1937 Cord Beverly Model 812 Sedan
edited by David Barth, 10 January 2009.
Courtesy The Forney Museum of Transportation at 4303 Brighton Blvd., Denver,
Colorado. Photos were taken in January 2009.
The most famous front-wheel-drive American motorcar in 1929 was designed by Errett Lobban Cord. With his Auburn and
Duesenburg companies, Cord was the most dynamic and colorful entrepreneur in the American automobile industry at that
time. Although Cord production ceased in 1931 due to the depression, it resumed in 1935.
The 1937 Beverly sedan underwent extensive changes based on complaints about the 810 sedans. The 812's trunk space was
increased, making it necessary to move the tail lamps from the trunk lid to the body. Cord owners often call these cars
"bustlelbacks" because of the shape of the trunk. The front of the car was called a "coffin hood" because if its
design, which is esthetically pleasing to most automobile enthusiasts.
The 812 Beverly abandoned the armchairs from the 810 Beverly because the arms made it impossible to slide across the
seat to get out on the opposite side of the car. The pleated interior used bench seats with pulled-down armrests,
front and rear.
On August 7, 1937, after production of not quite three thousand 810s and 812s, the assembly line was stopped. Auburn
and Duesenburg production had already ceased by then. The last car to roll from the Cord Empire was, fittingly,
a Cord.
