Errett Lobban Cord

The American Dream

To me, Errett Lobban Cord is a fascinating character in automobile history. I would describe him as the typical American Dream archetype of the Roaring Twenties. E. L. Cord started from nothing and, using his smarts and ambition, built an empire throughout the course of his life, dying a multimillionaire. Although playing in the automotive field is only one of the many business interests he had in his life, and although he distanced himself from it in his later years, his impact on American Classic Cars is unequaled. This blog post details his rise from being a car salesman to heading three historically significant car manufacturers. Less than twenty years elapsed while Cord was at the head of the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg (ACD) empire, but basically ALL the ACD cars produced in this period are highly collectible today.

Cord, the Car Salesman

At the core, E. L. was a salesman. He understood what people wanted and how to sell it to them. Early in his life, E. L. exhibited immense entrepreneurial spirit and tried his hand at different ventures, including selling used cars: He modified Model Ts, raced and sold them at a profit. It is said that by the age of 24, he made and lost his fortune three times.  In 1919, he got a job as a car salesman for John Quinlan who just got the selling rights to the Moon Car. The now defunct Moon Motor Car Company sold higher-end assembled cars. They even used a grille resembling that of the Rolls-Royce to elevate their status. Cord made a lot of money selling those cars, he rose through the ranks and, by 1924, was a general manager and had purchased interest in the company. E. L. ‘s involvement with cars gave him a feel of what the American car buyer wanted. Using the money he made with Moon Cars and the invaluable insights and experience that he gathered selling them, Cord moved on to something bigger and better: the Auburn Car Company.

Cord, the Director

In 1924, Cord’s next move was to get hired as the sales director of the Auburn Car Company. At that time, Auburn was owned by a group of investors from Chicago, and it was struggling. Cord’s first task was to sell a stagnant stock of 700 vehicles so that the company could get out of the red. He rose to the challenge on the condition of being able to earn shares of the company in exchange for his work. Cord believed that if a car looked good, it would sell. So he made slight but impactful changes to the existing stock of Auburns by adding some nickel plating and repainting the cars in bright colors. He was right, the cars sold, which allowed Auburn to start producing new models under Cord’s guidance.  From 1924 to 1926, Cord managed to quadruple sales and to become the president of the company. Overall, Auburn under E. L. ‘s leadership produced great looking, relatively cheap yet dependable cars, often providing new technologies as standard. For a while, Auburn’s success and increasing sales allowed Cord’s personal wealth to grow as well as his empire-building pursuits. 

Cord and the Duesenberg

The Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company was founded by brothers Fred and Augie Duesenberg to sell their first commercial car the Model A. Fred being an engineering genius and both brothers being heavily involved in car racing, the brothers lacked the business savvy needed for commercial success. In 1926, E. L. recognised the Model A’s potential and Fred’s genius and purchased the company then known as Duesenberg Inc. He immediately tasked Fred to build him the best car imaginable. Cord’s Duesenberg would be the “best car the world had ever seen.” In this project, money was no object. The resulting Model J was a car with impeccable engineering, dressed by the best coachbuilders of the time and purchased by only the richest and most influential people. Despite their astronomical price, each Duesenberg was sold at a loss. Cord didn’t care about that as the Duesenerg brand boosted the overall image of the growing number of companies in his empire. 

Cord, the Car

To bridge the gap between the lower end Auburn and the high end Duesy, Cord created the mid-range Cord brand. Only two models were produced under the Cord name each bringing its load of firsts. The 1929 L-29 was the world’s first production front traction. (No it wasn’t the Citroën, look it up!). This first model is described as being 25 years ahead of its time. The later 810/812 was the first car to have hidden headlights. (Yes, the feature we associate with 1970s supercars). It also premiered the automatic mechanism to open a convertible top. Its singular look is also quite noteworthy. Appearing in 1936, its “coffin nose” (hood opening like on the average car today instead of having to lift a panel from the side like previous cars) was also one of the first instances of this configuration. These two automobiles set the stage for automobile innovation for decades to come. 

Cord, the Empire Builder

By 1929, it is said that the Cord Corporation controlled over 150 companies: an empire indeed. E. L. believed in supply-chain vertical integration and purchased many manufacturers involved in his ACD production. Unfortunately for us, like many other car brands, the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg empire did not survive the Great Depression that hit the United States in the 1930s. Although very involved at first, Cord seemed to have lost interest in car manufacturing when he sold his shares of the Cord Corporation in 1937. He was busy doing other things and did not seem to try to save it from collapse. To many car lovers, ACD cars are some of, if not the best, classic cars produced in the United States. Interestingly, E. L. did not keep any of the cars for himself once the project was over. Cord was a visionary, a trend setter, he didn’t see a purpose in collecting “old cars.” Apart from his great contribution to automobile history, Cord is also known for his successes in aviation, shipbuilding, mining, real estate, oil refining, broadcasting, home appliance manufacturing and politics.

Next week, we will introduce you to one of the ACD cars in the Demers Car Collection.