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Tag: duesenberg

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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October 3, 1912 – First win for Duesenberg
3Oct By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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October 3, 1912 – First win for Duesenberg

Starting grid for 1912 American Grand Prize race, held in Milwaukee Generally speaking, drinking alcohol and driving don’t go together, unless you’re an observer of a race. Hopefully spectators were the only ones with a beer in hand on this day in 1912 when the Pabst Blue Ribbon Trophy race was held in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a short drive from Milwaukee, where PBR was established. It was at this race that a vehicle equipped with a Duesenberg engine won a professional race for the first time. While it’s only speculation, it’s believed the Duesenberg brothers, Frederick and August, celebrated by shotgunning tall cans of PBR, marking a proud moment in Duesenberg history. 1908 photo of Montague Roberts (left) with brother Mortimer Roberts, who won the 1912 PBR Trophy race in a Mason race...
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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
Features, This Day

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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