In the wake of the Great Depression, Duesenberg found itself with a problem. The economic catastrophe had a dampening effect on the sales of expensive, ostentatious cars. Many would-be Duesenberg owners chose something a little more down-to-earth in which to be chauffeured. It didn’t do to be seen as profligate when the busiest shops in town were soup kitchens and bread lines. Consider that President Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt owned a Brewster town car — on a 1932 Plymouth chassis.
The public also perceived that Duesenberg was in shaky financial condition. It was. This perception was not helped by its showrooms, which rarely kept a car on the floor to display. Of course, Duesenbergs and cars of their class were often bespoke affairs. Customers ordered a chassis and had it sent to the coachbuilder of their choice for custom coachwork, whether entirely original or from a catalog of existing body designs. So there was no practical reason to have a standing inventory of complete and incredibly expensive cars. Duesenberg did have stylists who worked
