Designed by Gordon Miller Buehrig as the Baby
Duesenberg, the Cord was hailed as being advanced for its time, both in
design and technical features, but its appeal proved to be too
short-lived and too late to save the company on its last gasps from the
Depression. After six months of debating the proposed design,
Duesenberg's boss, E.L. Cord, left Buehrig just four months to build
the cars needed for the 1935 New York Auto Show, where it was awarded
the title of the most beautiful car; luckily, however, no one at the
show bothered to raise the hood because the engines were not ready.
Buehrig was praised for beaking all the rule sin auto design. The Cord
was the frist American car to feature hidden pop-up headlights, hidde
door hinges and a one-piece rear-hinged hood. The Cord's most
distinctive styling feature was its so-called coffin-nose hood with its
seven wrap-around chromed ribs or louvers, making it the first
water-cooled car to dispense with the front grille and radiator shell.
Other advanced features included front-wheel-drive, a four-speed
semi-automatic transmission and a V-8 built to order by aircraft engine
manufacturer Lycoming, also part of E.L. Cord's empire. The leading
edge of the Cord's front wheels actually preceded the hood because of
the transmission placement ahead of the engine, making the car appear
as though it was leaping forward even when standing still, and making
it well balanced. The interior was equally stunning, dominated by an
instrument panel reminiscent of an airplane. At both ends of the
dashboard were small cranks to raise or lower the hidden headlights
given that power-assisted motors were not yet available. However, the
car's appeal proved to be its downfall with the company taking
production short cuts to meet the unprecedented orders; the quality
problems were eventually fixed but too late to save the marque and E.L.
Cord's other automotive ventures, the Auburn and Deusenberg. The last
Cord came off the assembly line August 7, 1937.
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