Motor
maglanka.lk
56
V&C TIME TRAVEL
Lost in TimeT
hroughout
history, there
have been
many automotive
marques that
rebranded,
merged, diverged
and changed to
such a degree that
when one sees a
historic product of
a classic nature,
it is often difficult
to connect it
with the current
lineup. Then there are marques that came
and went, mere shadows or names uttered
by those who have seen them in classic car
books, at shows or heard their parents and
grandparents mentioning it.
Cord is one such marque that the current
generation would know next to nothing
about, and even the previous generation
would likely have never seen one. That is
because this company was formed in 1929
and died eight years later in 1937. Cord was
founded by Errett Lobban Cord, an American
businessman known for an interest in the
transportation sector. He was a race car
driver, car salesman and mechanic who found
himself tasked with the management of the
Auburn Automobile Company in 1924. In
1929, he founded the Cord Corporation as a
holding company for his automobile assets
that included Auburn. The Cord nameplate
was intended to be the luxury automobile
producer while Auburn would be the mass-
market producer.
The Cord L-29 was introduced in 1929
as the first model. It was also the first front-
wheel-drive car to be offered to the AmericanCord Corporation
Just Eight Years Young
public, as well as
the first to use CV
(Constant Velocity)
joints to achieve
the front-wheel-
drive arrangement.
Built in Indiana,
the Cord chassis
was also adopted
by many European
coachbuilders
as well, as the
front-wheel-drive
arrangement
allowed it to be
lower than a rear-
wheel-drive arrangement.
The layout was interesting too. The
engine was a Lycoming in-line eight cylinder
displacing 4,934cc but putting out just 125bhp
as was typical in those relatively early days of
the automobile when engines were relatively
unstressed. The drive was through the front
of the engine to which a three-speed gearbox
was attached, giving a top speed of 80mph
(130km/h). However it was a heavy car at
approximately 4,700lb, and as a result was
slower than the contemporary Auburn cars.
Nevertheless, the L-29 sold almost 4,400
units before the Great Depression hit and
consumers all over the country tightened their
belts.
Cord didn’t introduce a new automobile
until the 1935 New York Auto Show when
the 810 and 812 model was revealed to the
public. Once again it was front-wheel-drive,
this time being the first American front-driver
to feature independent suspension. It also
was the first American car to have hidden
headlamps, giving it an almost sinister look.
Interestingly, the headlamps had aircraftorigins, being manufactured by the Stinson
aircraft company as landing lights for light
aircraft. The engine was slightly downsized
to 4,739cc but retained the 125bhp output
and the gearbox gained an overdrive
making it a four speeder (3+1). It was also
a semi-automatic gearbox now. In 1937,
a supercharger was added to the engine,
increasing power to 170bhp, which when
coupled to the lighter body at just under
4,200lb made for much better performance
than the L-29.
The Cord 810 and 812 were
luxuriously appointed (for the time), with
full instrumentation including a tachometer,
variable-speed windscreen wipers and a
radio. Interestingly, the headlamp covers
were not automatic, but operated via hand
cranks in on the dashboard. However,
reliability issues with the gearbox in particular
dogged the 810 and 812, and in 1938
after producing just 3,000 cars, the Cord
Corporation ceased to be. It is said that
dealers were reluctant to take on the car due
to the reliability issues. The reliability issue
with the gearbox stemmed from the fact that
the company wanted to showcase the car
at the 1935 New York Auto Show, and to
qualify for this, had to build 100 examples.
Due to the deadline, the company rushed
the development and the innovative semi-
automatic gearbox simply hadn’t been tested
enough to iron out all the gremlins. Further
delays also pushed the promised delivery
date of December 25th 1935 to well into April
1936.
The Cord’s relative rarity in the world
means that any examples command a
premium price, as well as a favourite of
authors and the silver screen. In the original
James Bond ‘Live and Let Die’ novel by Ian
Fleming published in 1954, CIA agent and
Bond ally Felix Leiter drives a Cord in Florida.
The Cord 812 was also the inspiration for
Bob Kane’s Batmobile in the original series.
It has also been featured in a variety of films
including the Godfather, The Return of Elliott
Ness and Damsel in Distress, and animated
for the 2016 animated film Zootopia.