Episode 2

S1, E2: Gordon Miller Buehrig was just another young designer at the thriving Auburn Automobile Company in Pennsylvania before the war, when he was tapped to design what would be considered one of the top ten cars: the 1936 Cord 810. The Cord was low-slung, high-powered, and front-driven -- with its engine tucked in BEHIND the transmission. At the time, it was unlike any other car on the road. The Cord became so sought after that production demand nearly tanked the company. It took 30 years for the echoes of the 1936 Cord 810 to be felt. The 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado was a tribute to its coffin-nosed predecessor with a stunning design that featured a horizontally-lined grille, hidden headlamps, and vented hubcaps. But the Toronado’s allure faded like young love. Sales dropped by half one year after its introduction, and although the Toronado name led a modest life over the next 25 years, this once great car never gained car collector status, became nothing more than a memory. It’s a situation that collector Mike Markowski was determined to change.