Notwithstanding the body’s elegance, the car was beset by problems. There were production delays, lack of funding, and mechanical problems like vapor lock, excessive overheating, and an annoying shake while driving. These things and more contributed to a loss of customers. However, my experience of driving the “rolling sculpture” was a sheer pleasure. The most memorable was the day I snuck the Cord off to Azalea Gardens in Norfolk. I posed it under the architectural rafters of the garden's elegant information center for photos.
This Cord had enjoyed another, more renowned photo op at the 1976 ACD (Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg) club meeting in Auburn, Indiana. Buehrig, who has designed everything from boat tail Speedsters to the T-top for Corvettes, was asked to pose next to his favorite creation. He walked over to this very Cord 810 Westchester sedan. The photo become popular and graced many coffee tables since.
My efforts to sell the Cord at auction drew interest from locals, Europeans, and even authors. One author, Josh Malks, was a former owner of this very car and had written books about his experiences with a series of Cords. The grandson of Cord himself emailed me, supportive of my passion for the vehicle’s historic past, but explained that today’s collector generation is more interested in Corvettes than Cords. He sent me a picture of his grandfather, Everett Cord, posing with JFK next to one of Cord’s jets.
I eventually convinced Bailey to take the Cord to auction in Auburn, Indiana, the car's manufacturing home, for its 70th anniversary in 2006. There were only about 100 of these cars in this condition and it was a good time to sell it. Bailey invited me to go along, but, unfortunately, I had to work. However, a piece of me went with that car. Bailey asked me to write a description of the car for the auctioneer, which I did, with love.
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