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36-862: In 1932, Errett Lobban Cord formed the Airplane Development Corporation, enabling Gerard "Jerry" Vultee to proceed with implementing his design for the Vultee V-1 . Construction began in Burbank, California , and was completed in February 1933 in the company's factory located at Grand Central Airport (California) . Due to the Air Mail Act of 1934, AVCO established the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation (AMC) on November 30, 1934, through

72-496: A Lycoming 4,934 cc (301 cu in) 125 hp (93 kW) L-head inline 8 from the Auburn 120, with the crankshaft pushed out through the front of the block and the flywheel mounted there, driving a three-speed transmission . Gearing in both transmission and front axle was inadequate, and the 4,700 lb (2,100 kg) car was underpowered, limited to a trifle over 80 mph (130 km/h), inadequate even at

108-501: A million dollars in orders for V-1s, V-1As, and V-11s. On January 29, 1938, before Vultee became independent again, Jerry Vultee and his wife Sylvia Parker, daughter of Twentieth Century Fox film director Max Parker , died when the plane he was piloting crashed in a snowstorm near Sedona, Arizona . A bronze plaque memorializing the Vultees is located near the crash site at the end of Coconino Forestry and Vultee Arch Trails , where

144-584: A natural rock arch named for them, the Vultee Arch, is located. Donald P. Smith, Vultee's close friend and vice president of Vultee Aircraft, wrote a letter to TIME magazine about Vultee's death: Sirs: AVCO hired Dick Palmer away from Howard Hughes to take Jerry Vultee's place, and Vultee Aircraft Division began to develop military designs. Dick Palmer created the BT-13, BT-15, and SNV Valiant trainers and oversaw other major production program such as

180-473: A politician in his later life. In 1958 he was asked to run for governor of Nevada , but he refused and never explained why. He died in Reno, Nevada from cancer in 1974, aged 79. Cord established The E.L. Cord Foundation on December 4, 1962. After his passing, a substantial portion of his Estate was dedicated to the foundation to be used for the betterment and well being of mankind. The foundation established

216-561: A pre-selector because you selected the gear and then stepped on the clutch) among other innovative features like roll up headlights. The car caused a sensation at the New York Auto Show in November 1935. Orders were taken at the show with Cord promising Christmas delivery, anticipating production of 1,000 per month. Delays pushed hoped delivery to February 1936 - which still proved optimistic, with owners only beginning to get

252-581: A rumored 400 units. The Hollywood was powered by a supercharged Continental in line six making 124 HP, almost 50 less than the original supercharged Cord. The plot of the David Niven movie Where the Spies Are features a rare Cord convertible as the incentive for the hero to undertake an espionage mission. The movie was based on the James Leasor novel Passport to Oblivion , which is one of

288-613: A series of suspense/intrigue novels featuring the fictitious Dr. Jason Love, whose "infatuation" with the Cord roadster played a prominent part. In the novel Live and Let Die , Felix Leiter drives a Cord of unspecified model when he and James Bond are in Florida. The original design for the Batmobile was a red convertible based on the Cord 812, which Batman creator Bob Kane considered one of his favorite vehicles and fitting for

324-557: Is featured under the name Berkeley 810 and is derived from the two door supercharged version with a solid roof. As part of his series Jay Leno's Garage in 2013, Jay featured his own Cord 812 which he had previously written about in Popular Mechanics. The car had been lovingly restored by amateur restorer Arthur Pirre. On Gram Parsons ' 1973 album GP , the song "The New Soft Shoe" is written about E.L Cord and his famous automobiles. In classic crime film The Godfather ,

360-588: Is in Auburn, Indiana , (1600 South Wayne Street) at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum . Gram Parsons wrote a song about Cord called "The New Soft Shoe" that appeared on his first solo release, titled GP . Cord Automobile 42°22′47″N 83°01′44″W  /  42.379617°N 83.028928°W  / 42.379617; -83.028928 Cord was a brand of American luxury automobile manufactured by

396-655: The Auburn Automobile Company of Connersville, Indiana , from 1929 to 1932 and again in 1936 and 1937. Auburn was wholly owned by the Cord Corporation , founded and run by E. L. Cord as a holding company for his many transportation interests (which included the Lycoming engines , Stinson aircraft , and Checker Motors ). Cord was noted for its innovative technology and streamlined designs. Cord innovations include front-wheel drive on

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432-666: The V-72 Vengeance , serving in the USAAC as the A-31 and A-35. Vultee Aircraft was created in November 1939, when Vultee Aircraft Division of AVCO was reorganized as an independent company. The P-66 Vanguard was a 1941 fighter program that was intended for Sweden that was inherited by the USAAC, Great Britain and finally, China. The P-66 had a mediocre combat record in China and was out of service by 1943. The XP-54 fighter project

468-484: The 1940s. In the call letters of his Los Angeles radio station, KFAC , the A.C. stands for Auburn Cord. In Reno, Cord established KCRL-TV and radio in the 1950s and operated it for more than 25 years. The 'CRL' in the station's call letters stood for "Circle L"—a ranch Cord owned in the Nevada desert. During the 1940s he filled in for a Nevada state legislator who died in the middle of his term and again rose to fame as

504-405: The 1994 film The Shadow , Moses Shrevnitz ( Peter Boyle ) drives a 1936 Cord 810 Westchester that was stretched and custom-painted as a taxi cab. "bePUZZLED" brand puzzles is a series of puzzles which feature a short mystery story to go along with the picture in the assembled puzzle. A puzzle and story in the series is called A Classic Case of Murder and features a creme colored 1936 810 Cord in

540-707: The Aircraft Development Corporation, which was instrumental in the development of Jerry Vultee's Vultee V-1 . Born in Warrensburg, Missouri , Cord had been a race car driver, mechanic and car salesman before he was offered the opportunity to manage the dying Auburn Automobile Company in 1924. By 1928 he controlled Auburn, which by 1931 was the 13th largest seller of autos in the United States. During 1934, he moved to England, reportedly because of kidnapping threats. He moved back to

576-481: The Cord. A single 1938 Cord prototype with some changes to the grille and transmission cover was built, and it still exists (2015). The Cord empire, amid allegations of financial fraud, was sold to the Aviation Corporation , and E.L. Cord moved to Nevada where he earned millions in real estate and other enterprises. In 1940 ailing automakers Hupmobile and Graham-Paige tried to save money and revive

612-526: The E.L. Cord Museum School and funds several scholarships at the Nevada Museum of Art . Other grants in the field of education include the E.L. Cord Student Success Center and The E.L. Cord Foundation Center for Learning and Literacy at the University of Nevada , scholarships at Truckee Meadows Community College , and a fellowship at Wichita State University . A collection of Cord's autos

648-518: The L-29 and hidden headlamps on the 810 and 812. Though DeSoto used them in 1942, hidden headlamps did not reappear as a luxury feature until the 1960s, beginning with the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette. It was followed two years later by another General Motors product, the Buick Riviera , whose GM stylists later stated they were trying to capture the "feel" of the Cord's design. "Servo" shifting

684-474: The Thor 812 FWD, available only as a convertible in the game, is based on the supercharged version with the outside exhausts on the side of the engine bay. The player could even feel the car being front wheel drive, as the game featured sophisticated physical model of all cars (and guns for that matter) and so the Thor handled differently than the other rear driven cars. In the 2020 remake of the game, only one version

720-646: The United States in 1936, but then came under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for his dealings in Checker Cab stock. In 1937 he sold the Cord Corporation to the Aviation Corporation and retired to Los Angeles to earn even more millions in real estate. Cord owned several of the first radio and television stations in California and later Nevada , where he moved in

756-692: The V-1A, which received sizable international orders. Turkey received 40 in 1937-38, China received 30 in 1937-38, Brazil acquired 25 in 1938-39; the Soviet Union bought 4 and the manufacturing license to build 31 more. After Jerry Vultee's death in January 1938, the Air Corps ordered 7 YA-19s to establish a production relationship. By 1937, Vultee headed his own factory in Downey, California , with more than

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792-428: The acquisition of Cord's holdings, including Vultee's Airplane Development Corporation. AMC was liquidated on January 1, 1936, and Vultee Aircraft Division was formed as an autonomous subsidiary of AVCO . Jerry Vultee was named vice president and chief engineer. Vultee acquired the assets of the defunct AMC, including Lycoming Engines and Stinson Aircraft Company . A redesigned V-1 meet American Airlines ' needs in

828-557: The companies, by using the 810/812 body dies. Except for their similarity to the 810, their four-door sedans, the Hupp Skylark and the Graham Hollywood , were unremarkable. Retractable headlights gave way to plain headlight pods, and power came from a standard front-engine/rear-wheel drive design. While Hupp Motor Company built a few prototypes in 1939 that gained them sales orders for the 1939 model year they did not have

864-472: The eight-passenger V-1A. American purchased 11 V-1As, but additional sales of the aircraft failed to materialize because of government concerns for single engine safety. The last two in the series, a V-1AD and a V-1AS, were built in Downey, California after the company's manufacturing moved there. In 1935, Vultee developed the Vultee V-11 military aircraft using the wing structure and landing gear from

900-579: The first cars in April. In all, Cord managed to sell only 1,174 of the new 810 in its first model year . The car's distinctively squared-off front end and pioneering, streamlined, horizontally louvered grille design earned it the durable nickname "coffin nose". Early reliability problems, including slipping out of gear and vapor lock , cooled initial enthusiasm, and the dealer base shrank rapidly. Unsold left-over and in-process 1936 810s were re-numbered and sold as 1937 812s. In 1937, Auburn ceased production of

936-545: The millionaire vigilante. The 1965 film What's New Pussycat? featured a rather battered red Cord 810 convertible with French selective yellow headlights. The car was piloted in several scenes by Woody Allen whose character drove on the Paris pavements (sidewalks). A yellow Cord 810 is seen driven by young gangster Bobby Malto in the 1991 TV-Movie "The Return of Eliot Ness", which starred Robert Stack, reprising his title role from "The Untouchables" 1959-1963 TV series. In

972-605: The resources to manufacture the car. Graham Paige stepped in offering to build the Hupmobile Skylarks on a per piece contract basis. Graham built a combined 1850 units for sale in the 1940 model year. Hupmobile closed before the 1941 model came around. Of the 1850 cars produced in the 1940 model year by Graham only about 450 were the Hupmobile Skylarks. Graham continued to build the Hollywood late into 1941. They stopped production in November of that year having only built

1008-439: The same de Dion layout and inboard brakes. Built in Auburn, Indiana, the Cord was the first front-wheel-drive car to use constant-velocity joints . While commonly used today in all front-wheel-drive vehicles, their first use was on the 1929 Cord. The lack of rear drivetrain components and straight frame (without rear kick-up to clear up the rear axle) allowed it to be much lower in height than competing cars whose average height

1044-454: The story and pictured in the puzzle. Copyright 1992. In the 2001 PlayStation exclusive car combat game Twisted Metal: Black. The playable driver No-Face has a car based on the Cord 810, nicknamed "Crazy 8". In the 2002 PC and PlayStation 2 game Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven the Cord 810 and 812 are featured under a cover-up names Thor 810 and Thor 812 FWD. The Thor 810 is based on the normally aspirated version with no outside exhaust, while

1080-465: The time, and readily exceeded by the less expensive Auburn. Still, the styling was lovely, and despite the 137.5 in (3,490 mm) wheelbase and steering demanding fully four turns lock-to-lock , handling was reportedly superb. Wheelbase was 137.5" and the height of the sedan was 61". The 1930 Chrysler Imperial and Chrysler Eight copied several styling elements. The L-29 was priced around US$ 3,000 ($ 53,233 in 2023 dollars ), putting it in

1116-402: The transmission ahead of the engine Buehrig was able to eliminate the driveshaft and transmission tunnel. Accentuating its sleek, low-slung look, he also dispensed with running boards. Powered by a 4,739 cc (289 cu in) Lycoming V8 of the same 125 horsepower (93 kilowatts) as the L-29's straight-8 , the 810 had a four-speed electrically selected semi-automatic transmission,(called

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1152-529: The upper tier of America's most expensive luxury automobiles alongside Cadillac , Marmon , Lincoln , Packard , Franklin , and Stutz , and below only Duesenburg . It could not, however, outrun the Great Depression , and by 1932, it was discontinued, with just 4,400 sold. The Model 810/812 are probably the best-known of the company's products. Styled by Gordon M. Buehrig , they featured front-wheel drive and independent front suspension. By placing

1188-400: Was about six feet or almost two metres. Both stock cars and special bodies built on the Cord chassis by American and European coachbuilders won prizes in contests worldwide. The L-29 came with full instrumentation, including a temperature gauge, oil pressure gauge, and speedometer on the left with a gas gauge, oil level gauge, and ammeter on the right of the steering wheel. It was powered by

1224-513: Was accomplished through a Bendix electro-vacuum pre-selector mechanism (a type of electromechanical shifting). This was the first American front-wheel drive car to be offered to the public, beating the Ruxton automobile by several months, in 1929. The brainchild of former Miller engineer Cornelius Van Ranst , its drive system borrowed from the Indianapolis 500 -dominating racers, using

1260-669: Was an American business executive. He was considered a leader in United States transport during the early and middle 20th century. Cord founded the Cord Corporation in 1929 as a holding company for over 150 companies he controlled, mostly in the field of transportation. The corporation controlled the Auburn Automobile Company, which built the Auburn and Cord automobiles; Lycoming Engines ; Duesenberg Inc. ; New York Shipbuilding ; Checker Motors ; Stinson Aircraft Company ; and American Airways (later American Airlines ), amongst other holdings. In 1932, Cord formed

1296-751: Was the last Vultee Aircraft design, but only two examples were built. In 1939, according to Thompson, "The Vultee model 54A, number 141 registered NX21754, flew on July 28. In August the USAAC selected it for volume production as the BT-13 , which became the standard type for the category throughout World War II ." During the war, Vultee pioneered the use of women assemblers. On March 17–18, 1943, Consolidated and Vultee merged, creating Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation , popularly known as Convair . The Vultee management resigned. Model numbering continued by Convair Errett Lobban Cord Errett Lobban " E. L. " Cord (July 20, 1894 – January 2, 1974)

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