A 'Doozy' of a Car

A car with a 420 cubic inch, eight cylinder, 32 valve, dual over head cam engine that punches out 320 horse power and can go from zero to 60 in just around eight seconds doesn't seem like much by today's standards. But imagine if that car was made in the 1920s and you begin to understand what was so special about the machines being built by brothers Frederick and August Duesenberg in their plant in Indianapolis, IN.

The brothers actually started their company, the Duesenberg Automobile and Motor Company in 1913 in Des Moinse, IA in order to build sports and racing cars. The self-taught engineers from Germany leaped to fame when, in 1914, one of their cars finished a surprising 10th at the Indianapolis 500. Three outright titles would follow during the next decade.

By 1920 they had sold their two factories to John Willys and moved their operation to Indianapolis where their Model A became the first mass produced straight eight automobile in the USA. It was an amazing machine with the highest quality throughout. And it carried a price tag which reflected this. At $6500 this was a very expensive car.

Though the performance of the Model A was considered superior to any of its competition, it suffered from lack of sales. The problem was with the fact that while the Duesenberg brothers were brilliant engineers, they didn't have the skills to effectively run a business. So while their cars were winning races all over the country these victories did not translate into sales.

In 1926 they built the Model X. According to experts only 13 were ever built and until famed car collector Jay Leno found one in 2005, only four were known to survive. By now it became obvious that the brand had a reputation for turning out magnificient cars but Frederick and August had no idea how to manage the company. So shortly after the Model X was released the firm was purchased by noted car manufacturer E.L. Cord.

Cord wanted to take on the biggest and best automobiles in Europe and so he turned to the prowess of the Duesenberg company to manufacture their famous Model J. It was everything that Cord wanted. It was big, it was luxurious and it was fast. The 1929 model shown here is what is known as an SJ, the S indicating that the straight eight engine was supercharged.

Like the Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz and Hispano-Suiza cars Cord was wanting to compete with, the Model J was very expensive. Depending on who completed the always custom coachwork on the cars, prices could reach close to $20,000. This was ghastly expensive for the time. On the model shown here, the Pasadena, CA firm of Bohman and Schwartz did the coachwork.

Despite the sky high price tag and the impending economic depression, the Duesenberg continued to sell at a fair clip. At least until the late 1930s when Cord's personal and business empires collapsed, dragging the noble Duesenberg marque down with it.