Seeing Marshall V. Miller’s 1930 L-29 Cord rumble-seat cabriolet glide down the street it is like watching a scene from “The Great Gatsby.”

 The long hood, gracefully flowing fenders and low windshield are so sleek that the car looks as if it could slide beneath the wind.

 Miller, of Kansas City, added the Cord to his collection last year.

 The L-29 was one of the first American production cars to use front-wheel drive. Errett Lobban Cord asked Cornelius Van Ranst to engineer the car using the front-wheel-drive principles patented by famous race-car designer Harry Miller and popularized by Miller’s success at the Indianapolis 500. It was built in four-door sedan, brougham, convertible and rumble-seat-cabriolet body configurations.

 The compact dimensions of front-wheel drive enabled the L-29’s hood to be up to 10 inches lower than a comparable Cadillac’s.

 The car rides on a 137.5-inch wheelbase, has 18-inch wheels and weighs more than 4,000 pounds. The original price was $3,295.

 A Lycoming 298.6-cubic-inch, eight-cylinder engine, with 125 horsepower, was mated to the front-mounted, three-speed transmission. A long shift linkage passes over the engine and emerges from the instrument panel in a short lever that is topped by a large knob in Miller’s car. Shifts are made by pushing, pulling and rotating the gear lever. 

 Style is an important element of the L-29. Suicide doors, engine-turned panels on the dash and twin sidemount spare tires add to its allure.

 Miller enjoys driving the cars in his collection and sharing them with others. Sunday morning cruises are his favorite, but he also likes to display them at selected events.

 Miller, a local attorney, is the founder and organizer of the Art of the Car Concours d’Elegance at the Kansas City Art Institute. His Cord was one of more than 140 cars on display on the last weekend in June. The event raised $35,000 for the Art Institute scholarship fund.

Marshall Miller, right, founded the event that raised money for the Art Institute scholarship fund.