The Cord automobile, in its two forms, was one of the most
innovative and wildly different motorcars of its time, a
suitable namesake for equally innovative transportation
industrialist E.L. Cord. It was Cord’s leadership that brought
the Auburn Automobile Company to its most inventive peak. Cord
came to Auburn, Indiana in 1924 at age 30 to rescue the
floundering Auburn Automobile Company, then owned by a group of
Chicago investors which included chewing gum mogul William K.
Wrigley, Jr. Cord had captured their attention as a dynamic
salesman for the Moon Motorcar Company in Chicago, where his
sales had accounted for 60 percent of all Moons sold. Instead of
a salary, Cord struck a deal with the investors that included 20
percent of the profits, options to buy all common stock, and
total decision-making control. In the next five years, Cord
would turn the Auburn Automobile Company around. As Auburn sales
soared, Cord realized he could not compete with the giants of
automaking: Ford; General Motors; and Chrysle