The Cord L-29 brought front-wheel drive to American showrooms in 1929, and few U.S. makers followed over the next 50 years. Some of them built luxury cars. One built a motorhome, and two built economy hatchbacks. Here are eight American front-drive vehicles, in the order they arrived.
This list sticks to vehicles that American companies built and sold before 1980. It also leaves out race cars and one-off prototypes, because every entry had to reach paying customers.
1. 1929 Cord L-29
Front-wheel drive was a racing idea in the late 1920s. Miller race cars had made it famous at the Indianapolis 500, and the L-29 carried the layout onto the street. Because no driveshaft ran under the body, the car could sit low and look long.
The American Heritage Museum calls the L-29 the first successful front-wheel-drive production car. It also notes that the Cord beat a rival called the Ruxton to market by a narrow margin. In the end, total production of the Cord L-29 reached 5,010 cars, according to the museum.
2. 1930 Ruxton
That rival had an even more tangled story. Engineer William Muller designed its front-drive system, and his gearbox placed the final drive in the middle of the transmission. As a result, the engine bay grew shorter and more weight sat over the front wheels. Power came from a 4.4-liter Continental straight-eight rated at 100 horsepower.
According to the Revs Institute, dropping the propeller shaft let the body sit about ten inches lower, with no running boards. However, parts delays, the 1929 crash and fights among its backers sank the project. Moon Motor Car Company, the main builder, went bankrupt in November 1930. Period magazines claimed up to 500 cars, but marque researcher Jim Fasnacht puts the total at no more than 96, and only about 30 to 40 reached customers.
3. 1936 Cord 810
Cord returned to front-wheel drive with the 810, which debuted at the New York Auto Show in November 1935. A Lycoming V8 sent its power forward, and the headlamps folded away into the front fenders. For 1937, the company renamed the car the 812.
Conceptcarz lists 125 horsepower for the standard engine and 170 with the optional Schwitzer-Cummins supercharger. Even so, the new car couldn’t save the company. Production of the 810 and 812 together came to about 3,000 cars, by the same account.
4. 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado
Nearly three decades passed before another American automaker sold a front-drive car. Oldsmobile finally ended the gap with the 1966 Toronado, a big personal coupe. Its styling was meant as a tribute to the Cord.
Hagerty calls it the first American production car with front-wheel drive since the 1937 Cord 812. Under the hood sat a 425-cubic-inch V8, and Hagerty’s price guide lists it at 385 horsepower. Still, the same guide notes that the first Toronado hasn’t fully caught on with collectors.
5. 1967 Cadillac Eldorado
One year later, Cadillac put the same idea under its own sheet metal. The 1967 Eldorado rode on GM’s front-drive E-body, the platform it shared with the Toronado. In fact, it was the first Cadillac with front-wheel drive.
Instead of the Oldsmobile engine, though, Cadillac used its own 429-cubic-inch V8. Mac’s Motor City Garage lists it at 340 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque. The base price was $6,227, about 34 percent more than the Oldsmobile. Even so, first-year sales met Cadillac’s forecast of 15,000 to 20,000 cars.
6. 1973 GMC Motorhome
GM’s most unusual front-drive vehicle was a house on wheels. The GMC Motorhome took the Toronado’s front-drive module whole, including the V8, the transmission and the front suspension. At the back, meanwhile, it rode on tandem wheels with independent air suspension.
According to Mac’s Motor City Garage, GMC introduced the coach in January 1973 in 23-foot and 26-foot lengths. Early models used a 455-cubic-inch V8, while the 1977 and 1978 coaches got a 403. GM then cancelled the program on November 11, 1977, after building 12,921 motorhomes. That source estimates that 9,000 to 10,000 remain in use.
7. 1978 Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon
Front-wheel drive finally reached the economy class at Chrysler. The Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon arrived for 1978 as an answer to high fuel prices after the 1973 oil embargo. New fuel-economy rules from 1975 also pushed the company toward small cars.
The Henry Ford describes the twins as among the first American cars with a front-drive hatchback layout. Its beige 1978 Omni has a 105-cubic-inch four rated at 75 horsepower, and it sold new for $3,976. Motor Trend also named the Omni and Horizon its Car of the Year, the museum notes.
8. 1979 Buick Riviera
For 1979, the Riviera switched to front-wheel drive and joined the Toronado and Eldorado on the E-body. It was also Buick’s first front-drive production car. Buyers could choose an Oldsmobile-sourced 350 V8 or a turbocharged 231-cubic-inch V6, which came standard on the S Type, according to Mac’s Motor City Garage.
The change paid off for Buick. Conceptcarz puts 1979 Riviera sales at 52,181, more than double the 1978 total. Conceptcarz also notes that Motor Trend named the 1979 Riviera its Car of the Year.
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