At first glance, the Cord 810/812 may not seem like a car born of the Great Depression. But during those anxious years, high end manufacturers were struggling to sell extravagant machines, as even the most wealthy of buyers shied away from flaunting their status quite as openly in public. Many manufacturers resorted to developing lower priced models to make up sales. Packard developed the Junior series, Lincoln added the Zephyr line and GM introduced LaSalle to fit between Buick and Cadillac. Even Duesenberg wasn't immune to the pressure and work was begun on a "baby" Duesenberg that could help pick up sagging sales. Partially through its development, the baby Duesenberg idea was dropped, as it was thought it could tarnish the illustrious brand. But E.L. Cord, the man in charge of Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg, saw great potential in the design and pressed forward to produce it as an all-new model for his revived Cord brand. The Cord L-29 had been out of production for some time, and E.L. saw this as an opportunity to revive the brand that bore his name.