DUESENBERG, FRED S. (1876-1932). Automotive engineer and manufacturer. Since the turn of the century, Fred Duesenberg had been well known as a designer of fast, powerful, reliable gasoline engines which came to be widely used in the marine, automotive and aviation industries. From 1903-1913 Duesenberg was the chief engineer of the Mason Motor Car Company. In 1913, Fred and his brother August established the Duesenberg Motor Company to manufacture gasoline engines of their own design. Success was immediate, with Mulford and Rickenbacker consistently driving Duesenberg-powered racers to commanding victories. In 1920 the brothers began to build their first production car, the Model A. While the car created a sensation at its debut, it was a mere shadow of the massive and extraordinarily expensive Model J (and later SJ and SSJ) which was introduced in 1928. Of the Duesenberg marque it has been said, "If but one of all the automobiles ever built in America had to be singled out as the most glorious achievement in this country's automotive history, that car would have to be the Duesenberg. It transcended the ordinary in full measure, created legends in its wake which will live forever, and became a literal metaphor -- 'It's a Duesy' -- for anything unrelentingly superlative."