From One Place to Another. With a Little Fun in Between.

Our last night in Nappanee, Indiana, included a mixture of rain, temperature, and humidity. We were, of course, parked next to the paint building at Newmar, so the view wasn't spectacular, but just as the sun set a brief rain shower literally blew through, leaving us with a nice double rainbow! What a fitting end to a successful service visit at the factory where Nessie was born!

We left Nappanee on Wednesday, the 26th and traveled all of 61 miles to Crosspoint Cummins in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This Cummins engine dealer has a full service facility and runs two shifts maintaining Cummins diesel engines in everything from generators to school busses and heavy equipment. We've visited them in the past and needed some routine maintenance, so we stopped by. They have a handful of parking slots with electrical outlets for people like us who need to stay overnight in our motorhomes.

And on the other side, we had a view of the Kenworth truck dealer, who managed to keep three shifts of techs busy!

John, the Cummins motorhome tech, took our motorhome first thing on Thursday to service the engine, grease the chassis and running gear, and service the generator. I had mentioned to Crosspoint that I felt that the engine power was not quite right, so they plugged a specialized computer into the coach and John and I drove a few miles around the city checking various parameters. He indicated that the engine seemed to be operating well, but that the shift points in the Allison transmission were not quite right. Hmmm. OK.

While John was working on Nessie, Donna and Sasha and I took a drive around the local area. We soon found ourselves in the Amish community of Grabill where the hardware store, feed and grain store, and the post office were all in one building!

Just a mile or so out of town, an Amish gathering (wedding? birthday?) brought out all the horses and buggies a person could imagine, with men in pristine black trousers, starched white shirts with black vests, and woven hats. The ladies were crisp and clean and the children were scrubbed till their faces fairly shone in the sunlight!

Continuing our day trip, we happened into the town of Auburn, Indiana. In this little thought of town in mid state, the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Company produced some of the finest automobiles of the golden age of vehicles. The factory was closed and shuttered years ago, but has been revived as a museum and tribute to these prestigious cars.

The first floor showroom has been refurbished to better than new condition while retaining all of the original flooring and decorations.

The mind boggles at the incredible display of automobiles:

1930 Duisenberg Model J convertible. 420 cubic inch straight eight cylinder engine. 265 horsepower at 4,200 rpm. Price when new: $14,750.

1932 Cord:

1937 Cord 812 Coupe: Only three hardtop coupes were made in 1936-1937, and only one was like this one. Commissioned by Robert Stranahan, Sr., president and co-founder of Champion Sparkplugs,  this vehicle had many unique features, including Auburn headlights, a padded leather top, an Auburn hood ornament, and Lasalle vent ports on the sides of the hood. It developed 175 horsepower from a supercharged Lycoming V-8 engine and cost $3,500 when new.

1936 Cord 810: Built to be exhibited at the 1936 automobile show, this car was designed, tested, and 100 vehicles were ready to go in just over 7 months. Shirley Temple starred in "Dimples and Stowaway" that year and 38% of American families had annual incomes under $1,000.

This restored 1934 Duisenberg Model J Dual-Cowl Phaeton was designed completely within Duesenbergs in house styling studio and contracted out to LaGrande Coachbuilders. Duesenberg Inc.'s in house stylist Gordon Buehrig was a leader in proportional styling. Notice the dual windshields, protecting passengers from the wind as well as the driver.

In 1927, the famous designer Henry Earl joined General Motors as their director of Art and Color Department. His first Cadillac, in 1928, added a number of dashboard and instrument panel changes as well as a larger V-8 engine to compete with Packard in the eight-cylinder sales race. This 341 cubic inch V-8 engine only developed 90 horsepower. When President Franklin Roosevelt needed a secure ride to Washington to make his speech following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Government used an armored 1928 Cadillac 341 confiscated from Al Capone.

The 1935 Auburn 851 Boattail came with a plaque certifying that it had been road tested to over 100 miles per hour. It was a beautiful social statement designed by Gordon Buehrig. Cost when new? $2,245.

This 1948 Tasco is the result of a group of investors wanting to build an American sports car for competition at Watkins Glen racetrack in New York. Gordon Buehrig was part of the group. This single prototype vehicle was the first in the world with a T-top roof, an idea that Buehrig patented. He later sued General Motors when the 1968 Corvette came out with a T-top roof. The name Tasco stands for The American Sports Car Company.

Cord was the first production automobile to have front wheel drive, a concept that architect Frank Lloyd Wright believed in. He owned several, including this 1930 Cord L-29.

Amelia Earhart was presented with this Cord 812 Phaeton by her husband in 1937. She was unable to enjoy the Cord as she was lost in the Pacific on July 2, 1937.

Featuring cars of jewel-like precision, the Indianapolis based Stutz became best know for it's Bearcat, but the Stutz Speedway Four was innovative in its own right in the years after WW1. This 1923 model features a huge 365 cubic inch, four cylinder engine that developed 88 horsepower, which propelled the 4,130 pound car to speeds over 80 miles-per-hour.

The designs of the day, long hoods and short back ends allowed Cord to perfect it's front wheel design. The engine was placed at the back of the front-drive gearbox.

In the so-called Classic Era, 1925 to 1948, one-of-a-kind custom passenger compartments were all the rage among the elite of the country. Coach builders had evolved from the extravagant carriage builders of the 19th century, and were expert at forming custom bodies out of 14 gauge aluminum. Using hand tools and wood frames, the bodies were meticulously created by highly skilled workers, most often for a Cord chassis.

I did not see any identifying signage for this spectacular vehicle, but it fairly shouts "Elegance".

Wow! How do you follow that? With another museum, of course! In the same town, eight other museums display and educate. The National Auto and Truck Museum, the Hoosier Air Museum, Military Interactive Exhibits, the Historical Railroad Museum, and the Early Ford V-8 Museum are just a few. I wish we had more time!