Exhibits
There are seven main galleries displaying the museum’s automobile collection. Each gallery reflects a different piece of the story the museum tells. In addition to these galleries, there are restored Auburn Automobile Company offices along with technology, art, and design exhibits.
Evolution of American Car Mascots and Hood Ornaments: Selections from the Jon Zoler Collection
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum is honored to exhibit these hood ornaments and car mascots from the Zoler Collection.
The exhibit features 150 specifically curated American car mascots and hood ornaments from 1911 to 1957 and will be displayed throughout the museum’s Company Showroom. Popularized in the 1920s and 30s, hood ornaments were seen by auto manufacturers as a means to bring marque uniqueness that highlighted and communicated the brand’s image. They served both an aesthetic and functional purpose. Marques include Auburn, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Cord, Duesenberg, LaSalle, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Studebaker and others, as well as 16 accessory mascots.
Today, very few automakers offer hood accessories, but for early motorists, they served as practical and decorative works of art. From 1905 to the early 1930s motorists relied on MotoMeters, a thermometer device mounted on the top of the radiator to monitor engine coolant temperature. Car manufacturers took the opportunity to market their brands and created mascots associated with certain makes and models. These mascots would accompany MotoMeters on the caps of car radiators until car body designs changed, placing the radiator under the hood. Mascots remained a fashionable accessory on top of the hood, but auto designers added chrome-plated strips and called them hood ornaments for a more modern look. Today the terms “car mascot” and “hood ornament” are used interchangeably.
Designs reflected the style of the time period. In the 1910s through the early 1920s, mascot figures were realistically depicted. With a desire for a more modern look, mascots became highly stylized under the influence of the Art Deco movement. Designers commonly used themes of women or goddesses, mythological men, and creatures; swift, graceful, or powerful animals and abstract streamlined shapes like rockets. In the 1960s hood ornaments started to be seen as safety hazards in collisions and were left out of designs in the effort to streamline car body styles. As you look at the evolution of these car mascots and hood ornaments consider how each one conveys the individual interests and passions of car owners.
E.L. Cord Gallery of Entrepreneurship
E.L. Cord is an outstanding and interesting example of the quintessential entrepreneur.
Using the Auburn Automobile Company as the launching pad for his success, Cord formed the Cord Corporation which became a driving force in 1920s and 1930s business. He had control of more than 60 businesses through the corporation ranging from Auburns, Cords, and Duesenbergs to airplanes and airlines.
Duesenberg: The Evolution of America’s Finest Motorcar
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum presents a new exhibit titled Duesenberg: The Evolution of America’s Finest Motorcar. The exhibit is showcased in the Art Deco Showroom of the Museum.
This exhibit includes a uniquely curated selection of eight Duesenberg vehicles and two engines that have never been seen together before. The exhibit comprehensively tells the story of the Duesenberg passenger vehicle and its evolution in all forms including the Model A, experimental Model X’s and Y, finally leading to the debut of the coveted Model J.
The Duesenberg automobiles are amongst the most prestigious, technologically advanced, and stylish of the Classic Era. The Duesenberg Model A, introduced in 1920, was America’s first production straight-eight-cylinder engine car and the first American vehicle produced with four-wheel hydraulic brakes. In 1926, Errett Lobban Cord acquired controlling interest in the Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company and issued a single challenge, to build the most powerful and extravagant passenger car to date. The result of that challenge was the Duesenberg Model J, a grandiose automobile unlike any other, which utilized some of the most talented and brilliant minds of the era.
However, there was a transitional period where all aspects of the Duesenberg were reviewed, revised, upgraded, and made completely new. Those Duesenbergs, now known as the Model X and the Model Y, were the transitional models where everything from the engine to the frame were engineered and modified.
The vehicles on display include the first ever Duesenberg sold to the public and known as the “Castle Duesenberg,” 1926 Model A operable show chassis, 1927 Model Y, 1927 Model X Sedan, Dual-Cowl Phaeton, Speedster, and 1929 Model J Convertible Coupe. A Duesenberg Model A engine is also on display to showcase the engineering prowess of the Duesenberg brothers.
The museum appreciates its supporters and vehicle loaners including Bob Becker, Buck Kamphausen, Eric Killorin, Perry Pintzow, Josh Voss, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, and the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.
John Dillinger, Hoosier Hoodlum | Special Exhibit
On October 14, 1933, part of Dillinger’s gang, let by bandits Walter Dietrich and Harry Copeland, robbed the Auburn Police Department, stealing bullet-proof vests, ammunition, and amongst other weapons, a Thompson submachine gun.
The prized piece in the display is the very same Thompson submachine gun. Returned to the Auburn Police Department from the FBI in 2014, police officials decided the best place for public display is at the Museum. Auburn Chief of Police Martin McCoy says, “The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum is where this piece of history belongs and we are very happy it is now on display for others to see and enjoy”. The museum has recently added a 1933 Ford V-8 that once belonged to Indiana sheriff Lillian Holley, who was stationed at the Crown Point jail during John Dillinger's short stay at the facility in 1934. Shortly after being booked into the Crown Point jail John Dillinger orchestrated an escape with the aid of a wooden gun. After making his escape, Dillinger stole the Ford and made it north to Chicago before being captured by federal agents.
Displayed alongside the submachine gun and 1933 Ford V-8 are period artifacts including a drum barrel, police hat, and a Detroit Free Press newspaper chronicling the theft. The display touches upon the biography of Dillinger, the getaway cars Dillinger used, and the storied history of the submachine gun. Visitors can get their mug shot taken in front of a height chart backdrop while holding a mug shot placard.
Original Company Showroom
Step back in time and enjoy the display of Auburns, Cords and Duesenbergs of the classic era (1925 – 1937) in their magnificent Art Deco Company Showroom! Walk across the terrazzo floor, lit by Art Deco chandeliers and sconces that highlight the elegance, beauty, and depth of this impressive space, just as it did in 1930. Browse among these classic cars, rich in history, technological innovation, luxury and beauty, a combination that defined the Auburn Automobile Company.
During the Auburn Automobile Company’s heyday, this Showroom was filled with the latest Auburns, Cords, and Duesenbergs along with several other products sold by the Cord Corporation, Auburn Automobile Company’s parent organization.
As you browse through the original Art Deco Showroom, you will experience the golden age of motoring in the 1930s. Dealers from the United States, its territories, and 99 countries could visit this showroom to select products to sell in their local regions all over the world.
Gallery of Excellence and Innovation
This gallery is committed to the WOW factor! It includes spectacular automobiles from Full Classics™ (1915 through 1948) to comparisons, contrasts, and evolutions of the automotive world including those built by the Auburn Automobile Company and Duesenberg, Inc., their contemporaries, and their competition.
The term Full Classic™ is specific to a group of automobiles representing the highest quality of construction, design, and performance. Both domestic and foreign makes are listed under this prestigious designation created by the Classic Car Club of America.
The Cars of Indiana Gallery
A century ago hundreds of automobile makes and manufacturers of auto components dotted the Indiana landscape. The State of Indiana continues to be an important part of America’s automotive industry. Displayed in this gallery are rare and unusual vehicles built in the Hoosier state.
This area of the building was once used by the Auburn Automobile Company as its main drafting room and records department.
Early Auburns Gallery
On display are Auburns from 1904 to 1924, located where the cost and purchasing departments once resided along with a portion of the blueprint room.
You will see Auburns designed and created before E.L. Cord’s arrival to the Auburn Automobile Company. The gallery theme is reminiscent of a 1924 Auburn sales showroom as seen in the wall mural on the north side of the gallery. The experience of what it must have been like to purchase an Auburn car in the 1920s is illustrated throughout the gallery and in its video presentation.
From Eckhart Carriage Company
See the beginning of horseless transportation by the Auburn Automobile Company at the turn of the Century.
Auburn, Indiana Automobiles
Gallery sponsored by Steel Dynamics, Inc.
No fewer than 11 different brands of motorcars were produced in Auburn, Indiana. Even on the local scene, Auburn Automobile Company had formidable competition. These were some of the first horseless carriages.
This gallery space, once the home of the Auburn Automobile Company sales department, places you in the early part of the 20th century. It includes photo murals that depict scenes from the city of Auburn and its local automobile factories.
Export and Domestic Sales Gallery
Auburn’s Export Department, headed by Robert Wiley, had dealers located in 93 countries and U. S. Territories throughout the world. Domestic Sales were directed by Neil McDarby. By 1930, new dealerships were added at the rate of five per day.
Located in the original area of the building occupied by the Export Department, visitors see Mr. Wiley’s office and many personal effects.
Gallery of Racers and Record-Setters
Gallery sponsored by Terence E. Adderley
Race cars are exciting to watch, and even more exciting to drive. Powerful, loud, dangerous, and fast, their history is as old as the desire to compete, win, and be the best. The rigors imposed by the discipline of competition have challenged car designers and car building in ways that cannot be duplicated. Only the best automobile could stand up to the grueling punishment of the race track, finish the race, and beat all the others.
Many of the Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg mechanical innovations and avant-garde designs can be traced directly to their rich racing histories. Duesenberg dominated Indianapolis racing throughout its first decades. All three marques’ trials, triumphs, and tribulations, many on the raceway, led to passenger cars offering innovations and designs that are still revered to this day.
Without a doubt, race cars have made the passenger cars of today safer, more reliable, and better performing. Racing helped set the standard for innovative engineering. Perhaps you will look at your car in a new way. And maybe, you will thank a racer!
Woodworking and experimental engineering took place in this section of the building.
Hall of Technology
Gallery sponsored by Raisbeck Engineering
Gain a fuller understanding of how the Auburn Automobile Company and Duesenberg, Inc. were responsible for many patented innovations that are still on the cars driven today including hydraulic brakes, X-frame chassis construction, front wheel drive, and retractable headlights. Physical and digital interactive exhibits teach how automobile components work. Â Learn about the technologies and engineering personalities that brought these forward-thinking ideas to consumers in the 1920s and 1930s.
In the 1930s, this area of the building was home to Auburn Automobile Company’s accounting department.
Gordon Buehrig Gallery of Design
Gallery sponsored by: Alcoa Foundation, E. L. Cord Foundation, and the Charles and Barbara Goodman Foundation
The innovative techniques that Buehrig and his design team utilized to create a masterpiece, the Cord 810, are showcased. The creative process of component design at Auburn Automobile Company, such as speedometers and wheel hubs, is shown.
The last automobiles manufactured carried the 1937 model year. Company records were destroyed in bulk the following year. No designs for the 1938 model year were known to exist . . . until 2003 when Auburn Automobile Company Designer Paul Reuter-Lorenzen’s portfolio was discovered in a garage in Pennsylvania! Depictions of the 1938 design renderings are shown in this gallery of design.
This area of the building was used by the advertising and the traffic departments.
Gallery of Fine Art & Archival Treasures
Gallery sponsored by Sandra and Gene Davenport
Automotive artwork from original designer renderings to modern watercolor. The gallery displays artwork from many notable designers of classic cars such as Gordon Buehrig, Alan Leamy, Herb Newport, Frank Hershey, and Paul Reuter-Lorenzen. Works from present day artists including Tom Hale, Lory Lockwood, and David McIntosh are also exhibited.
Conference Room
Located in the executive hallway, the corporate conference room is where sales meetings, dealer and distributor conferences, departmental meetings, and general meetings were held.
Office of the President E. L. Cord
From Cord’s office, he made his important business decisions concerning the Auburn Automobile Company, Duesenberg, Inc. and his far reaching transportation conglomerate called Cord Corporation.
From his office window in the northeast corner of the third floor, Cord could oversee the nearby automobile plant, located on 23 acres.
Advertising Department
The advertising campaigns used to promote Auburns, Cords and Duesenbergs were as fantastic as the automobiles themselves. The company was one of the first to sell a lifestyle with its automobiles.
The Joseph and Helen Kone Design Studio
This exhibit provides a rare opportunity to see a crucial part of the automotive design process in its original setting.
The studio space and the artifacts on display have been faithfully recreated. We invite you to step back in time to 1935 in the studio where Gordon Buehrig used unbaked clay to create 1/4 scale models of the Cord 810. This was a unique design process perfected at the Auburn Automobile Company and is still used by car manufacturers today.
Sponsored by Michael Kone and Abigail Robinson