Auburn Automobile History

8 Locations | Curated by Eckhart Public Library

The town once called “Little Detroit” is full of reminders of its classic car past if you know where to look. Auburn, Indiana— Home of the Classics— was once a bustling center of manufacturing. Early automotive luminaries E.L. Cord and Gordon Beuhrig called Auburn home. They designed some of the most beautiful cars the world would ever see. It wasn’t just the Auburn, Cords, and Duesenbergs that the city’s notable museum and festival are named for that put Auburn on the automotive map. Auburn was also the home to small automobile manufacturers and industries related to cars, from Kiblingers and Zimmermans to the Auburn Rubber Company.

Auburn has kept its Classic City spirit alive with a long-running festival, world-class museum, and car auctions. Alongside more recent manufacturing companies that call Auburn home, Auburn citizens are proud of the city’s automotive heritage. Welcome to Auburn, Home of the Classics!

In the early 1970s, the people of Auburn, Indiana started voicing concerns about the automotive heritage of Auburn and the site of the building that housed the old Auburn Automobile Company that existed. A non-profit organization called Auburn Automotive Heritage, Inc. was formed in 1973 with the…
View Story Show on Map

One of the most important events of the classic car culture of Auburn is the annual classic car auction. Started in 1971 by Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival leaders Del Mar Johnson, John Martin Smith, and Jack Randinelli, and auctioneers Russell Kruse, Dean Kruse, and Leo Gephart, the first auction…
View Story Show on Map

Just a few years after the closure of the Auburn Automobile Company and its related companies, collectors were interested in acquiring Auburns, Cords, and Duesenbergs. In 1955, the ACD Club was formed, and by 1957, club members had started to visit Auburn, staying at the Auburn Hotel and displaying…
View Story Show on Map

Americans eagerly embraced the automobile in the 1920s as mass-production made them more available at lower costs. The number of registered cars increased from 8 million in 1920 to almost 18 million in 1925. Indiana specifically saw one car for every 4.85 people in 1925, up from a total of just…
View Story Show on Map

Auburn manufacturers often had to change their focus to stay relevant in the competitive world of manufacturing. Few instances demonstrate this as well as the 50-year history of the Double-Fabric Tire Company and Auburn Rubber Company in Auburn. The switch from wooden wheels - a carryover from…
View Story Show on Map

If you think back on early American automobiles, what comes to mind? Ford? General Motors? Chrysler? If you are a car fanatic, you might know Auburn or Duesenberg. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, automobiles manufactured by the Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Automobile Company (ACD) were considered…
View Story Show on Map

The foundation for Auburn’s buggy and automobile heritage was set by Charles Eckhart. A man with business sense, knowledge of carriage making, and a desire to see his adopted home become a better place, by the end of his day, he made many contributions to Auburn outside of the automobile industry…
View Story Show on Map

W. H. Kiblinger founded the Kiblinger Company in 1887 to manufacture buggies. He was a Civil War veteran, farmer, and businessman who ran the company until his death in 1894. Upon his death, the company was purchased by W. H. McIntyre and S. C. Snyder who expanded into automobile manufacturing with…
View Story Show on Map

Loading Stories
Map