A minor shareholder unsuccessfully attempted to put the company into receivership in 1923 and slow sales led the company into receivership in 1924, but it emerged in 1925. A year later the company's leadership was discussing a merger with Du Pont Motors, once again indicating possible financial concerns. E. L. Cord, president of the Auburn Automobile Company, admired the Duesenberg Model A and proposed a financial rescue to acquire the Duesenberg company. Cord wanted to manufacture a faster and more prestigious "supercar" to round out the offerings of his other automotive brands, the Auburn and Cord. E. L. Cord's acquisition of the Duesenberg company in 1926 also included Fred, who was tasked with designing faster and more powerful luxury cars than the Duesenberg competitors. From 1926 until his death in 1932, Fred focused on designs for passenger cars, which included the X, S, and J models, and served as vice president of engineering at Duesenberg, a subsidiary of the Cord Corporation. While Fred concentrated on passenger-car designs for E. L. Cord, his brother, Augie, ran the Duesenberg Brothers racing business.