Re: 1935 - Turning Point and What-Ifs

Posted by Steve203 On 2015/8/30 20:43:24

The city of Auburn would not have been happy but such were the times.

The company was toast anyway. By some accounts, it had been running on autopilot as Cord's interest had shifted to aviation, then he took it on the lam from stock manipulation charges.

Packard could have afforded it. When Auburn was liquidated in 38, the parts inventory and the rights to the name were sold for $85,000. The HQ building sold for $25,000.

Auburn somewhat weakened by 1933 (who wasn't) when One Twenty planning began.

Packard may have been able to buy the rights to the name earlier, while the company was still a going concern, but it would have cost a lot more. From reports I read, Auburn sales held up fairly well when the depression first started. Sales crashed in 34 and Gordon Buehrig did a refresh of Alan Leamy's 1931 design, then did the Cord 810, so they were not ready to wave the white flag.

Earliest possible time to buy the Auburn name on the cheap would have been when Auburn production ended in 36, which would be in the nick of time to put the name on the 115.