Rockne Six - short-lived marketing coup with a long-term effect

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Rockne Six - short-lived marketing coup with a long-term effect

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Created on May 11, 2020

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

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Bruno von Rotz

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Stefan Fritschi

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RM Auctions

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Gerard Brown

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Archiv

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Rockne Six '65' (1932) - auctioned at the RM Auction Auburn Spring in May 2016

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Rockne Six (1932) - named after the football player and coach Knute Rockne

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Rockne Six (1932) - advertised as a sensation by the CH importer

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Rockne Six (1932) - at the Geneva Motor Show 1932

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Rockne Six (1932) - sales advertisement bilingual

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Rockne Six (1932) - Newspaper advertising in France

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Rockne Six (1932) - 1st place at the Deauville Concours in 1932

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Rockne Six '75' (1932) - the larger version

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Rockne Six (1932) - as a four-door model

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Rockne Six '65' (1933) - recorded in the seventies

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Rockne Six (1933) - recorded in the eighties

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Rockne Six (1933) - stately saloon available in various versions

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Rockne Six (1933) - space for five people

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Studebaker Rockne Six (1933) - Classic car in Obwalden O-iO 2017 - Drive from Sarnen to Brienz

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13th Winter RAID 2016 - Day 4 - Rockne Six 75 from 1932 - The oldest vehicle in the convoy waits outside for the start of the stage

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Rockne Six 75 (1932) - Day 16 - Omsk - Tyumen - Rally Beijing-Paris 2016

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Summary

"Rockne" is an unusual name for a car brand, especially an American one. And this name actually had Norwegian roots. The Rockne Six was built in two different versions and was intended to offer a low-cost entry into the six-cylinder world. If times had not been so difficult, the Rockne brand might still exist today. This report is dedicated to the Rockne Six, which was only produced for just over a year but nevertheless left its mark. The article is illustrated with modern and historical photographs, as well as sales literature from the time.

This article contains the following chapters

From football to the automobile
Announcement in the fall of 1931
At the 1932 Geneva Motor Show
First successes
Evolution and consolidation for 1933
Early end ...
... but not the end

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

"Rockne" is an unusual name for a car brand, especially an American one. And the name actually had Norwegian roots. But this was not the only unusual thing about the Rockne Six, which caused quite a stir in the 1930s and whose technology was still being used into the 1980s. Knute Rockne was born Knut Larsen Rokne in Voss (Norway) in 1888, but emigrated to the USA, more precisely to Chicago, with his parents in 1893. As part of his studies at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, he established himself as a football player and caused a sensation with his successes and innovative play (keyword "forward pass").

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