Cord Corporation
The Cord Corporation was one of the largest US holding companies in the 1920s and 1930s and was primarily active in the transportation and related industries .
history
.jpg)
EL Cord (1894–1974) founded the company in 1929 with his Auburn Automobile Company in Auburn ( Indiana ) and Duesenberg Motors Company in Indianapolis (Indiana). He had previously taken over and renovated both.
Cord subsequently bought companies from various industries and added them to his corporation . The 150 or so companies included:
- Auburn Automobile Company with the brands Auburn and Cord
- Duesenberg, Inc. with the LaGrande bodywork brand
- Lexington Motor Company , Connersville, Indiana; closed on May 23, 1927
- McFarlan Motor Car Company , Connersville, Indiana, branded McFarlan (1910-1928). Acquired in 1928, used by Cord as a bodybuilder.
- Limousine Body Company , factory body supplier to Auburn
- Central Manufacturing Company , Connersville IN, another supplier of factory bodies for Auburn and custom bodywork for Duesenberg. Bought in 1929
- AH Walker Company in Indianapolis, special bodies for Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg
- Union City Body Company in Union City, (Indiana) (in the factory of the former Zimmerman Manufacturing Company which was taken over by Auburn in 1915) with factory bodies for Auburn and other brands
- Lycoming Manufacturing Company ; Engine builder; Supplier for Auburn , Cord , Duesenberg and several other brands as well as aircraft engines
- Ansted Engineering Company of Connersville, Indiana; Engine builder
- Columbia Axle Company , manufacturer of two-stage differential rear axles for Auburn
- LGS Devices Corporation
- Stinson Aircraft Company , aircraft manufacturer
- Checker Motors Corporation , taxi manufacturer. The previous owner, Morris Markin , bought the company back in 1936
- Parmalee Transportation Company (owner of the Yellow Cab Company ), taxi manufacturer
- Century Airlines , one of the forerunners of American Airlines
Knowing that he would not be able to keep up with the major automobile manufacturers General Motors , Ford and Chrysler in the long term , he focused on diversification and, in the case of automobiles, on differences from the competition. Auburn offered an excellent price-performance ratio in the upper middle class and in the lower luxury range and an extravagant design, Cord was the innovative brand and dominated its market segment with technology and later also with styling, and Duesenberg was the Group's prestige project with the aim of to offer the best car in the world.
The economic crisis hit the group with some delay. Auburn in particular had problems, although 1931 was the best year in the company's history with around 28,000 cars sold. The Cord brand was temporarily discontinued in 1932, but there was an Auburn V12. In 1934, LB Manning became managing director of Cord Corporation. The Cord car brand was revived in 1935. Auburn introduced an eight-cylinder compressor instead of the V12 and brought back a cheaper model range.
In 1936 EL Cord withdrew completely from the business. In 1937 he sold his shares in Emanuel & Co. , Schroder, Rockefeller & Co. and a group of business people around Manning. In 1937 the cessation of all auto activities was announced and in 1938 Dallas Winslow, Inc. bought the remaining inventory of Auburn ; the Felz Motor Company took over that of Duesenberg .
Individual evidence
swell
- Don Butler: Auburn Cord Duesenberg. (= Crestline Series ). Crestline Publishing, 1992, ISBN 0-87938-701-7 . (English)
- ACD Museum (Ed.): 19th Annual Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival; Official Souvenir Book. Brochure for the opening of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana (USA) on Labor Day Weekend 1974. (English)
- Beverly Rae Kimes (Eds.), Henry Austin Clark, Jr.: The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 2nd Edition. Krause Publications, Iola WI 1985, ISBN 0-87341-111-0 . (English)
- Consumer's Guide (Ed.): Encyclopedia of American Cars from 1930. Publications International, 1993, ISBN 0-7853-0175-5 . (English)
- Jon M. Bill: Duesenberg Racecars & Passenger Cars Photo Archive. Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum (Ed.), Iconografix, Hudson WI, Photo Archive Series, ISBN 1-58388-145-X . (English)
- Dennis Adler: Duesenberg. Heel-Verlag, Königswinter 2005, ISBN 3-89880-487-9 .
- Beverly Rae Kimes: Pioneers, Engineers, and Scoundrels: The Dawn of the Automobile in America. Published by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Permissions, Warrendale PA 2005, ISBN 0-7680-1431-X . (English)
- Brooks T. Brierley: Auburn, Reo, Franklin and Pierce-Arrow versus Cadillac, Chrysler, Lincoln and Packard. 1st edition. Garrett & Stringer, Coconut Grove, Florida, ISBN 0-9615791-1-0 . (English)
- Piet Olyslager: American Cars of the 1930s. The Olyslager Auto Library (1971; reprinted 1977), ISBN 0-7232-1266-X .
- Piet Olyslager: American Cars of the 1940s. The Olyslager Auto Library (1972; reprinted 1973), ISBN 0-7232-1465-4 .
- Tad Burness: American Car Spotter's Guide, 1920-39. Motorbooks International, 1975, ISBN 0-87938-026-8 . (English)
