Cord Corporation was founded in America in 1929 by Errett L. Cord as a holding company for his many automotive interests, controlling Auburn Automobiles, the engine manufacturer Lycoming Motors, the coachbuilder Limousine Body, the aircraft constructor Stinson and the Duesenberg brand.
Cord cars were conceived to be sold alongside the Auburn range, but to a higher segment of the market. This placed them in the segment between the high-volume, less expensive Auburns, and the highly sophisticated and much more costly Duesenbergs. Cords would have to have uniquely attractive traits to give them their own image and identity, and still be sellable at a profit at a price closer to the 1,000 – 1,500 dollar range of the Auburns than the 10,000 – 13,000 dollar prices of the Duesenbergs. To make this possible, components already produced in large numbers were used, such as the Lycoming MD engine – a side-valve in-line 8 cylinder unit with a displacement of almost five litres – which was transformed, with just a few modifications, to create the FD (Front Drive) series.
The front drive solution was chosen by Cord precisely to give his new line of cars a justifying premise, making them stand clearly apart from all other American cars of the time. But it was not only to this technical – and, to some extent, tactical – choice that the car owed its success, which was also largely due to the impeccable proportions of its body. The low, straight chassis and the sleek lines of the bonnet, which had to accommodate an in-line eight cylinder engine and the entire drivetrain and measured almost half as long as the entire car, lent a sense of predatory prestige to the design, which suddenly left the designers of every other car brand of the era at a loss.
But this great initial critical and public acclaim failed to transform into successful sales figures. Presented in September 1929 at a price of 3,095 dollars for the sedan (and 3,295 for the cabriolet and phaeton), the first Cord was only a lukewarm sales success. Just over 5,300 were built: a lot for such a revolutionary car, but not many for an American automobile in this price bracket. The car went out of production in 1933, and the Cord brand entered a long period of gloom, which was probably also related to personal problems of the founder himself.
That same year, Cord decided to launch a project for a small Duesenberg, also with front wheel drive. When he saw the mock-up in June 1935, he was so impressed with it that he wanted to put his own name on the car, and gave up the idea of introducing a ‘baby’ Duesenberg. After frantic and exhausting work to get the car ready in time, it was presented at the New York Motor Show in January 1936 as the 810.
Once again, though, Cord had made the mistake of offering a car that was too radial to an essentially conservative public: front wheel drive alone was no longer novel enough to make the car unique, and this time around the car also sported a stylish and cultivated new design, with full volumes, a complete lack of chrome frills and pop-up headlamps, which was admired by the average man in the street, but failed to convince him to actually buy it. But the car was hampered by overheating problems and other mechanical maladies afflicting the suspension and steering in particular. On top of all this were delays in deliveries, which the car’s detractors deftly took advantage of to validate their allegations that the car was impossible to actually put into production.
The swan song of the 810 came in the shape of the 812 presented in the autumn of 1936. This, however, failed to improve sales of the model: no more than 2,500 were sold in all – only half as many as the L29.
In 1937, Cord closed down forever.
