It’s urban legend that the term “doozie” was coined off of the Duesenberg luxury cars of the 1920, but we’re seeing a doozie of a financial problem in Auburn, IN, the home of the Duesenberg, where the Kruse auction house is going through some financial difficulties. I recall driving past the Kruse facility just off of I-69 just inside the Indiana border with Michigan as my wife told of staying in Auburn when her family would visit friends their.

The Kruse family auctioned off a pair of Duesenbergs, and the winning bids were far lower than expected, leading many to think that the Kruses were looking to raise cash to get them through this current rough stretch in the custom car auction market, in which they excel.

Kruse had some problems getting money from customers in 2009 which led to a lot of disgruntled sellers not getting money from Kruse. In order to keep this year’s winter auctions in Arizona going, Kruse had to promise to put the proceeds from the auctions in escrow.

Many car haulers specialize in the custom car market and the auction market. An auctioned car will often mean a job for one hauler taking the car to the auction and a job for another hauler taking the car to the new buyer. Fewer auctions means less work for car transporters. However, there is enough of a business there where another car auctioneer might step in and buy Kruse. KAR Auctions, headquartered towards the current southern end of I-69 in Carmel, IN, might be a good candidate for a white knight.