Cord and Duesenberg: Art and Engineering at Auburn

In the 1920s and 1930s, the small city of Auburn, Indiana was home to one of the most remarkable concentrations of automotive ambition in America. Three brands — Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg — were all controlled by entrepreneur E.L. Cord, and each represented a different vision of what a car could be. Today Auburn is home to a museum that preserves all three, and the story of Cord and Duesenberg in particular is worth knowing.

Cord: The Front-Wheel Drive Pioneer

The Cord 810, introduced at the 1935 New York Auto Show, was unlike anything American buyers had seen. It was front-wheel driven — genuinely unusual for a production car of the era — and styled by Gordon Buehrig with what became known as the “coffin nose” hood, hidden headlamps that cranked open by hand, and a wraparound louvered grille. There was no conventional radiator grille because there was no engine-driven fan cooling a front-mounted radiator in the traditional sense. The result looked like something from the future.

The 1937 Cord 812 added a supercharged engine option, identifiable by the exposed chrome exhaust pipes that snaked dramatically out from the hood sides. The supercharged 812 could reach 110 mph, extraordinary performance for a production car in the Depression era. Despite its engineering and styling achievements, the Cord had persistent transmission and reliability problems. Production ended in 1937 after fewer than 3,000 total cars across both model years.

The Cord 810/812 was so significant that the Museum of Modern Art in New York selected it as one of the ten best-designed automobiles in history.

Duesenberg: The Most Powerful American Car of Its Era

If Cord was about engineering innovation, Duesenberg was about absolute supremacy. The Model J, introduced in 1928, used a straight-eight engine producing 265 horsepower — more than twice what most American luxury cars offered. The chassis was sold to coachbuilders who then constructed bespoke bodies; the Murphy Convertible Sedan shown above is one example of the custom coachwork that Duesenberg buyers commissioned.

A Model J cost between $8,500 and $20,000 at a time when a new Ford cost around $500. Customers included Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Mae West, and several heads of state. The phrase “it’s a Doozy” — a synonym for something exceptional — is widely attributed to the Duesenberg’s reputation.

Fred and August Duesenberg had built racing engines and record-setting cars for years before E.L. Cord acquired the company. The Model J reflected everything they had learned, and it remains one of the pinnacles of American automotive engineering.

Visit the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum

The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, Indiana displays over 120 vehicles across three floors in a building that is itself a landmark.

1600 S. Wayne Street, Auburn, IN 46706

The museum is housed in the original 1930 international headquarters of the Auburn Automobile Company — a stunning Art Deco building that was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 2005. Walking through it feels appropriate: the architecture and the cars inside share the same sensibility, the conviction that function and beauty are not in opposition. The museum holds accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums and is one of the best automotive museums in the country.