Duesenberg

Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. was an American racing and luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is known for popularizing the straight-eight engine and four-wheel hydraulic brakes. A Duesenberg car was the first American car to win a Grand Prix race, winning the 1921 French Grand Prix. Duesenbergs won the Indianapolis 500 in 1922 (when eight of the top ten finishers were Duesenbergs), 1924, 1925 and 1927. Transportation executive Errett Lobban Cord acquired the Duesenberg corporation in 1926. The company was sold and dissolved in 1937. It was the only automotive company to go bankrupt in the Great Depression and not be rescued by the US government, largely a political move due to New Deal policies avoiding the imagery of helping the richest, despite Duesenberg being the largest employer in Indianapolis at the time.

==History== thumb|230px|Half a share, issued in June 1921 thumb|230px|The Murphy Special, in which Jimmy Murphy (racing driver)|Jimmy Murphy won the [[1921 French Grand Prix and the 1922 Indianapolis 500]] Fred and August Duesenberg began designing engines in the early 1900s, after Fred became involved with bicycle racing. The brothers designed a vehicle in 1905, and they formed the Mason Motor Car Company in 1906 with funds from lawyer Edward R. Mason in Des Moines, Iowa. F.L. and Elmer Maytag acquired a majority stake in the company and renamed it the Maytag-Mason Automobile Company until they sold their stake in 1912.