Auburn Automobile Co., Auburn, Indiana, USA 1902 - 1936

Frank and Morris Eckhart were coachbuilders and started looking at the possibilities for motorised transport around 1900. Their first effort was a little single cylinder runabout with tiller steering that was sold to local customers in 1902. The following year production started in earnest with a, by then, more conventional steering wheel instead of the tiller. It retained the single cylinder engine under the floor of the body, the fuel tank under the bonnet and chain drive. In 1904 they introduced a rear entrance tonneau body style and in 1905 a twin cylinder engine which was fitted to all models up to 1910. This was a long period without a new model at a time when advances in the Auto industry were being made almost weekly.

This period of consolidation must have been worthwhile as they launched a new 4 cylinder model with Rutenber engine in 1910. At the same time they offered a full range of open and closed body styles with a "V" radiator design. In 1912 they added a 6 cylinder engine and both models continued through to 1917 when the four cylinder engine was phased out. By then the engines were manufactured by Continental and Teetor as along with most small manufacturers they could not afford to design and manufacture their own power plants.

The demand for the traditional American "high-wheelers" was still high enough to justify the purchase of the local firm Zimmerman Manufacturing Company of Auburn in 1912. They continued to make these "high-wheelers" until 1915.

Auburn overstepped the mark somewhat and in 1921 introduced it's "Beauty Six" series. Their coachbuilding heritage was coming to forefront with some very odd body styling. The sides of the body had bevelled edges on top and there was a streamlined motif. The sporting phaeton was very unusual with cycle wings, step plates, disc wheels and a luggage holder just behind the front bumper bar. The smaller 6-43 model had a choice of engines, either the Continental 6Y-L side valve or the Weidely overhead valve type and the larger cars could also be specified with the Supreme unit. Unfortunately they were perceived as dull and sales were slow so that production fell from 6,062 cars in 1919 to 2,443 in 1923.

By 1924 Auburn was in financial difficulty with production down to 6 cars a day and large number unsold in the compound.

Disaster was averted when the company was bought by E L Cord the dynamic salesman of Moon cars who had his own ideas for the company. He had all the unsold cars repainted in bright colours and nickel plated the radiators and door handles.stripped and polished. He then sold them for more than the cost price whilst he had his stylists working on a new range of cars so that by the end of the year production had already exceeded that for the previous year.

The 1925 Auburns were designed by J M Crawford and were the epitome of fashionable design, so much so that they remained virtually unchanged for the next 5 years. There was a moulding which started at the waistline and curved up over the bonnet to peak at the radiator cap and the paint was in two tones. Although the 6 cylinder Continental engine was continued there was the addition of the Lycoming straight-8 (also fitted to the Elcar, Gardner and Kissel 8-75)

Cord was busy building up his empire and purchased the ailing Duesenberg company in the Autumn of 1926 with the intention of working the same magic he had used on the Auburn. He was successful in taking these cars to the point where they became the best known cars in America. In September 1929 he announced the front wheel drive Cord L-29 which was made in the Auburn factory. During this period he also acquired Lycoming the car and aircraft engine manufacturer, the Stinson aircraft Company and Central Manufacturing the body builders.

The new Auburn for the 1931 model year was designed by 26 year old Alan H Leamy who was also responsible for the expensive Cord L-29 and immortal Duesenburg Model J. This new Auburn was very well received, with it's sporting appearance and low build. It was also very competitively priced for such a stylish car and the starting price was only $945. Sales shot up to 34,228 units which was all the more amazing as it coincided with the first year of the Depression. This sales burst was short lived as the figures for 1932 were only 11,145 in spite of the launch of the twelve. Prices were cut again in 1933, but sales continued to fall and only 5,038 Auburns were sold. A 6 cylinder car was re-introduced for 1934 and prices reduced again so that sales rose to 7,770.

For Auburn enthusiasts 1935 was a milestone year as this was when the new supercharged car was announced. With it's sporting 2 seat boat tailed body and supercharged engine it was considered by many to be the most exciting production car from any American manufacturer.

It continued into 1936 but by then the sales had fallen even further to 1,263 cars and although plans were being made for the 1937 models they were never built and the Auburn marque was at an end.

Bibliography:

Erret Lobban Cord, his Empire, his Motor Cars: Auburn, Cord, Duesenburg,

by Griffith Borgeson, Automobile Quarterly Publications.

"E L Cord and his Empire", by Beverly Rae Kimes, Automobile Quarterly, Vol. 18 No. 2