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December 1, 1928 – Duesenberg Model J debut
1Dec By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

December 1, 1928 – Duesenberg Model J debut

1929 Duesenberg Model J. By Craig Howell CC BY 2.0 On this day in 1928 Duesenberg unveiled the Model J at the New York Auto Show. The Duesenberg Model J debut marked the first all new car built by the company since E.L. Cord acquired the luxury automaker two years prior. Designed to compete directly with the likes of Rolls-Royce and Hispano-Suiza, the Model J was unlike anything to have ever hit the road before. At the time of the show, only one had been completed, serial number J-101. Finished in silver and black, the impressive automobile attracted quite a crowd, in large part thanks to its giant price tag of $8,500. That's for the chassis alone, mind you, and that sum in 1928 equals around $175,000 in 2022. Duesenberg Model J engine. By Larry Stevens Duesenberg J-101 origina...
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November 2, 1935 – The Coffin Nose Cord debuts
2Nov By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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November 2, 1935 – The Coffin Nose Cord debuts

1936 Cord 810 Phaeton by Cliff. CC BY 2.0 The Cord 810 was introduced by the Cord Automobile division of the Auburn Automobile Company at the National Automobile Show in New York City on this day in 1935. The luxurious vehicle was the first mass produced American front wheel drive car with independent front suspension. The earlier Cord L-29 was also FWD, as was the 1934 Citroën Traction Avant. The 810, and later 812, were the first production cars to feature hidden headlights. They were offered through the 1937 model year with supercharged and non supercharged versions. The vehicle's interesting front end earned it the nickname coffin nose Cord. Cord 812 (the Coffin Nose Cord). By Tasha Carl - CC BY 3.0 Gordon Buehrig originally designed the Cord 810 as a Duesenberg, but ultima...
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July 19, 1934 – Patent filed for retractable headlights for Cord
19Jul By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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July 19, 1934 – Patent filed for retractable headlights for Cord

There are few automobiles that feature such innovation as the 1936/7Cord 810/812. Designed by a host of industry superstars, including Gordon M. Buehrig and Alex Tremulis, who would later offer his skills to the 1948 Tucker, the Cord 810 combined luxury, speed, futurism, and ultimately, failure. Originally, The 810 was supposed to be a Duesenberg, also owned by Cord's parent company, the Auburn Automobile Company. These automakers, and about 147 other companies, were under the control of E.L. Cord, a transportation giant in the early and middle of the 20th century. Cord had a rich history in the auto industry before becoming manager of Auburn in 1924. His resume included race car driver, mechanic and a car salesman. His multifaceted background drove a desire for greatness in every...
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June 17, 1928 – E.L. Cord founds Cord Corporation
17Jun By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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June 17, 1928 – E.L. Cord founds Cord Corporation

E.L. Cord with an Auburn automobile. (Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum) Errett Lobban Cord, better known as E. L., founded the Cord Corporation on this day in 1928. It would become a holding company for his many transportation interests, including Auburn, Duesenberg and his own company, Cord. The car that carried his name is among the most mechanically unique of the era thanks to its front wheel drive layout and other innovations. How he became a transportation baron starts with a career in racing, engineering and even bus driving. The early life of E.L. Cord Born in Missouri in 1894, Cord became a jack of all trades type. Aside from working on, racing and selling cars, he ventured into numerous other areas of business. At one point or another in his early career, Cord hauled ore, ...
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January 22, 1990 – Cord & Duesenberg designer Gordon Buehrig dies
22Jan By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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January 22, 1990 – Cord & Duesenberg designer Gordon Buehrig dies

Legend has it that Gordon Buehrig was expelled from his design college for drawing cars on textbooks. While the punishment may not fit the crime, if true, he didn't let it affect his day dreams. Those sketches soon, quite soon really, became reality. Instead of trying to finish college, he left his Illinois home headed for the Motor City. After arriving in Detroit he found work at Packard and then General Motors. For young Buehrig, born in 1904, designing the Le Mans competing 1929 Black Hawk couldn't be a better job. That is, until his artistic approach to car design caught the eye of E.L. Cord, who had purchased Duesenberg just three years earlier. Courted by Cord, Gordon Buehrig found himself as Duesenberg's chief designer at the tender age of 25. Among his first tasks: design...
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January 2, 1974 – E.L. Cord, transportation empire owner, dies
2Jan By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Features, This Day

January 2, 1974 – E.L. Cord, transportation empire owner, dies

E.L. Cord with an Auburn automobile. Courtesy of Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum. Errett Lobban Cord, better known as E. L., began his automotive career as a race car driver, mechanic and car salesman. He would go on to create an automotive empire that including ownership of some of the most luxurious American car brands in the 1920s and 1930s, Auburn and Duesenberg. During that time he also founded Cord, a vehicle among the most mechanically unique to come out of the era. Throughout this life he'd also hold roles as entertainment executive and state law maker. His career and life came to an end when he died from cancer on this day in 1974 at age 79. E.L. Cord with a Cord 810 E.L. Cord buys Auburn Automobile Company Born in Missouri in 1894, Cord became a jack of all trades ty...
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October 26, 1926 – E.L Cord acquires Duesenberg
26Oct By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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October 26, 1926 – E.L Cord acquires Duesenberg

Self taught master mechanics and brothers August and Fred Duesenberg used their skills to build fantastic race cars and engines in the early 1900s. In 1913, the pair opened their first independent auto shop in St. Paul, Minnesota. They quickly gained a reputation for building winner race car engines. One feat that cemented their legacy came in 1923 when Jimmy Murphy became the first American to win the French Grand Prix. He did some from behind the wheel of a Duesenberg powered car. This win helped the struggling passenger car division of Duesenberg survive, but it proved to be not enough. Above: 1921 Duesenberg Model A, the Castle Duesenberg. This first passenger car from Duesenberg. By Brian Corey. Top: the author and his fiancée with a Duesenberg Model J at the Auburn Cord Duese...
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July 20, 1894 – Transportation baron E.L. Cord is born
20Jul By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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July 20, 1894 – Transportation baron E.L. Cord is born

Yesterday we discussed an invention that revolutionized automotive design, pop up headlights that were first featured on the 1936 Cord 810. Today, we're talking about the man who gave that car its name. Errett Lobban Cord, born on this day in 1894, was a race car driver, mechanic and car salesman -- and a transportation baron, entertainment executive and state law maker. Top: E.L. Admiring the Cord 810Above: 1929 Cord L-29. By Jim Evans - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 Born in Missouri, Cord grew to be a jack of all trades. Aside from working on, racing and selling cars, he ventured into numerous other areas of business. At one point or another in his early career, Cord hauled ore, sold real estate, fixed electronics, and even drove a bus. None of these jobs shook out quite how he wa...
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This Day in Automotive History is a transportation history, car history and general automotive history website dedicated to providing informative and entertaining content. Our goal is to enlighten our readers by producing and publishing automotive content on a wide range of topics, including famous cars, important automotive inventors and engineers and other historic automobile related events, places and people. We encourage you to share our page and connect with us on Facebook or sign up for our automotive history newsletter at the top of this page. If you have any questions about the content we publish, including our car videos and car history pictures and text and the use of them, please don’t hesitate to contact us using the below email address. On occasion we post classic cars for sale from Craigslist, Facebook and other online marketplaces. We utilize imagery from those ads in a fair use fashion. This includes barn finds for sale, muscle cars for sale, vans for sale, station wagons for sale, trucks for sale and other affordable old cars for sale. If you’d like your car featured, reach out to us!

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