The Auburn logo is full of strength, stability, and perfect balance. Properly fitted car parts ensure a smooth and quiet ride. The emblem predicts growth and expansion from its founding place around the world.
Auburn’s story began in 1874, when Charles Eckhart opened Eckhart Carriage Company in Auburn, Indiana. For about 25 years, the family built horse-drawn carriages, but his sons Frank and Morris saw the future in motor cars. In 1900, they produced their first automobile, a one-cylinder chain-drive vehicle priced at $800. The idea was early, but the cost was too high, and the car failed to find a real market.
The Eckhart brothers returned in 1903 with a revised model, and production began to grow. Auburn built 8 cars in 1900, 120 in 1903, and more than 1,000 in 1909. The company absorbed several local manufacturers and moved into a larger factory. Still, World War I disrupted material supplies and forced production to stop. In June 1919, the brothers sold Auburn to Chicago investors, including chewing-gum magnate William Wrigley.
The next major turn came in 1924, when the owners hired Errett Lobban Cord, a young car salesman with a strong record. Cord took control of the company, cleared unsold inventory, updated the range, and completed the buyout by late 1925. Auburn’s pace changed fast. In 1924, it built only six cars a day; by 1931, annual production had reached 34,228 cars. Cord then expanded the group, buying Duesenberg in 1926 and launching the front-wheel-drive Cord L-29 in 1929.
Under Cord Corporation, Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg became linked as one of America’s most ambitious luxury car projects. Designers Alan Leamy and Gordon Buehrig shaped key models, including the Auburn Speedster, Cord 810/812, and Auburn 851 Speedster. The 1935 Auburn 851 used a 4.6-liter Lycoming straight-eight with an optional supercharger and could exceed 100 mph. Al Jenkins set 70 U.S. speed records in the car. The Great Depression destroyed demand for expensive cars, and Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg went bankrupt in 1937.
Meaning and History
The brand emblem conveyed the spirit and image of the machines of that time, combined with their technical characteristics. There was also an inextricable connection with geographical location.
The sign has a black pentahedron with an acute downward angle, a double white border, and inscriptions in the middle. The image matched the front of the car’s hood, pointing to the brand’s successful model: the Speedster. Its price was three times lower than that of similar machines from other manufacturers, allowing it to produce 22,000 copies in 1929.
What is Auburn?
This renowned American luxury car manufacturer, based in Auburn, Indiana, became famous for creating some of its era’s most refined and powerful cars. Operating from its Art Deco headquarters, the company produced models such as the iconic Speedster, featuring a distinctive “boattail” design, combining advanced engineering with appealing aesthetics. Under the leadership of E. L. Cord, the company built supercharged engines and innovative technologies while maintaining the highest level of craftsmanship and luxurious interiors.
The brand name, centered in the background, is given in honor of the city where the company was founded. The history of Auburn and machine production is closely intertwined, as the enterprise emerged in the same year the village was granted city status.
The simultaneous transformation of the village into a city and the shops that produced carriages into a car factory laid the foundations of friendship and mutual support. The enterprise brought fame and jobs, and the city kept the brand’s memory alive for many years after its dissolution by organizing a museum.
There is an affinity in visual signs as well. The plant’s emblem very accurately reproduces the city of Auburn’s seal. The main difference is in the background color. Instead of Indiana’s lower inscription on the logo, the company was founded: Established 1900.
The double piping indicates the white tires on many models. In a figurative sense, closed lines hint at safety, thoughtfulness, build quality, and maximum protection for the buyer.
Font and Colors
The main colors, black and white, embody elegance and the main shades of cars. They indicate the model’s reliability and ongoing updates to the model range.
The font is unique. The unusual shape of the letter U resembles the main and secondary roads at the junction. The company joins a large family of automakers and becomes part of the global community. Small serifs convey the elegance of the machines and the presence of details that emphasize the products’ high class.


