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It can be said that many of the greatest things in life start from humble beginnings. So is it with the Duesenberg Motor Car. You may have heard the expression many times – “that’s a doozy” or “it’s a doozy”. These are all references to the famous car and car automaker – Duesenberg.
Duesenberg began its life as Auburn-Cord-Dusenberg. Ernest Lobban Cord began his career in the automobile industry in the most humble way – as a simple repairman of Model T Ford cars. It can be said that this debut of the Duesenberg line met with quite mixed fortunes. – Mr. Cord said that he had become three different millionaires before he reached the mature and experienced age of 21 – losing his entire fortune completely each of the three times. Finally at the ripe old age of 30 and with lasting and real wealth, Mr. Cord joined the failing Auburn Company as “General Manager”, bought a substantial stake in the company and proceeded to get Auburn back on track. Financial security and wealth.
Besides being clearly a shrewd engineer himself, Cord had the greatest ability and capacity to spot great talents and talents in others. As a result he observed, hired and employed classic notables and well-known legends in the automobile trades such as Gordon Buehrig, Harry Miller and Count Alexis de Sakhnofsky. Mr. Cord then immediately bought control of the Lyking Engine Plant and the Duesenberg Company itself.
The Deisenberg brothers, Fred and August, originally started out building bicycles in their adopted “home town” of Des Moines Iowa, building their first racing car in 1903 before venturing into the sport of motor racing. 1912 to build race cars, and their success inevitably led to the creation of standard road cars. The first model in the Duesenberg line of standard motor cars for the road and non-racing driver was the A Tourer. The Model A “Tourer” is dated to the year 1920. It can be said with truth as well as wisdom that the Duesenberg road cars were based heavily on the knowledge and expertise gained from auto racing and were excellent examples of the advanced engineering and automotive mechanical technologies of the time. The Duesenberg automotive product line quickly established a solid and well-earned reputation on the roads, as Duesenberg racing cars amassed a bevy of speed and racing records. Amazingly, the Duesenberg Racing Group won the venerable Indianapolis race in the years 1924, 1925 and 1927.
It may be said that Mr. Cord’s tough leadership and empire-building ambitions drove one of the most important alliances into existence and Auburn-Cord-Dusenberg went on to flourish in no uncertain terms. Unfortunately Cord’s timing was particularly bad and all of his projects came to fruition in the same disastrous year – 1929, the same year as the great stock market “crash”. Miller himself patented his version of “front wheel drive”.
The following year – 1929 – in which the Cord nameplate itself was used for the first time – the L29 was introduced and released for sale. Designed by Carl van Ranst, it featured a Miller front axle setup. Next in line were fast and flying cars like the Auburn Speedster, which had the distinction of being the first car line that stated and guaranteed that each car was individually speed tested to 100 mph .
Thus was born, cultivated and maintained the Duesenberg reputation as fine motor cars of great speed as well as beauty. It’s no accident that the Duesenberg name holds such prestige and notoriety among car fans.
The expression “it’s a doozy” is well earned.
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