was a
Brand Name of
United States Automobile s from
1900 through
1937 . It grew out of the Eckhart Carriage Company, founded in
Auburn, Indiana , in
1875 by Charles Eckhart (1841–1915). Eckhart's sons, Frank and Morris, began making automobiles on an experimental basis before entering the business in earnest, absorbing two other local carmakers and moving into a larger plant in
1909 . The enterprise was modestly successful until materials shortages during
World War I forced the plant to close.
The
1904 Auburn was a
Touring Car model. Equipped with a
Tonneau , it could seat 2 or 4 passengers and sold for
US$ 1000. The flat-mounted single-cylinder engine, situated at the center of the car, produced 10 hp (7.5 kW). A 2-speed
Planetary Transmission was fitted. The angle-steel-framed car weighed 1500 lb (680 kg) and used
Half-elliptic Springs .
In
1919 , the Eckhart brothers sold out to a group of
Chicago investors headed by
Ralph Austin Bard , who later served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and as Under Secretary of the Navy for President Roosevelt and for President
Harry S. Truman . The new owners revived the business but failed to realize the profits that they hoped for. In
1924 , they approached
Errett Lobban Cord (1894–1974), a highly successful automobile salesman, with an offer to run the company. Cord countered with an offer to take over completely in what amounted to a
Leveraged Buyout . The Chicago group accepted.
Cord aggressively marketed the company's unsold inventory and completed his buyout before the end of
1925 . In
1926 , he partnered with
Duesenberg Corporation, famous for its racing cars, and used it as the launching platform for a line of high-priced luxury vehicles. He also put his own name on a front-wheel-drive car, the L-29
Cord .
Employing imaginative designers such as
Alan Leamy and
Gordon Buehrig , Cord built cars that became famous for their advanced engineering as well as their striking appearance, e.g., the 1928 Auburn Boattail Speedster, the Model J Duesenbergs, the 1935–1937 Auburn Speedsters and the 810/812 Cords.
Styling and engineering failed to overcome the fact that Cord's vehicles were too expensive for the
Depression -era market and that Cord's stock manipulations would force him to give up control of his car companies. Under injunction from the
U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission to refrain from further violations, Cord sold his shares in his automobile holding company. In 1937, production of Auburns, Cords and Duesenbergs ended.
The company's
Art Deco headquarters in Auburn now houses the
Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum . It was made a
National Historic Landmark in
2005 .
The Auburn Automobile Company also had a manufacturing plant in
Connersville, Indiana , that occupied a facility formerly owned by the
Lexington Motor Company .
- ''Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly'' (January 1904)
