When the Auburn Automobile Company was facing an ever growing well of red ink in 1924, they realized they needed to make a drastic maneuver in order to move a glut of unsold inventory if they had any hopes of saving the firm. Auburns were quality cars, but they were also staid and somewhat boring in the face of their competition. The board at Auburn hired a hotshot young salesman; E.L. Cord with the task of turning around their fortunes. Cord was an Auburn distributor and entrepreneur and his solution to unsold stock was as genius as it was simple. A natural showman, he simply repainted the bland Auburns in bright new colors and marketed them in retail spaces around the country. His elegant plan saved the company and as a reward, he was offered a place in management. But Cord's ambition was much higher, and rather than accept the job, he decided full control over the company was a better deal. By1928, he was in complete control of Auburn and had begun to amass an impressive manufacturing empire that included eventually Auburn, Lycoming Engines, Checker Cab, Duesenberg, Stinson Aircraft and New York Shipbuilders, among others.