Cord
Brief History
It all began in 1924 when Erret Lobban Cord took over the Auburn Automobile Company. Cord was not an engineer, he was a salesman, financial wizard, and promoter. Auburn was in dire straits, and Cord felt he could put the staggering company on its feet. He did - for a while. First he built an automotive empire by adding other corporations. He acquired Duesenberg, Lycoming, and several bodymaking firms. The new redesigned Auburns began to sell.
Formed in 1929, Cord Corporation was America's initial transportation conglomerate, a monolithic enterprise that gave Cord the staying power to ride through the Depression with a flourish. Indeed, during the early Thirties Cord was flush with success. His actions were strongly felt on Wall Street. The first model which Cord produced was L-29. The Duesenberg brothers were the engineers, Lycoming supplied the engine, and the famous front-wheel drive was licensed from Harry Miller who used it on his fabulous racing cars. The styling was magnificent and the first L-29 Cord looks modern even now. But the entire corporation had financial difficulties and the L-29 had mechanical difficulties. It was made for only three years and then withdrawn.
In 1935 a brand new Cord was exhibited. This was the famous 810 which had all the dream car features. The exciting body design was executed by Gordon Beuhrig. At the New York Automobile Show the car created a great furor and orders poured in. But the car was not ready. All the machines exhibited had no transmissions, and they needed more testing. There was an agonizing six-month delay and by that time many orders were withdrawn. The rest of the industry opened fire on this radically different car and managed to scare many prospective purchasers by warning them of the dangers of untried engineering schemes. They were partly right. The Cord was born too soon for its type of engineering. Although the car performed magnificently, it did have problems - problems that were not fully solved in the industry for at least another ten years, In addition, the Cord was expensive and the country was just coming out of a great economic depression. Very few were sold.
Yet Cord stuck to his guns. He decided to give up the medium priced market and make the car an out- and-out luxury machine by adding a supercharger, and a host of expensive appointments. This was the 812 Cord and it sold to a small number of wealthy people. But it was all wrong for its time. Prospective customers found it hard to accept the daring innovation; they also counted their pennies carefully in the late thirties, and so the Cord ended its short life in 1937.
Yet, in spite of all the shortcomings, the Cord was and still is a fine car. Many of the old Cords are still being driven today and exhibit magnificent performance. Properly driven, a Cord can hold the road with many a modern sports car.
While Cord Corporation did not survive as a continuing make, there are enough Cords alive today to remind us of its greatness.
