>>If Eben managed to get a good return on the Duesenberg and then lived
>>in a reasonably modest way, he'd probably be set for the
>>decade. The equivalent of $350,000 2021 dollars would probably
>>be about right.
>
>Alas, the value of Duesenbergs slumped hard between the company's
>failure in 1937 and when they started to become collectible in the
>'50s. In spite of their rarity and high quality, they were considered
>outmoded, both stylistically and mechanically (the Duesenberg brothers
>didn't believe in synchromesh transmissions, for example, which was
>plain silly by the mid-'30s). At around the time the US entered World
>War II, a Model J in half-decent condition could often be had for less
>than $500. Admittedly, $500 was a lot more money in 1942 than it is
>today, but even so, that was secondhand Buick money.
>
>Wentworth bought his right before the values tanked, naturally,
>but he never considered it a problem because he never expected he'd
>have to sell it.

I'd always understood the transmission thing to be a result of the brothers not being transmission designers and not being able to find anyone who'd sell them a unit that could take what their engine threw out at full power without stripping, but you've certainly got a point about the devaluation they underwent.

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Iä! Iä! Moe fthagn!