Auburn/Cord/Duesenberg Museum

welcome to this very special edition of acquires car crazy as we travel back in time to the earliest days of car making this is the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum in Auburn Indiana this was a town of fewer than 5,000 residents and there are 11 different brands of cars made it illegal for almost 40 years a passion behind this mecca for car guys has grown ever brighter and more respected the world-over Duesenberg started out as a race car a lot of people don't know that the Duesenberg for masters at getting a lot of horsepower out of a small I know if you love elegant cars you're going to love going car crazy at the acd museum we traveled the world to talk with men and women who are passionate car guys to find out what makes people emotionally connected to their cars it's time to get to the heart of the car guy this is car great hi everybody welcome to the very special dish of acquires car crazy today we're going back in time to the golden year of car making we're here in Auburn Indiana at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum and you're about to see some of the finest cars ever made in America since 1973 this national historic landmark has played host to over 2 million car lovers from all corners of the globe with over a hundred and twenty cars ranging from 1894 to the modern era and the world's largest collection of birds cords and Duesenbergs this has to be on every car guys bucket list we're here with Laura brake when the executive director of this fantastic place and what a job you have are you having fun or wow I'm having fun I love coming to work every day can we go back in the history of Auburn and help everybody understand the birthday of what we're seeing here sure Charles a cart had a carriage company in the City of Auburn and in 1903 like everyone else that had a carriage company they put a motor buggy right some investors from Chicago invested in the company and one of those gentlemen from Chicago had met Elkhorn the hotshot salesman and the sky said will you come to Auburn Indiana and see what you can do with our Auburn automobile company and so al cord said I will come to Auburn I won't take much of a salary but I would like a stock option and within two years he owned the company no what year did he first come down here in 24 who's 24 all right in 2016 junction e there's a stock option and purchase Duesenberg incorporated that same year that was a moment in time yes and when it comes to having profound passion and respect for these remarkable cards Matt shorts intimate knowledge and understanding is second to none what is it about these old cars it just keeps you so excited all these all these many years it's just the sense of history and when you're looking at some of these cars you're not just looking at glass and steel you're looking at greatness you're in the presence of greatness a great specimen right behind us it really is it really is in 1937 812 supercharged coupe and they only built three coupes and only one like this you look at any one of these cars and you get pretty excited absolutely every one of these great cars carries were that a great story including how it came here to be honored very this is a very interesting car over here this is a 1926 Auburn y'all had the idea that an Auburn should be different this is the first car that he was responsible for introducing yell cord and he wanted you to see an Auburn three blocks away and say that's an Auburn it really is the signature mark Probert is this design this color scheme this distinctive look well I know this car really lights your fire this is one of them this really excites me this was the first Duesenberg given to the museum it was given to us not by a wealthy car collector but by a man named Don Carr a mechanic at wright-patterson Air Force Base he bought it as a wrecked car in 1953 and restored the car and drove it daily so it's original body engine in chassis and it's got 260 thousand miles on it Lance right Lance now one thing I should tell you about this is a condition of its donation is that it has to be licensed and driven on public roads so I think we should take it for a drive the smooth commanding ride of a Duesenberg was unlike any other car in the road the engineering is astounding now and they were made 80 years ago in a great degree live history particularly automotive history it is very and I get to do it every day you lucky dog Edwyn we return will take you all the way back to the very beginning of the automobile the horseless carriage this is buggy the car right in front of it you don't want to miss this welcome back to McGuire's car crazy the cars and the exhibits here at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum make this a must-see for every car guy and if you end architecture it's worth coming here just to see the building just completed in 1930 over 75 years ago this masterful work of architecture house the original Auburn automobile companies international headquarters making it the perfect venue for this magnificent historic museum the term horseless carriages is a common term we're really singing right here This Is It this is buggy to car yeah it is it was Eckert carriage company it was mr. Eckert moved to Auburn in 1874 and started building buggies in the parlor and I'm guessing mrs. Eckhart didn't like that shortly thereafter he built a little carriage shop out behind and the rest as they say is history so this you're telling me is really the first a burn part right well this is the second year of production but it is the oldest one it exists oldest women exist yeah and what's interesting is both of these pieces were built in the same factory the cars were built in a section of the buggy works you know they bought engines they bought transmissions on the obody trans the transition what we know today is the automotive industry happened right in these little shops is it this is a microcosm of the auto industry as a whole the museum displays are divided into individual galleries highlighting key aspects of automotive advancements throughout the years this gallery are the pre e-l cord all birds these are the cars that were built by the Acker family and then these subsequent buyers assume crate cars here there are I mean this is a 1922 beauty six sport touring it's the only complete example in the world and it's a pretty sporty car it's got step plates instead of running boards and it's got trunks instead of side mounts have a lot of carbs are one of absolutely especially there really are burns they're very very rare cars but the Auburn automobile company wasn't the only car manufacturer to call this quaint little city home so our burn was really a center for car manufacturers early 1900 it really was it's amazing this was a town of fewer than 5,000 residents and there are 11 different brands of cars made here who know you and and you're telling me because the workforce there was a workforce here that was available when they needed it they go back and work on the farm yeah there were a lot of German farmers in this area so they were skilled trades people a lot of seasonal manufacturing which worked fine for the farmers Yeah right and so they'd come back into town and build some more cars my grandad started our company in 1901 okay and Evansville Ania really okay okay start with furniture polish working particularly in black lacquer furniture we're trying to get the crew free get over a pity shot at Frank those lacquers transferred over most of her earlier horses carriages of course were painted black back lacquer absolutely this is a good example here right - see that's is where our furniture polish started being used and so without our permission almost we became a car polish company now you know the rest of our scale that's wonderful so we're kind of surrounded by it McIntyre's here but where were some of the other marks well there's zimmerman's amps Kiplinger's those exist we have examples of unfortunately about half of the makes made there are no known examples I've advertised I've written letters trying to find them so anybody out there knows where there's a union or DeSoto but not the one from Detroit give me a call you never know you never know we came up with a lot of things we're gonna make an announcement on this show the scope of history that's been captured in this ability is almost overwhelming and we're not even halfway through all the exhibits there's a whole lot more of you to see right after this break this in my 20 years with the museum is the single most exciting gift I ever welcome back to McGuire's car crazy we're here in Auburn Indiana at the historic home of the largest collection of Auburn's Cordes Duesenbergs in the world let's check them out right here in this quiet unassuming town is this treasure chest of extremely rare UD collector cars that can't be found anywhere else in the world very I've got a really interesting car too for us to look at over here it is a recreation but it's a recreation of a very special car did you know that in 1929 the Los Angeles Auto Show burned to the ground now if this car was in it well the original car was in it I mean it was the only one now it was a famous car was the Auburn cabin speedster and they made Tutsi toys of it but the original car was lost in the fire and it wasn't until the 1960s that we learned why they didn't build more of them the blue prints weren't found until then they built this recreation and they discovered that it is so claustrophobic and so tight that a human couldn't drive it no matter where you turn this unique one-of-a-kind museum there's another incredible car with an even more incredible story well there's a beauty here it is very but it's not your typical 8-12 supercharged Beverly this has a special story okay this in my 20 years with the museum is the single most exciting gift I ever got really I got a call one afternoon from Charley cord jr. yells grandson and he said I have my grandfather's cord I didn't know it still existed it had been in a warehouse in Los Angeles for about 25 years and it has an unbroken ownership history from 1937 to 2007 when it came back Wow the factory had cease production he called Connersville and said I want 100 Oh was the other plan the other plan in southern Indiana this car had been returned to the factory for repair they took it out the back door and shifted to Beverly Hills and he all had his cord imagine driving this car down Wilshire Boulevard in 1930 you what 30 37 yeah absolutely just stunning it's true the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum has one of the most phenomenal collections of cars rolled we call the Gordon here of car making but there's so much more to see what was the world headquarters the Auburn automobile company like yo cords executive office this entire complex is saturated with automotive history you can actually feel it and sense it and almost experience it like you step back in time restorations the original offices of work shots belonging to ile chord and gordon urug and their colleagues look like they just stepped out for a moment you know Gordon burek was easily one of the most prolific car designers who ever lived and thanks to the team here at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum his amazing creations live on for all of us to enjoy the profound legacy of styling and forward-thinking design that's on display here at the ACD museum is actively inspiring the next generation of car designers okay so what is this this is another amazing artifact this is why your design this is a pure design this is the 1948 tasko and tasco stands for the American sports car company and the idea was to build an American post World War two sports car that they could use for road racing but this is as far as it got well the only real significant thing that came out of this as the use of t-tops gordon be reinvented the t-top ruth was the head of his time always that's the first tee top right there right there well certainly aerodynamic that's work but it is a very interesting car in a very interesting part of history and Richie Klein was generous enough to donate it to you Richie donate yes he did you Richie absolutely when I was generous guys I know he is this a car that he worked with with dick Kuhn it is this is later this was the last design of Gordon's to actually be built as a car it's the 1979 burek their idea was to build a sports luxury car that would carry forward some of the classic themes to the modern era dick kuhn gave us this man and this is the only car that ever carried his name absolutely the Vera's it and I think that was really important and from the evolution of Gordon Buren's creations we move on to the world's largest and most comprehensive Duesenberg collection now I recognize this car this is buck camp Allison's car I was just with buck on a tour he was driving this yeah I think we still got some mud left over Georgia this is a rare car it's the Model X Duesenberg and they only made 13 of them and there's only four left well I can testify she runs mighty fine that's good to know this is Alan Lee Me's masterpiece he was the chief body designer for Auburn and did the Cordell 29 this is 11 inches lower than the energy yarn is a low stance to write the first American production car with front-wheel drive they had very innovative technology front wheel drive in what year 1929 29 there's absolutely nothing new when we come back with transition from pre-war elegance to the early days of high-speed racing racing improves the breed yeah it does still doing it stay with us we're back with more but wires car crazy luxury to yourselves in the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum in northern Indiana that's dedicated honoring the golden era of the American Automobile you know we're surrounded by history here everywhere you look and so there's a story so I had to catch up with John and Bill who's director of education and archives so you're our go-to guy to really understand the background of really not just this museum and not just aa bird but Indiana in general there's a lot of marks a lot of different car manufactured Indiana at one time there were 150 car manufactures located in the female armored adventures that's incredible that many manufacturers here and quite a few right here resident in Auburn right right here in Auburn there were ten manufacturers of automobiles believe it or not it's a it's a so you're back right let's talk about your background right quick you've been here quite a while right I've been here 10 years as a director of education and archives and been a car nut all my life this one right here is one that kind of started it off for me for you right the avadhi right this with your fruits loved just a kid out of high school is that just about the time that the 63 Avani was released to the public and I just fell in love with these things bought this one in 1969 so you didn't regional owner is that right back in 88 the governor recalled every Indiana built automobile to Auburn Indiana for a car show during one summer am i I'm gonna bring this car up here and I was approached by skip Marchetti the director director of the our museum at the time and he wanted to know if we would put this on loan here because they had didn't have an Avani and I was just kind of honored and I thought well that's a wonderful place for it yeah it's been there ever since yeah and this is the familiar story here at the museum cars that arrived here to be displayed and honored rarely ever leave much of the technology that was used in Auburn scores in Duesenberg was derived from racing you know all of the meticulous workmanship an inspiration that created these magnificent looking cars was complemented by pure engineering genius stemming from their success on the racetrack all captured in the museum's racing gallery Duesenberg you started out as a racecar a lot of people don't know that right they kind of owned in the apples for a period oh absolutely I don't think there's any other company that held the world land speed record won the French Grand Prix at LeMans and won the Indianapolis 500 three times Wow so said to what year is this what this is a 1927 Duesenberg racer mm-hmm they used the straight eight twin overhead cam and they had a centrifugal supercharger yeah mounted on the side of the engine driven by the crank yeah claim the Duesenberg for masters at getting a lot of horsepower out of a small one right a twin overhead cam design was later used on the model J and in 1932 Duesenberg was the first American car to use a supercharger on a passenger hour all that came out of their racing history right racing improves the breed yeah it does across words still doing hmm the cord you think was a race car it's a great road car right the cord was a wonderful road car then we've got one downstairs that I would love to show to you it's a special cord at one time belonged to Gordon burek original really let it assign could we take it out a little bit some people can get the feel of it vicariously I remember ass riding in a car created and owned by Gordon burek is simply indescribable your mind literally races back in time this was the first car to have the taillights built into the body of her car so tell sabor about Gordon he was a young man when he designed they built dishwashers and with our rights food this thing needs to be good out for a man this woman yes from the earliest days of the car hobby all the way up to right now there's one thing that's kept it moving this was a hobby it's a big industry but we're all still having fun don't go away McGuire's car crazy we'll be right back welcome back to the bars car crazy every great automotive museum has a team of passionate car guys behind the seeds and the crew here of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum is one of the best I've ever seen anywhere I want you to be at Robert pass one of my good friends for a lot we go we go back a year 225 maybes leaded late 25 the president of this place you're such a car guy but a car guy are your life let's give your background okay I started in high school with an mg Austin Healey and I still have the Austin Healey and I've been a car guy forever 1970 I started a little company called passport transport hauling antique cars around the country and I drove the first truck did you did you ever go to ship a ship a classic car or a valuable car you got to ship my passport well you had no choice we were the only ones and that's how I got to Auburn Indiana when the crews family started auctions airs in 1971 I came with my one truck and they've sold a Duesenberg here for $60,000 and I had to call my insurance guy and see if I could haul it there's a lot of money and it's just amazing what's happened over the years and you've seen the whole museum and the addition that's because of a bunch of passionate car guys volunteering their time when you walk in and you see the building forget the cars look a building is spectacular there is just a feeling am I am I wrong or no no when you're walking this building I'll tell you captivates you there is something that just grabs you here when I bring people over here to visit they walk in and they say this is almost eerie it feels like we're back in the 30s isn't earning something that's what we're trying to capture her haven't only captured the spirit of an era gone by but have actually resurrected it brought it back to life making this museum a living time capsule that's quite unique and all this hard work and dedication stems from one place the passion for me from cars when I started my trucking business it wasn't the trucking businesses about the cars yeah and the people yeah when we started back in 70 we just this was a hobby sure how it's a big industry but we're all still having fun yeah I love the way you have the museum laid out with these different galleries the most impressive gallery that there was dedicated to a man named Robert Paz that's an interesting gallery that that's uh we call that special interest gallery and yeah I have a particular interest in Frank Lloyd Wright and those cars are in there and I have to live in an old Frank Lloyd Wright house is that right so too busy it's a great car he had some great cars and the one accord up there the orangish red which was his color was his car l-29 cord as spectacular as this collection is at its current state there are always new treasures to track down hunt for the car you guys are always looking for cars always so you're part of all that process as well there's one I donated years and years ago it's a 28 Cadillac chassis tell me the story that was built for the New York Auto Show by General Motors Cadillac and it was to introduce the v8 motor and that car never had a body never did never and the motor has nothing in it what they did was engine turned the block and the head that just engine turned the whole thing of transmission for show yeah but as we senior today a lot of cars on display here were not made for sitting around looking pretty they are made to be driven and the car guys here the acd museum are faithful to honor their original purpose our thanks to all the car guys here who have worked so hard to bring the Golden Arrow the American Automobile back to life when cars were as much a work of art as they were a form of transportation it is these treasured glimpses into our past that remind us from which we've come while expanding our minds and understanding of the car hobby and making us all just a little bit or guard raising see you next time you

Channel: CarCrazyCentral

Views: 55,320

Rating: 4.8727274 out of 5

Keywords: Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg, Museum

Id: L21qYx3Y1EU

Length: 22min 35sec (1355 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 04 2011