prototype, but never produced. It too was lost, but later found in the basement of the Auburnfactory power plant providing power for a water pump.

This is the building it was found in:

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Amazing what you can find when cleaning out an old building! The V12 found here was the one and only prototype V12 and is in the restored Cord prototype above.
 
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