Whenever I was a little kid I went to the Dusenberg museum. At the time I didn’t understand the significance and beauty that these cars had to the auto industry. Hopefully I’ll go back soon.
My grandfather was born in 1914 and the Duesenberg was his favorite car. I doubt he ever saw one in person but it was the poster car of the day like a Lamborghini or a Bugatti.
The creator of this video doesn't, first off the saying "It's a Doozy" was in use before Duesenberg car's existed, and no, Duesenberg's weren't the finest most luxurious car's ever made in America, those were Packard's. Duesenberg's were faster with an emphasis on performance and did indeed have a very high build quality but they were loud and raucous cars with a bit rougher ride of a car, they were something that rich playboys or rich younger women would drive to get people's attention but when it came to all out luxury that was Packard, they were quieter inside, more plush and rode smoother, you wouldn't want to go across country in a Duesenberg just the same as you wouldn't want to ride a Harley with open pipes across country, by the time you got to the other side you'd be so sick and tired of having the sound of that loud exhaust in your head making your ears ring from hours of it droning away you'd wanna sell it and buy something else, no, when it came to all out luxury Packard's were the most luxurious car's ever to come out of America.
I had the good fortune to visit the ACD Museum in Auburn, Indiana around 1994. What a museum. Also, there was a guy here in Connecticut that used to bring his two! Duesenbergs to the car show at the Durham fair grounds in CT every year in the late '80's-early '90's. I have a 1965 "Road and Track" magazine which covers the annual event at the ACD Museum. One picture showed a Duesenberg towing a Cord, all the way from Mass! Another photo showed the present (1965) owner of the "Mormon Meteor" a record breaking Bonneville Salt Flat Duesenberg racer. So yeah, a Duesenberg was by far the best of the best. I really am a lucky man to have experienced these occurrences! By the way, I still have that "Road and Track" magazine. Cheers for the video.
ah those were really unique beautiful cars I have seen both the 1 and the 3 at the kruse auction years ago when it was running, there is still one of the other kruses I think a cousin and some buisness partners that run worldwide auctioneers and they get some pretty nice stuff too, high profile stuff, cords, bentlys, supercars, your american muscle cars, all kinds of vintage, it costs to go inside the auction but you can at this time go all about the old kruse victory musium grounds and look at all the cars and swap meet free as well as many food trucks and the cruise in's they have over several days downtown, but as for the meteor's those are something special, the 3 by the way is the 2 but it was reengined I belive and thats what made it the three they slapped in an aircraft engine
Duesenberg and Tesla do not belong in the same sentence. Teslas quality pales next to average cars like Toyota and Chevrolet. Please don’t insult one of if not the greatest American car ever built, only cars like Packard and Cadillac could come close and in some cases (few) better than a Duesi
@@richardgarno6591 I agree. They are not aesthetically pleasing. I would not purchase one, but I was surprisingly impressed with the experience the one time I drove one for just ten miles.
Only more modern cars that could be compared to the Dusenberg`s is The Mercedes Benz 600 and The Revival of the Maybach by mercedes the original editions. And some Rolls Royce could probably match.
Tesla brought EVs back to best selling autos. They lack variety but stick with good efficiency. The big thing is long distance and a good charging system. ❤ Also they profit now so they may stay in business. However the industry is cutthroat so they are likely to fail without Elon. Or because of him hurting feelings of people and randomly fathering kids, probably using drugs and promoting free speech, including for meanies.
Good program! I would agree about Duesenberg J and SJ having been the “best “ US cars. There were other companies such as Packard and Pierce Arrow that produced very well engineered luxury cars with high quality materials and build quality and offering good performance. What set Duesenberg in a class of its own was the unique combination of top luxury and hand built quality with what today we would call a supercar powertrain and performance. It was a creature of its time, not to be repeated. What passes for “luxury-performance cars today reminds one of appliances, “computers on wheels “ styled like and produced like mass market cars .
Comparing Duesenberg to Tesla is like comparing fine china to paper plates. Duesenberg is akin to rolling sculpture. Not bad for a couple of guys named Fred and Augie from Iowa.
The “31” Dusenberg is one of my favorite hot wheels castings and when they made it a final run in 2003 along with the Auburn speedster 852 I was extremely pissed off and almost gave up collecting cars. These oldies as my grampa called them are absolutely gorgeous looking cars and I thought of them as a moving piece of art.
This is a great video to introduce a neophyte to the world of the cars between the wars. I had a chance opportunity to ride in the “Twenty Grand” world’s fair Dusenberg, in a July 4th parade in the early 1960’s. My brother and I were kids in our early teen years, but that was an automobile, not a car. The details were amazing. A marble gear shift knob, and an altimeter in the dash. As you stated, there will likely not be another automobile that would deserve comparison to this legend. The Tesla has some nice features, but it also comes with an extension cord and plug, not a supercharger, or cylinders.
About 25-30 years ago I’m sitting at a red light in Roslyn, Long Island, NY. To my left, a Duesenberg entered the intersection and made a left to be on the road that I was on. I caught up to it and noticed an extra plate on the back that said something like “ITSADOOZIE”. Only one I have ever seen live.
I’m inclined to agree with you, and it would be hard to argue. Also… Tesla has absolutely NO business being in this video. It’s a more expensive Prius thing. Modern “Money no object” vehicles? Rolls Royce and Bentley come to mind, although their engineering is generally fully conventional.
At 64 years old, I remember back (during my childhood) when the elderly would use the expression... "that's a real Duesy" ...and many folks using the saying with no clue nor (experienced) point of reference. 😂
It's a myth, the term "It's/That's/She's/He's a Duzy" (some spell it Doozy) was in use before the cars existed, it's just that at a certain point people thought it referenced the quality level of a Duesenberg car but actually it's not true, it's just another myth like how people believe the saying "the whole 9 yards" came from the length of a belt of machinegun ammo, nope, the fact is "the whole 9 yards" goes back to at least the 1850's long before machineguns were even invented and is part of a punchline from a joke about a man's wife who wasn't a very good seamstress and had made him a shirt using "the whole 9 yards" of fabric she'd bought for making it which resulted in an excessively large and baggy shirt.
@@dukecraig2402 Well now I'm just confused. My Grandmother also used the "Whole nine yards" saying too, and she did have that machine gun down in the cellar. . .
I would argue that Packard deserves this distinction. Duesys were great, and many manufactures like Bentley and Bugatti borrowed from them, but they went out of business in 17 years, while Packard built high performance military aircraft engines for both world wars, and hand built the finest cars during the brass era. In fact, before high rpm engines, they would machine to such insanely high tolerances that they would drop test pistons in the block, and the air pressure would catch them.
i'll be honest, Duesenberg's are beauties, even if they're not from an era I know or am very interested in, and I wish I could see one someday. I love how in depth you went onto this topic, great video!
It's not quite up just to imagination, there were multiple attempts to revive Duesenberg after war, some came quite close to become true. Ed's auto reviews has a video on the issue: ruclips.net/video/AifSSa6QA58/видео.html
@@alittlebitgone- not sure. The wang bar is made in Germany. I know Deusenberg may be a common name however my feeling is that it might or might not be the same family. Probably not - I haven't done the research YET.
You make a good case. Can't argue. Thanks for the great aesthetic video. No yelling or flapping your arms about like some obnoxious car videos tend to do...just the facts and making a humble, well thought out case.
This car is the PROOF that truly even the "Muscle Cars" of the 60s were outdated technology when they were new....Duesenberg was using Race/Aircraft technology (DOHC/4V/Supercharging) in road going automobiles, it took another SIXTY years (until the 90's) for even Corvette/Cadillac to use this 1930's type of Technology and another 10 years for it to trickle down to Common Automobiles (Though usually in 4/6 cylinder form, the V8's were still reserved for the Sport/Luxury Cars.)
20s and 30s had the most beautiful car designs in history, without a doubt. The styling and elegance is just perfect. I love all decades of auto design up until the late 2000s. Each are absolutely amazing in their own right, but 20s and 30s will always hold a place in my heart
The Duesenberg SJ was the greatest car ever built. In 1927 it had 4 valves per cylinder, double overhead cam and super charged. I think it produced 300 hp and topped out at a 130mph . There was nothing in the world which came even close in engineering and performance. It wasn’t until the 50’s that Chrysler’s hemis could make that kind of horse power. Remember there was a world war in between where engine development advanced rapidly. 4 valves per cylinder in mainstream engines took until the 1990s or later to become common
And supercharging is still rarely available. The engineering on these things was uncompromising. I am sure I cannot even BEGIN to appreciate what went into the creation and manufacture of these machines.
The 1950's Chrysler Hemi's weren't all that powerful, they didn't even make ½ HP per ci, it was the late 60's "Elephant" Hemi engine's that Chrysler made that were powerful and were a completely different engine with no parts interchangeability with the 50's Hemi's.
Amazing cars - I agree, one of the best cars of all times. The Duesie was the first car to have 4 wheel hydraulic brakes. The first car to have disc brakes was the 1949 Crosley The first sports car to have disc brakes was the 1953 Jaguar C type The first sustained production car with disc brakes was the 1955 Citroen DS.. My first car in Australia was a 1962 Citroen ID19.... the ride and brakes were supreme.
In the 1920's and 30's, Duesenberg made the most powerful engine with their Straight 8, 265 minimum horsepower, but Packard made the smoothest with their V12 which were also almost indestructible and were used in American Tanks and PT Boats. Americans didn't begrudge movie stars and producers from driving Model J Duesenbergs, tho.
What a fabulous car, the juice and burgers, and when you look at all the automobiles that have come and gone did Dusenburg, I believe could be put back into production with all the ladies technology that we have for is truly one of the most remarkable errors of time and that’s what you don’t get out of a plastic toy with a battery in it called a Tesla car did you can’t put in the garage just in case it catches fire so thank you so much for the juice and thank you thank you thank you for Jay Leno and I hope that all is well in the family. Regards Alan Hoochie automotive electrical engineer from down under. Regards
Nice story, thanks to youtube these stories are available. Jay Leno and his love for the Dusey is well documented and Randy Ema the top restorer has some great stories between them.
They're impressive cars, but regardless how many casino owners, pizza chain magnates, or TV comedians own them, Duesenbergs are not some stand alone single best, certainly not when adjusted for price. Learn something about the 120 years of automotive history before parroting claims.
I had a teacher in high school that as a child of about 10-12 years old he had the experience of meeting a gangster that had a Duesenberg in the outskirts of Chicago. He specifically remembered the car because of its size and the guy made sure they knew it was a Duesy.
I had a 1/18 model j Dusenberg which i spent long time admiring her beauty and dreaming of the day I will buy one but as I get closer to the end and with no hope of ever owning one I just keep dreaming
@@bartscarstories I cannot remember brother but I remember it was in maroon colour with black roof and interior. It was very detailed and amazingly beautiful
@@DrTheRich it was in kinda terrible condition.. By the time I had gotten it the previous owner had jus let it go a little far... At that point I was just happy to get what I did..
Tesla's are not luxurious, not even close... Minimalism =/= luxury... If you compare a tesla to a Mercedes s class in terms of luxury, the difference is night and day. i think in terms of modern electric cars, the Lucid Air might be the closest to a Duesenberg. Very fast, very luxurious 4 door sedan made in limited quantities, clearly advertised to the rich.
Nobody can produce such fine craftsmanship today. It was never truly a commodity of mass production, but an extension of Master Craftsmen. Which is why t coachworks were ordered separately. You can't get that in today's market. Such Master Craftsmen aren't alive today.
Yes they are, craftsmen like that still exist and still hand make just about anything you could possibly want and do just that for rich people every day, they still hand make fine silverware and jewelry for example. Every day in the automotive repair and restoration business people hand make parts repairing and restoring cars especially one's like this where their millionaire owners want them restored exactly how they were made in the first place. Aircraft restoration is another place where such craftsmen work every day, when they pull a P47 Thunderbolt out of a lake that it's been sitting at the bottom of since WW2 they don't really "restore" it the way people think, what they actually do is hand reproduce every single part either using factory blueprints or the old part as a pattern for a new one, or sometimes a combination of the two, aircraft like that that've been sitting at the bottom of a lake for decades only the registration plate will be the only original part used, every other part will be reproduced by hand. There's nothing people could do 100 years ago that people can't do nowadays, the mystique that surrounds that idea is just a myth.
You should go on a little journey and discover how many true craftsmen there are out there. The best part is, a lot of us don't care about the currency much. The passion is where these creations come from.
⚜️ Dusenberg and Studebaker, (Bugatti, Cord, and Auburn) are the flavors I desire. The greatest decade of "body" design emerged out of the late 20's through the 1930's.
The Duesenberg shown driving at 8:55 and a few times in between is actually one of 2 SSJ models that had 400 horsepower. And the famous Mormon Meteor race car should have been mentioned as it broke and held quie a few speed records in its time.
I saw 2 in Louwman Museum in Den Haag and that 2 car was by far most beautiful in this very beautiful museum. Look nicer than RR, Bugatti, Hispano-Suiza, Issota Fraschini...
They work great cars anyway you look at it! Quality, speed, if I had to take a guess on what would be a close second as far as quality goes I would say packered around this time, a close third would be l Cadillac and fourth would be Lincoln. It's like the old saying goes, they don't build them like they used to.
You should not ignore Tesla either, even if it goes broke, and EVs fail this time and become mainstream in 20 years instead of 10 you will be pressed to find more than a handful of car companies as impactful as Tesla. I agree, it's unlikely that any company is going to build a car that is far ahead of the other brands, true luxury, and a work of art at the same time. We will need a true breakout in technology, like a company, say Chinese, having a monopoly on advanced solid-state batteries.
Best American car ever? I'd give that crown to the Springfield Rolls-Royce, circa 1926. While other cars (American and foreign) broke down a lot, the overbuilt and understressed 40/50 just kept on running.
While it was an amazing vehicle and incredibly advanced for its time it was more than 20 years till an automobile had Disc brakes. While I like the content, that sort of mistake kinda makes me wonder who or what is the creator and narrator of this channel.
It's always unfortunate when the engineering genius behind something truly special dies way too early and the entire thing just kind of falls apart as a result. I'm surprised that none of the other American automakers bought up the patents and manufacturing equipment, etc. when the company went under. If the engine is that impressive, then it really should have been something people fought over to scavenge from the corpse of the company.
What "patents?" Other than extreme craftsmanship, there was nothing remarkable about a Model J's chassis. Learn about Bentley's Speed Six, Delage, Pierce-Arrow. Ettore Bugatti drove a Packard Eight on European business trips.
Those cars are still more attractive than anything you can buy today.
Simply because they didn't have to take several emission standards and passenger and pedestrian safety standards into account.
@@loghorizon45 There is the problem of Trying to make as much money as possible also. Duesenberg was only focusing on making the best.
Whenever I was a little kid I went to the Dusenberg museum. At the time I didn’t understand the significance and beauty that these cars had to the auto industry. Hopefully I’ll go back soon.
I hope Rich's Restaurant still has outstanding baked goods. Go and see ..
My grandfather was born in 1914 and the Duesenberg was his favorite car. I doubt he ever saw one in person but it was the poster car of the day like a Lamborghini or a Bugatti.
NOT even close
I wish more people knew about the golden age of American cars
I miss my Pinto 😢
The creator of this video doesn't, first off the saying "It's a Doozy" was in use before Duesenberg car's existed, and no, Duesenberg's weren't the finest most luxurious car's ever made in America, those were Packard's.
Duesenberg's were faster with an emphasis on performance and did indeed have a very high build quality but they were loud and raucous cars with a bit rougher ride of a car, they were something that rich playboys or rich younger women would drive to get people's attention but when it came to all out luxury that was Packard, they were quieter inside, more plush and rode smoother, you wouldn't want to go across country in a Duesenberg just the same as you wouldn't want to ride a Harley with open pipes across country, by the time you got to the other side you'd be so sick and tired of having the sound of that loud exhaust in your head making your ears ring from hours of it droning away you'd wanna sell it and buy something else, no, when it came to all out luxury Packard's were the most luxurious car's ever to come out of America.
And I wish I didn't have a small Weiner
@@badhairdaavemay it rest in ashes.
Expecting Americans to know any of their history is asking too much.🙄
The Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, IN is a magical place and not that far from I-80 if you're passing through.
craftmanship even over 100 yrs later BEAUTIFUL America's SUPERCAR
I had the good fortune to visit the ACD Museum in Auburn, Indiana around 1994. What a museum. Also, there was a guy here in Connecticut that used to bring his two! Duesenbergs to the car show at the Durham fair grounds in CT every year in the late '80's-early '90's. I have a 1965 "Road and Track" magazine which covers the annual event at the ACD Museum. One picture showed a Duesenberg towing a Cord, all the way from Mass! Another photo showed the present (1965) owner of the "Mormon Meteor" a record breaking Bonneville Salt Flat Duesenberg racer. So yeah, a Duesenberg was by far the best of the best. I really am a lucky man to have experienced these occurrences! By the way, I still have that "Road and Track" magazine. Cheers for the video.
ah those were really unique beautiful cars I have seen both the 1 and the 3 at the kruse auction years ago when it was running, there is still one of the other kruses I think a cousin and some buisness partners that run worldwide auctioneers and they get some pretty nice stuff too, high profile stuff, cords, bentlys, supercars, your american muscle cars, all kinds of vintage, it costs to go inside the auction but you can at this time go all about the old kruse victory musium grounds and look at all the cars and swap meet free as well as many food trucks and the cruise in's they have over several days downtown, but as for the meteor's those are something special, the 3 by the way is the 2 but it was reengined I belive and thats what made it the three they slapped in an aircraft engine
Duesenberg and Tesla do not belong in the same sentence. Teslas quality pales next to average cars like Toyota and Chevrolet. Please don’t insult one of if not the greatest American car ever built, only cars like Packard and Cadillac could come close and in some cases (few) better than a Duesi
And Tesla’s are ugly. Really ugly.
@@richardgarno6591 I agree. They are not aesthetically pleasing. I would not purchase one, but I was surprisingly impressed with the experience the one time I drove one for just ten miles.
Plus they are bad for the earth.
Only more modern cars that could be compared to the Dusenberg`s is The Mercedes Benz 600 and The Revival of the Maybach by mercedes the original editions. And some Rolls Royce could probably match.
Tesla brought EVs back to best selling autos. They lack variety but stick with good efficiency. The big thing is long distance and a good charging system. ❤ Also they profit now so they may stay in business. However the industry is cutthroat so they are likely to fail without Elon. Or because of him hurting feelings of people and randomly fathering kids, probably using drugs and promoting free speech, including for meanies.
Good program! I would agree about Duesenberg J and SJ having been the “best “ US cars. There were other companies such as Packard and Pierce Arrow that produced very well engineered luxury cars with high quality materials and build quality and offering good performance. What set Duesenberg in a class of its own was the unique combination of top luxury and hand built quality with what today we would call a supercar powertrain and performance. It was a creature of its time, not to be repeated. What passes for “luxury-performance cars today reminds one of appliances, “computers on wheels “ styled like and produced like mass market cars .
It's a very low standard compared to the rest of the world
Comparing Duesenberg to Tesla is like comparing fine china to paper plates. Duesenberg is akin to rolling sculpture. Not bad for a couple of guys named Fred and Augie from Iowa.
I could stand in front of these at the museum in Auburn for hours and hours...
The “31” Dusenberg is one of my favorite hot wheels castings and when they made it a final run in 2003 along with the Auburn speedster 852 I was extremely pissed off and almost gave up collecting cars. These oldies as my grampa called them are absolutely gorgeous looking cars and I thought of them as a moving piece of art.
This is a great video to introduce a neophyte to the world of the cars between the wars. I had a chance opportunity to ride in the “Twenty Grand” world’s fair Dusenberg, in a July 4th parade in the early 1960’s. My brother and I were kids in our early teen years, but that was an automobile, not a car. The details were amazing. A marble gear shift knob, and an altimeter in the dash.
As you stated, there will likely not be another automobile that would deserve comparison to this legend. The Tesla has some nice features, but it also comes with an extension cord and plug, not a supercharger, or cylinders.
About 25-30 years ago I’m sitting at a red light in Roslyn, Long Island, NY. To my left, a Duesenberg entered the intersection and made a left to be on the road that I was on. I caught up to it and noticed an extra plate on the back that said something like “ITSADOOZIE”. Only one I have ever seen live.
I’m inclined to agree with you, and it would be hard to argue. Also… Tesla has absolutely NO business being in this video. It’s a more expensive Prius thing. Modern “Money no object” vehicles? Rolls Royce and Bentley come to mind, although their engineering is generally fully conventional.
Works of art in power and motion.
At 64 years old, I remember
back (during my childhood)
when the elderly would use
the expression...
"that's a real Duesy"
...and many folks using the
saying with no clue nor
(experienced) point
of reference. 😂
I never knew that this was the reference. Interesting. I recall my Grandmother using the term. I doubt she ever saw one.
It's a myth, the term "It's/That's/She's/He's a Duzy" (some spell it Doozy) was in use before the cars existed, it's just that at a certain point people thought it referenced the quality level of a Duesenberg car but actually it's not true, it's just another myth like how people believe the saying "the whole 9 yards" came from the length of a belt of machinegun ammo, nope, the fact is "the whole 9 yards" goes back to at least the 1850's long before machineguns were even invented and is part of a punchline from a joke about a man's wife who wasn't a very good seamstress and had made him a shirt using "the whole 9 yards" of fabric she'd bought for making it which resulted in an excessively large and baggy shirt.
@@dukecraig2402 Well now I'm just confused. My Grandmother also used the "Whole nine yards" saying too, and she did have that machine gun down in the cellar. . .
@@phaedrussmith1949
Bet she had a sewing machine down there to.
@@phaedrussmith1949I bet she was a real Lulu ❤
That straight 8 must sound amazing.
I would argue that Packard deserves this distinction. Duesys were great, and many manufactures like Bentley and Bugatti borrowed from them, but they went out of business in 17 years, while Packard built high performance military aircraft engines for both world wars, and hand built the finest cars during the brass era. In fact, before high rpm engines, they would machine to such insanely high tolerances that they would drop test pistons in the block, and the air pressure would catch them.
There’s one of these cars in Europe, in a museum in the west of England. I walked into that room and got the message. It’s the star of the show.
@4.55 you mean drum brakes don't you? Happy Christmas, we still say that here in Australia.
Yes! The most beautiful cars ever made in the USA!
I'd have to throw in Pierce Arrow and Ruxton as runner ups.
That's hilarious.
A tesla is nowhere near a Duesenberg.
It's more like a Fiat.
the current top of the line Lucid Air is luxurious and a game changer in many ways. it's top tier, premium engineering at all costs.
It's not a car, it's an automobile..
Same difference
i'll be honest, Duesenberg's are beauties, even if they're not from an era I know or am very interested in, and I wish I could see one someday. I love how in depth you went onto this topic, great video!
Dang we went backwards yall. Driving is now a chore; back then it was a luxury.
If only Duesenburg had survived the Depression, it's a hell of a trip to imagine what they would've been making in the 50s and 60s
It's not quite up just to imagination, there were multiple attempts to revive Duesenberg after war, some came quite close to become true. Ed's auto reviews has a video on the issue: ruclips.net/video/AifSSa6QA58/видео.html
Only 7.5k subs?? This person is gonna blow up soon.
I purchased a whammy bar (for electric guitar), made by Duesenberg, recently and it's engineering is pretty darn clever.
You know they are not related, right?
@@alittlebitgone- not sure. The wang bar is made in Germany. I know Deusenberg may be a common name however my feeling is that it might or might not be the same family. Probably not - I haven't done the research YET.
You make a good case. Can't argue. Thanks for the great aesthetic video. No yelling or flapping your arms about like some obnoxious car videos tend to do...just the facts and making a humble, well thought out case.
Hey thanks!!
Some of those "facts" aren't.
@@mikescott5624 Well any “the greatest” video is by nature subjective. So maybe “facts” was a poor choice of words
This car is the PROOF that truly even the "Muscle Cars" of the 60s were outdated technology when they were new....Duesenberg was using Race/Aircraft technology (DOHC/4V/Supercharging) in road going automobiles, it took another SIXTY years (until the 90's) for even Corvette/Cadillac to use this 1930's type of Technology and another 10 years for it to trickle down to Common Automobiles (Though usually in 4/6 cylinder form, the V8's were still reserved for the Sport/Luxury Cars.)
20s and 30s had the most beautiful car designs in history, without a doubt. The styling and elegance is just perfect. I love all decades of auto design up until the late 2000s. Each are absolutely amazing in their own right, but 20s and 30s will always hold a place in my heart
The Duesenberg SJ was the greatest car ever built. In 1927 it had 4 valves per cylinder, double overhead cam and super charged. I think it produced 300 hp and topped out at a 130mph . There was nothing in the world which came even close in engineering and performance. It wasn’t until the 50’s that Chrysler’s hemis could make that kind of horse power. Remember there was a world war in between where engine development advanced rapidly. 4 valves per cylinder in mainstream engines took until the 1990s or later to become common
And supercharging is still rarely available. The engineering on these things was uncompromising. I am sure I cannot even BEGIN to appreciate what went into the creation and manufacture of these machines.
The 1950's Chrysler Hemi's weren't all that powerful, they didn't even make ½ HP per ci, it was the late 60's "Elephant" Hemi engine's that Chrysler made that were powerful and were a completely different engine with no parts interchangeability with the 50's Hemi's.
Great job, subscribed. Best of luck to you and your channel. My Dad loved those cars.
Thanks!
Amazing cars - I agree, one of the best cars of all times.
The Duesie was the first car to have 4 wheel hydraulic brakes.
The first car to have disc brakes was the 1949 Crosley
The first sports car to have disc brakes was the 1953 Jaguar C type
The first sustained production car with disc brakes was the 1955 Citroen DS..
My first car in Australia was a 1962 Citroen ID19.... the ride and brakes were supreme.
I always thought the 59 Cadillacs were the most beautiful cars in the world, but this has changed my mind.😍
In the 1920's and 30's, Duesenberg made the most powerful engine with their Straight 8, 265 minimum horsepower, but Packard made the smoothest with their V12 which were also almost indestructible and were used in American Tanks and PT Boats. Americans didn't begrudge movie stars and producers from driving Model J Duesenbergs, tho.
All the Auburn marks were beautiful, beautiful.
Everyone should visit the Nethercutt collection in Sylmar, California (Los Angeles). Incredible! Added bonus - it’s free.
What a fabulous car, the juice and burgers, and when you look at all the automobiles that have come and gone did Dusenburg, I believe could be put back into production with all the ladies technology that we have for is truly one of the most remarkable errors of time and that’s what you don’t get out of a plastic toy with a battery in it called a Tesla car did you can’t put in the garage just in case it catches fire so thank you so much for the juice and thank you thank you thank you for Jay Leno and I hope that all is well in the family. Regards Alan Hoochie automotive electrical engineer from down under. Regards
Nice story, thanks to youtube these stories are available. Jay Leno and his love for the Dusey is well documented and Randy Ema the top restorer has some great stories between them.
Jaye Leno has one of these cars and what craftsmanship for the Duesenburg.
They're impressive cars, but regardless how many casino owners, pizza chain magnates, or TV comedians own them, Duesenbergs are not some stand alone single best, certainly not when adjusted for price. Learn something about the 120 years of automotive history before parroting claims.
@@mikescott5624 - Who put a bee in your bonnet? He only said Leno owned one. He owns 100+ other cars too.
@@mikescott5624where is yours?
You sound like a real expert. A petty, jealous one. 🙄
hydraulic disc brakes?!? you're kidding, right? 😂
no he aint en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_brake But they where generally quite unreliable for a while on most cars
@@Infernal_Elf holy crap! I really didn't know. thanks!
Cord, Auburn, Duesenberg: what an automobile trifecta!
Ridiculously beautiful.
Dusenbergs were more powerful, fancier, and basically completely customized. But Packard built the best quality cars.
god i love Dueseberg
Well done. Awesome work. Picked a sub up
…I wonder if any prohibition gangsters/ mobsters ever owned a Duzy…
I had a teacher in high school that as a child of about 10-12 years old he had the experience of meeting a gangster that had a Duesenberg in the outskirts of Chicago. He specifically remembered the car because of its size and the guy made sure they knew it was a Duesy.
Never knew the etymology of "duese" (sp?). Very cool!
I had a 1/18 model j Dusenberg which i spent long time admiring her beauty and dreaming of the day I will buy one but as I get closer to the end and with no hope of ever owning one I just keep dreaming
Was that a Pocher model?
@@bartscarstories I cannot remember brother but I remember it was in maroon colour with black roof and interior. It was very detailed and amazingly beautiful
The Duesi is absolutely stunning, better than anything produced these days
Wish someone would bring back this company couldn't believe what it would be like today
Several unsuccessful attempts were made to revive the Duesenberg
I had a model j boat tail that sold for $142k so yeah, it's safe to say his estimates are correct..
don't they sell for 400k+ nowadays? maybe should have held on to it...
@@DrTheRich it was in kinda terrible condition.. By the time I had gotten it the previous owner had jus let it go a little far... At that point I was just happy to get what I did..
Awesome cars
I agree. I've been to the museum.
it would be 40 years before another manufacturer would have 4 valves per cylinder and double overhead cams...a true tour de force.
No, no, no. Stutz DV-32 among others.
I've loved Duesenbergs since I learned about them as a kid....no, there will never be anything like them again....
Tesla's are not luxurious, not even close... Minimalism =/= luxury... If you compare a tesla to a Mercedes s class in terms of luxury, the difference is night and day.
i think in terms of modern electric cars, the Lucid Air might be the closest to a Duesenberg. Very fast, very luxurious 4 door sedan made in limited quantities, clearly advertised to the rich.
The engine was light years ahead of it's time, costly, for sure, but people shell out millions for cars today, ridiculous
Agree. Well done.
I know of 2 Disney cartoons that had cars that looked similar to this. Ducktales & 101 Dalmatians
“Only ONE man in town I know of that owns a Duesenburg!” ~ Carter Pewderschmit- Family Guy.
This video was a real doozy! Thanks your insight was very much on the bull’s-eye I think
How could you fail to mention the famous stream lined record holding Mormon Meteor! I saw it at Pebble Beach a few years ago. What a beautiful beast.
Nobody can produce such fine craftsmanship today. It was never truly a commodity of mass production, but an extension of Master Craftsmen. Which is why t coachworks were ordered separately. You can't get that in today's market. Such Master Craftsmen aren't alive today.
There are still a few around.......If you can afford them!
Yes they are, craftsmen like that still exist and still hand make just about anything you could possibly want and do just that for rich people every day, they still hand make fine silverware and jewelry for example.
Every day in the automotive repair and restoration business people hand make parts repairing and restoring cars especially one's like this where their millionaire owners want them restored exactly how they were made in the first place.
Aircraft restoration is another place where such craftsmen work every day, when they pull a P47 Thunderbolt out of a lake that it's been sitting at the bottom of since WW2 they don't really "restore" it the way people think, what they actually do is hand reproduce every single part either using factory blueprints or the old part as a pattern for a new one, or sometimes a combination of the two, aircraft like that that've been sitting at the bottom of a lake for decades only the registration plate will be the only original part used, every other part will be reproduced by hand.
There's nothing people could do 100 years ago that people can't do nowadays, the mystique that surrounds that idea is just a myth.
You should go on a little journey and discover how many true craftsmen there are out there. The best part is, a lot of us don't care about the currency much. The passion is where these creations come from.
Inheriting real estate or being a trust funder doesn't make you an authority on automobiles.
Shirley Booth would say "it's a doozy " on the Hazel show. Doozy meaning the best
Make America Classy Again!
i totally agree and for German ears it is a fantastic name, for me it is the best car of all times, mary pickford in her duesenberg, i love it.
⚜️ Dusenberg and Studebaker, (Bugatti, Cord, and Auburn) are the flavors I desire. The greatest decade of "body" design emerged out of the late 20's through the 1930's.
The Duesenberg shown driving at 8:55 and a few times in between is actually one of 2 SSJ models that had 400 horsepower. And the famous Mormon Meteor race car should have been mentioned as it broke and held quie a few speed records in its time.
I saw 2 in Louwman Museum in Den Haag and that 2 car was by far most beautiful in this very beautiful museum. Look nicer than RR, Bugatti, Hispano-Suiza, Issota Fraschini...
Merry Christmas ⛄ and GOD bless German engineering ; from old New Orleans 😇
It was American not German.
I learned of the Duesenberg back in high school in 1980. You are correct the finest automobile in the world!
I don't know if I'd like to drive a car that doubled as a whoopy cushion.
7:39 That is a pretty car.
Craftsmanship....
Craftsmanship and high top speed were the Duesenberg Model J's only two draws.
The one Homer Simpson designed
Duesenberg and Cord budget Duesy maybe?
The Cord 810/812 was originally designed as the "baby Duesenberg"
They work great cars anyway you look at it! Quality, speed, if I had to take a guess on what would be a close second as far as quality goes I would say packered around this time, a close third would be l Cadillac and fourth would be Lincoln. It's like the old saying goes, they don't build them like they used to.
Well, I tend to think that, in spirit, the closes current car to a Duesenberg is the Bugatti Chiron.
You should not ignore Tesla either, even if it goes broke, and EVs fail this time and become mainstream in 20 years instead of 10 you will be pressed to find more than a handful of car companies as impactful as Tesla. I agree, it's unlikely that any company is going to build a car that is far ahead of the other brands, true luxury, and a work of art at the same time. We will need a true breakout in technology, like a company, say Chinese, having a monopoly on advanced solid-state batteries.
Chariot of the terrestrial gods ..
Is that Gary Cooper at 10:10 ?
Yep that’s Coop
Best American car ever? I'd give that crown to the Springfield Rolls-Royce, circa 1926. While other cars (American and foreign) broke down a lot, the overbuilt and understressed 40/50 just kept on running.
While it was an amazing vehicle and incredibly advanced for its time it was more than 20 years till an automobile had Disc brakes.
While I like the content, that sort of mistake kinda makes me wonder who or what is the creator and narrator of this channel.
DOHC and superchargerd, oh in 1927 too. Packard was right there with Dusenberg.
Packard was more refined.
The classic cars of the late 1920s to the 1930s make today's cars pale in comparison.inspite of the tec advances.
In my opinion the closest modern car to a Duesy is Bugatti.
Yess. Koenigsegg also comes to mind.
Lucid ig gets close to what that duesenburg was in its time. Hyper car fast and practical without being millions
The closest vehicle, in recent times, would be a Bentley.
It's always unfortunate when the engineering genius behind something truly special dies way too early and the entire thing just kind of falls apart as a result. I'm surprised that none of the other American automakers bought up the patents and manufacturing equipment, etc. when the company went under. If the engine is that impressive, then it really should have been something people fought over to scavenge from the corpse of the company.
What "patents?" Other than extreme craftsmanship, there was nothing remarkable about a Model J's chassis. Learn about Bentley's Speed Six, Delage, Pierce-Arrow. Ettore Bugatti drove a Packard Eight on European business trips.
@@mikescott5624I didn't mention a single thing about the chassis, only the engine. The engine is the main attraction for this vehicle, after all.
They were real Duesy’s
They also built 2 ssj spec versions that made 400hp
Claimed, not AAA or SAE sanctioned. Don't believe everything you seen in some down-home buff magazine.
That’s a duesey!
Agreed! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Jay Leno approves this message. They were the best. It's a Dusey!