The L29 was the world’s first production front-wheel drive model, a solution chosen by Cord to give its new line a distinctive element compared to the rest of the American automotive manufacturing industry. However, it wasn’t just this technical and, in a sense, tactical choice that made the car successful. Much can be attributed to the proportions of the bodywork. The low, straight chassis, together with the slender bonnet which, since it had to house an 8-cylinder engine in line with the transmission unit, was almost half the length of the entire vehicle, gave the car aggressive, prestigious lines that all the designers of other car manufacturers immediately had to con- tend with.