Auburn Indiana is not far from my home. It still makes for an excellent day trip especially if you have a teenage boy, like my nephew, to entertain. He lives, breathes and dreams about cars. Though not so much classic cars. Like many young men he is more into muscle or exotic cars. Auburn happens to have two excellent car museums to visit: The Auburn Cord and Duesenberg Museum and the National Auto and Truck Museum. So once a year I try to take him to see both.
Initially I took him to see what a Duesenberg looked like. We both love the show Gotham Garage on Netflix. They restore and create many different types of automobiles. I remarked that I would like to see them do a Duesenberg. He had never heard of it and thought I was making it up. I could not believe that he had not heard of such an iconic classic American made car.
Back in the 1930’s the Duesenberg was an elite automobile with a $25,000 price tag. Today that would equal almost a half of million dollars. The car was reserved for royalty and Hollywood movie stars, such as Clark Gable and Gretta Garbo. Even today they can sell for anywhere between $112,000 and $5,725,000. They also still appeal to Hollywood movie stars, just ask Jay Leno who owns several of them.
The Duesenberg car has great historical significance. It was one of the first to utilize a rear seat for additional passengers. Prior to its creation, automobiles were equipped with one bench seat that could transport two people. The designer also included running boards and a dashboard with several different mechanical gages. It also had a 12-cylinder engine that could go 116 mph in an era when the average vehicle only went at a top speed of 60 mph.
While at the museum we got to look at 120 different types of vehicles as well as various parts of the car including the 12-cylinder engine. He wanted to see and hear the engine run. While I appreciated the Duesenberg exhibit, he preferred looking at the Indy cart car and Dillinger exhibit. It is my hope that someday he will appreciate the aesthetics and historical significance of both the Duesenberg and Cord. When he looks at a Duesenberg, he sees a large classic beast of an automobile. He does not realize all of the speed records it holds or the fact that it actually won races like the Indy 500 (Three times), and it was the first American card to win a Grand Prix, even after seeing the exhibit. Again, he was mesmerized by the Indy cart car that was on exhibit.
What surprised me most about our visit was how the building piqued his interest. The museum is housed in the original Auburn company headquarters and showroom. It is an opulent example of Art Deco style. The building is in the U.S. National Register of Historic places. When you step inside you can imagine that you have walked into an era past. The floors are terrazzo, or marble chipping set into cement. The ceiling is hand painted with gorgeous chandeliers. Then there is the grand staircase with geometric metal rungs. You can imagine that this was a place where luxury was sold. He even had to go into the restroom on the second floor to look at the penny tile.
So, was it worth the visit? Yes, it was. I would recommend going to see the museum if not for the cars for the building. It is a well put together memoir to the past in physical form. It is a piece of history. Modern car lovers of today should look more into the Duesenberg to know where many of our modern vehicle amenities come from. If it’s still not completely your thing wait until the spring and summer to go for a visit. May I suggest the third Saturday of the month which is their Coffee and Cars get together. People with classic, exotic and even muscle cars gather there to view and appreciate each other’s vehicles along with the iconic Cord and Duesenberg’s that the museum bring out for viewing.
Tea,Travel & Spirits 