August 24, 2010
After 34 years, the classic Indiana-built motorcars – the Auburns, Cords, and Duesenbergs – will once again grace the Culver Academies campus as the Hoosier Tour visits the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.
As part of the ACD Club’s annual tour preceding the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Festival over Labor Day Weekend in Auburn, Ind., as many as 50 of these vintage vehicles will travel to the area and be parked near Culver’s Naval Building for public viewing on Tuesday, Aug. 31, from 4 to 6 p.m. and again on Wednesday, Sept. 1, from 3 to 5 p.m. The viewing is free to the public, with parking available behind Memorial Chapel near the main entrance off Indiana 10.
“The Academies are pleased to offer the facilities to showcase these unique Indiana institutions,” Academies Alumni Director Alan Loehr told The Culver Citizen. The school is teaming up with the Antiquarian and Historical Society and the community to make the tour special for all involved. “We look forward to having many community members on campus,” he said.
The Hoosier Tour began in 1975 and stopped at the Culver campus in 1976. The ACD Tour departs annually from Auburn to travel the countryside, usually making a couple of overnight stops before returning to Auburn for the beginning of the annual ACD Festival. The owner/drivers will be staying over this year at the Holiday Inn Express in Plymouth.
Over the years the stops on the tour have ranged from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Michigan International Speedway– driving on both tracks – to the cities and towns and points of interest throughout Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The tour has grown from seven cars and 25 people that first year to between 45 to 50 vehicles and some 125 owners and drivers.
Reaching a short-lived zenith in the 1920s and ’30s, these Auburn- and Indianapolis-built motorcars were ahead of their time in engineering, styling, endurance, horsepower, and innovation. It is a privilege to see these fully-restored cars in museums. But as drivable collector cars, to see these rolling works of art on Indiana roads and highways is a special treat. One Duesenberg owner will be driving from Texas in honor of the 100th anniversary of its 1910 manufacture.
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival from Sept. 2-6 and is highlighted by the Saturday (Sept 4) Parade of Classics in downtown Auburn. The annual auction of antique, collector, and classic cars will be Sept. 3-5. Detailed information is available at www.acdfestival.org. The ACD Museum, housed in the former showroom of the car manufacturer, website is www.acdmuseum.org.