Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American
luxury automobile
A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars.
The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the ...
company located in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
in 1958.
One of the "Three Ps" alongside
Peerless Motor Company
The Peerless Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer that produced the Peerless brand of motorcars in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1900 to 1931. One of the "Three Ps" Packard, Peerless, and Pierce-Arrowthe company was known for buil ...
, and
Pierce-Arrow
The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks ...
the company was known for building high-quality luxury automobiles before World War II.
Owning a Packard was considered prestigious, and surviving examples are found in museums, car shows, and automobile collections.
Packard vehicles featured innovations, including the modern
steering wheel, air-conditioning in a passenger car, and one of the first production 12-cylinder engines, adapted from developing the
Liberty L-12 engine used during World War I to power warplanes.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Packard produced 55,523 units of the two-stage/two-speed supercharger equipped
Merlin V-12s engines under contract with Rolls-Royce. Packard also made the versions of the
Liberty L-12 V-12 engine. This updated engine powered United States Navy
PT boats
A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the wa ...
.
After the Second World War, Packard struggled to survive as an independent automaker against the domestic
Big Three (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler). Packard merged with
Studebaker in 1953 and formed the
Studebaker-Packard Corporation. This merger was intended to be temporary while an eventual merger with
American Motors Company
American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was th ...
(AMC) was planned. Disagreements among the firms' executives thwarted the consolidation with AMC, so Studebaker-Packard remained a separate company. The Packard brand was phased out in 1959 after two years of declining sales of the Studebaker-built 1957 and 1958 model year Packards.
History
1899–1905
Packard was founded by
James Ward Packard
James Ward Packard (November 5, 1863 – March 20, 1928) was an American automobile manufacturer who founded the Packard Motor Car Company and Packard Electric Company with his brother William Doud Packard.Adler, Dennis (2004). ''Packard''. Mo ...
, his brother
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
and their partner, George Lewis Weiss, in
Warren, Ohio
Warren is a city in and the county seat of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. Located in northeastern Ohio, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 census. The hi ...
, where 400 Packard automobiles were built at their factory on 408 Dana Street Northeast, from 1899 to 1903. A mechanical engineer, James Packard believed they could build a better horseless carriage than the
Winton cars owned by Weiss, an important Winton stockholder, after Packard complained to
Alexander Winton and offered suggestions for improvement, which were ignored. Winton replied to the suggestions by essentially telling Packard to "go build your own car". Packard's first car was built in
Warren, Ohio
Warren is a city in and the county seat of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. Located in northeastern Ohio, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 census. The hi ...
, on November 6, 1899.
Henry Bourne Joy
Henry Bourne Joy (November 23, 1864 – November 6, 1936) was an American businessman and President of the Packard Motor Car Company. He was a major developer of automotive activities as well as being a social activist.
In 1913, Joy and C ...
, a member of one of
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
's oldest and wealthiest families, bought a Packard. Impressed by its reliability, he visited the Packards and soon enlisted a group of investors, including
Truman Handy Newberry
Truman Handy Newberry (November 5, 1864 – October 3, 1945) was an American businessman and political figure. He served as the Secretary of Navy between 1908 and 1909. He was a Republican U.S. Senator from Michigan between 1919 and 1922.
Bio ...
and
Russell A. Alger
Russell Alexander Alger (February 27, 1836 – January 24, 1907) was an American politician and businessman. He served as the 20th Governor of Michigan, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of War.
He was supposedly a distant relation of author H ...
Jr. On October 2, 1902, this group refinanced and renamed the New York and Ohio Automobile Company as the Packard Motor Car Company, with James Packard as president. Alger later served as vice president. Packard moved operations to Detroit soon after, and Joy became general manager (later chairman of the board). An original Packard, reputedly the first manufactured, was donated by a grateful James Packard to his ''alma mater'',
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...
, and is preserved there in the Packard Laboratory. Another is on display at the Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio.
While the
Black Motor Company's Black went as low as $375,
Western Tool Works' Gale Model A roadster was $500, the high-volume
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...
Runabout went for $650, and the
Cole 30 and
Cole Runabout were $1,500, Packard concentrated on cars with prices starting at $2,600. The marque developed a following among wealthy purchasers in the United States and abroad, competing with European marques like
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
,
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
,
Isotta Fraschini
Isotta Fraschini () was an Italian luxury car manufacturer, also producing trucks, as well as engines for marine and aviation use. Founded in Milan, Italy, in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Antonio, and Oreste Fraschini, in 19 ...
, and
Mercedes Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
.
The
Packard plant
The Packard Automotive Plant is a former automobile-manufacturing factory in Detroit, Michigan, where luxury cars were made by the Packard Motor Car Company and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. In 2022, it was scheduled for demoliti ...
on East
Grand Boulevard in Detroit was located on over of land. Designed by
Albert Kahn Associates
Albert Kahn Associates is an architectural design firm in Detroit, Michigan with a second office located in Miami, Florida. It was established in 1895 and is still active. Recent work includes being awarded third place in thVirtual Modeling ...
, it included an early use of reinforced concrete for an automotive factory when building #10 opened in 1906. Its craftsmen practised over 80 trades. The dilapidated plant stood until demolition commenced in September 2022, despite repeated fires. The factory is in close proximity to the current General Motors
Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly
Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly, also called Factory Zero, is a General Motors automobile assembly plant straddling the border between Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. It is located about three miles (five km) from GM's corporate headquarters. Wh ...
, which was the former site of the Dodge Vehicle factory from 1910 until 1980. Architect Kahn also designed the
Packard Proving Grounds
The Packard Proving Grounds (the remains of which are now called the Packard Proving Grounds Gateway Complex), was a proving ground established in Shelby Charter Township, Michigan in 1927 by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit. It is liste ...
in
Shelby Township, Michigan
Shelby is a civil township of Oceana County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,951 at the 2000 census. The village of Shelby is located within the township.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township ...
.
1906–1930
![Packard 426 Roadster 1927](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Packard_426_Roadster_1927.jpg)
From this beginning, through and beyond the 1930s, Packard-built vehicles were perceived as highly competitive among high-priced luxury American automobiles. The company was commonly referred to as being one of the "Three Ps" of American motordom royalty, along with
Pierce-Arrow
The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks ...
of
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
, and
Peerless
Peerless may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Peerless Motor Company, an American automobile manufacturer.
* Peerless Brewing Company, in Birkenhead, UK
* Peerless Group, an insurance and financial services company in India
* Peerless R ...
of
Cleveland, Ohio. For most of its history, Packard was guided by its President and General Manager
James Alvan Macauley, who served as President of the National Automobile Manufacturers Association. Inducted into the Automobile Hall of Fame, Macauley made Packard the number one designer and producer of luxury automobiles in the United States. The marque was also competitive abroad, with markets in 61 countries. Gross income for the company was $21,889,000 in 1928 ($ in dollars ). Macauley was also responsible for the iconic Packard slogan, "Ask the Man Who Owns One".
The
Packard Six
The Packard Six was a series of luxury automobiles built over several generations by Packard from 1913 until 1947. The name was originally used to describe the car in general terms, while Series numbers were initially used and changed every year t ...
was initially introduced as a senior-level luxury platform for three years starting in 1913, then upgraded to the
Packard Twin Six
The Packard Twelve was a range of V12-engined luxury automobiles built by the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. The car was built from model year 1916 until 1923, then it returned 1933 until 1939. As a sign of changing times, the m ...
starting in 1916. The first appearance of the Packard "Goddess of Speed" hood ornament was in 1925 on the Single Eight and soon adorned all models, while the Cormorant or Swan appeared in the 1930s. The
Adonis
In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite.
One day, Adonis was gored by ...
hood ornament was briefly used in the late 1920s.
In the 1920s, Packard exported more cars than any other in its price class, and in 1930, sold almost twice as many abroad as any other marque priced over ). In 1931, 10 Packards were owned by the
Imperial House of Japan. Between 1924 and 1930, Packard was also the top-selling luxury brand.
In addition to excellent luxury cars, Packard built trucks. A Packard truck carrying a three-ton load drove from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
between July 8 and August 24, 1912. The same year, Packard had service depots in 104 cities.
The
Packard Motor Corporation Building
The Packard Motor Car Company Building, also known as the Press Building, is a historic office building located at 317–321 N. Broad Street between Pearl and Wood Streets in the Callowhill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The structu ...
at
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, also designed by Albert Kahn, was built in 1910-1911. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1980.
By 1931, Packards were also being produced in Canada.
1931–1936
!['30 Packard Deluxe Eight Roadster (MIAS '10)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/%2730_Packard_Deluxe_Eight_Roadster_%28MIAS_%2710%29.jpg)
Entering the 1930s, Packard attempted to beat the stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression by manufacturing ever more opulent and expensive cars than it had prior to October 1929, and began offering different platforms that focused on different price points allowing the company to offer more products and remain competitive. While the
Eight five-seater
sedan had been the company's top-seller for years, the
Twin Six, designed by Chief engineer Jesse G. Vincent, was introduced for 1932, with prices starting at ; in 1933, it would be renamed the
Packard Twelve
The Packard Twelve was a range of V12-engined luxury automobiles built by the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. The car was built from model year 1916 until 1923, then it returned 1933 until 1939. As a sign of changing times, the m ...
, a name it retained for the remainder of its run (through 1939). Also in 1931, Packard pioneered a system it called Ride Control, which made the hydraulic
shock absorbers adjustable from within the car. For one year only, 1932, Packard fielded an upper-medium-priced car, the
Light Eight, at a base price of $1,750 ($ in dollars ), or $735 ($ in dollars ) less than the Standard Eight.
!['31 Packard 833 (MIAS '10)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/%2731_Packard_833_%28MIAS_%2710%29.jpg)
Packard rivals Cadillac and Lincoln benefited from the huge support structure of GM and Ford. Packard could not match the two new automotive giants for resources. The 1920s had proven extremely profitable for the company and it had assets of approximately $20 million in 1932 ($ in dollars ) while many luxury car manufacturers were almost broke. Peerless ceased production in 1932, converting the Cleveland manufacturing plant automobile production to brewing for
Carling Black Label
Carling Black Label is a lager distributed by Carling Brewing Company.
History
Although its original focus was on ale, Carling has brewed lager-style beers since the 1870s. In 1927, as part of a corporate re-branding under new president ...
Beer. By 1938,
Franklin
Franklin may refer to:
People
* Franklin (given name)
* Franklin (surname)
* Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class
Places Australia
* Franklin, Tasmania, a township
* Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
,
Marmon,
Ruxton,
Stearns-Knight
F. B. Stearns and Company, later known as F.B. Stearns Company was an American manufacturer of luxury cars in Cleveland, Ohio marketed under the brand names Stearns from 1900 to 1911 then Stearns-Knight from 1911 until 1929.
History
Frank Ballo ...
,
Stutz,
Duesenberg, and
Pierce-Arrow
The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks ...
had all closed.
![Packard De Luxe Eight 904 Sedan Limousine 1932](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Packard_De_Luxe_Eight_904_Sedan_Limousine_1932.jpg)
Packard had one advantage that some other luxury automakers did not: a single production line. By maintaining a single line and interchangeability between models, Packard was able to maintain low costs. Packard did not change models as often as other manufacturers. Rather than introducing new models annually, Packard began using its own "Series" formula for differentiating its model changeovers in 1923 borrowing a strategy from GM called
planned obsolescence
In economics and industrial design, planned obsolescence (also called built-in obsolescence or premature obsolescence) is a policy of planning or designing a good (economics), product with an artificially limited Product lifetime, useful life o ...
. The new model series did not debut on a strictly annual basis, with some series lasting nearly two years, and others lasting as brief as seven months. In the long run, Packard averaged approximately one new series per year. By 1930, Packard automobiles were considered part of its Seventh Series. By 1942, Packard was in its Twentieth Series. The "Thirteenth Series" was omitted due to the
western superstition about the number 13.
![Packard 1101 Eight Convertible Sedan 1934](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Packard_1101_Eight_Convertible_Sedan_1934.jpg)
To meet the challenge of the Depression, Packard started producing more affordable cars in the medium price range. This was a necessary step as the demand for hand-built luxury cars had diminished sharply and people who could afford such vehicles were reluctant to be seen in them when unemployment was over 20%. In 1935, the company introduced its first car under $1000, the
120 120 may refer to:
*120 (number), the number
* AD 120, a year in the 2nd century AD
*120 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
*120 film, a film format for still photography
* ''120'' (film), a 2008 film
* 120 (MBTA bus)
* 120 (New Jersey bus)
* 120 (Ken ...
. Sales more than tripled that year and doubled again in 1936. To produce the 120, Packard built a separate factory. By 1936, Packard's labor force was divided nearly evenly between the high-priced "Senior" lines (Twelve, Super Eight, and Eight) and the medium-priced "Junior" models, although more than 10 times more Juniors were produced than Seniors. This was because the 120 models were built using thoroughly modern mass production techniques, while the senior Packards used a great deal more hand labor and traditional craftsmanship. Although Packard almost certainly could not have survived the Depression without the highly successful Junior models, they did have the effect of diminishing the Senior models' exclusive image among those few who could still afford a luxury car. The 120 models were more modern in basic design than the Senior models. For example, the 1935 Packard 120 featured independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes, features that did not appear on the Senior Packards until 1937.
During this time, Packards were built in
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...
by the Packard Motor Company of Canada
to benefit from
Imperial Preference
Imperial Preference was a system of mutual tariff reduction enacted throughout the British Empire following the Ottawa Conference of 1932. As Commonwealth Preference, the proposal was later revived in regard to the members of the Commonwealth of N ...
as well as to build right-hand-drive cars for export. Production started in 1931, with the best year being 1937, with just over 2,500 cars built.
Parts manufactured in Canada included tires, upholstery, radiator cores, headlamps, springs, wheels, while the engines were locally assembled. Production ended in 1939, although the company maintained an office in Windsor for many years.
1937–1941
!['38 Packard (Auto classique Laval '11)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/%2738_Packard_%28Auto_classique_Laval_%2711%29.jpg)
Packard was still the premier luxury automobile, even though the majority of cars being built were the
Packard One-Twenty
The Packard Twelfth Series One-Twenty is an automobile produced by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, from 1935 to 1937 and from 1939 through the 1941 model years. The One-Twenty model designation was derived from the wheelbase, ...
and
Super Eight
Super 8 or Super Eight may refer to:
Film
* Super 8 film, a motion picture film format released in 1965
* Super 8 film camera, a motion picture camera used to film Super 8mm motion picture format
* ''Super 8'' (2011 film), a science-fiction fi ...
model ranges. Hoping to catch still more of the market, Packard issued the
Packard 115C in 1937, powered by a Packard six-cylinder engine. The decision to introduce the "Packard Six", priced at around $1200 ($ in dollars ), was in time for the 1938 recession. This model also tagged Packards as something less exclusive than they had been in the public's mind and in the long run hurt Packard's reputation of building some of America's finest luxury cars. The Six, redesignated
110
110 may refer to:
*110 (number), natural number
*AD 110, a year
*110 BC, a year
*110 film, a cartridge-based film format used in still photography
*110 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route
*110 (song), 2019 song by Capi ...
in 1940–41, continued for three years after the war.
In 1939, Packard introduced Econo-Drive, a kind of
overdrive, claimed able to reduce engine speed 27.8%; it could be engaged at any speed over . The same year, the company introduced a fifth, transverse shock absorber and made column shift (known as Handishift) available on the 120 and Six.
![1941 Packard 110 Touring Sedan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/1941_Packard_110_Touring_Sedan.png)
A new body shape was introduced for the 1941 the
Packard Clipper
The Packard Clipper is an automobile which was built by the Packard Motor Car Company (and by the later Studebaker-Packard Corporation) for model years 1941–1942, 1946–1947 and 1953–1957. For 1956 only, Clipper was classified as a stand-a ...
. It was available only as a four-door model on the wheelbase of the 160, but powered by version of straight-8 engine used the 120.
1942–1945
In 1942, the Packard Motor Car Company converted to 100% war production.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Packard again built airplane engines, licensing the
Merlin engine from
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
as the
V-1650, which powered the
P-51 Mustang fighter, ironically known as the "Cadillac of the Skies" by GIs in WWII. Packard also built 1350-, 1400-, and 1500-hp V-12 marine engines for American
PT boat
A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war ...
s (each boat used three) and some of
Britain's patrol boats. Packard ranked 18th among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts.
By the end of the war in Europe, Packard Motor Car Company had produced over 55,000 combat engines. Sales in 1944 were $455,118,600. By May 6, 1945, Packard had a backlog on war orders of $568,000,000.
1946–1956
![Neuberger Motors, 1137 Broadway, Hewlett, N](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Neuberger_Motors%2C_1137_Broadway%2C_Hewlett%2C_N._Y.jpg)
By the end of World War II, Packard was in excellent financial condition with assets of around $33 million, but several management mistakes became more apparent with time. Like other US automobile companies, Packard resumed civilian car production in late 1945, labeling them as 1946 models by modestly updating their 1942 models. As only tooling for the Clipper was at hand, the Senior-series cars were not rescheduled. One version of the story is that the Senior dies were left outdoors to rust and were not usable. Another tale is that Roosevelt gave Stalin the dies for the Senior series, but the
ZiS-110
The ZIS-110 is a Soviet limousine from ZIL introduced in 1946.
The 110 was developed from the reverse engineering of a 1942 Packard Super Eight during 1944. The first five prototypes were completed by August 1945. It was powered by a 6-litre, ...
state limousines were a separate design.
![1950 Packard Eight Club Sedan in Packard Maroon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/1950_Packard_Eight_Club_Sedan_in_Packard_Maroon.jpg)
The
Clipper became outdated as the new envelope bodies started appearing, led by Studebaker and Kaiser-Frazer. Although Packard was in good financial condition as the war ended, they had not sold enough cars to pay the cost of tooling for the 1941 design. While most automakers were able to introduce new vehicles for 1948–49, Packard could not until 1951. Hence they updated by adding sheet metal to the existing body (which added of curb weight).
Six-cylinder cars were dropped for the home market, and a convertible was added. These new designs hid their relationship with the Clipper. Even that name was dropped for a while.
The design chosen was a "bathtub" type. While this was considered futuristic during the war and the concept was taken further with the 1949
Nash, and survived for decades in the Saab 92-96 in Europe, the 1948–1950 Packard styling was polarizing. To some, it was sleek and blended classic with modern. Others nicknamed it the "pregnant elephant". Test driver for ''
Modern Mechanix
''Mechanix Illustrated'' was an American printed magazine that was originally published by Fawcett Publications. Its title was founded in 1928 to compete against the older ''Popular Science'' and ''Popular Mechanics''. Billed as "The How-To-Do Ma ...
'',
Tom McCahill
Thomas Jay McCahill III (1907–1975) was an automotive journalist, born the grandson of a wealthy attorney in Larchmont, New York. McCahill graduated from Yale University with a degree in fine arts. (McCahill's father had been a football all-A ...
, referred to the newly-designed Packard as "a goat" and "a dowager in a
Queen Mary hat" in the January 1948 issue. Packard sold 2,000 vehicles for 1948 and 116,000 of the 1949 models. In the early post-WWII years, the demand for new cars was extremely high, and nearly any vehicle would sell. Attempting to maintain strong sales beyond this point would prove more problematic.
Cadillac's new 1948 cars had sleek, aircraft-inspired styling that immediately made Packard's "bathtub" styling seem old-fashioned. Cadillac also debuted a brand-new OHV V8 engine in 1949 whereas Packard's lack of a modern engine became an increasing liability.
![50packard2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/50packard2.JPG)
Packard outsold Cadillac until circa 1950; most sales were the midrange volume models. During this time, Cadillac was among the earliest US makers to offer an
automatic transmission
An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving ...
(the
Hydramatic in 1941). Packard caught up with the
Ultramatic
Ultramatic was the trademarked name of the Packard Motor Car Company's automatic transmission introduced in 1949 and produced until 1954, at Packard's Detroit, Michigan East Grand Boulevard factory. It was produced thereafter from late 1954, thru ...
, offered on top models in 1949 and all models from 1950 onward, but its perceived market reputation now had it as a competitor to
Buick.
Designed and built by Packard, the Ultramatic featured a lockup
torque converter
A torque converter is a type of fluid coupling that transfers rotating power from a prime mover, like an internal combustion engine, to a rotating driven load. In a vehicle with an automatic transmission, the torque converter connects the power ...
with two speeds. Early Ultramatics normally operated only in "high", with "low" having to be selected manually. Beginning in late 1954, it could be set to operate only in "high" or to start in "low" and automatically shift into "high". "High" was intended for normal driving and "Low" mainly for navigating hills.
The Ultramatic made Packard the only American automotive manufacturer other than GM to develop an automatic transmission completely in-house. Ford had chosen to outsource their design to Borg-Warner (Ford had attempted to purchase Ultramatics from Packard to install in Lincolns, but bought Hydramatics until Lincoln developed its own automatic transmission a few years later). Ultramatic did not compare to GM's Hydramatic for smoothness of shifting, acceleration, or reliability. The resources spent on Ultramatic deprived Packard of the opportunity to develop a modern V8 engine. Also, when a new body style was added in addition to standard sedans, coupes, and convertibles, Packard introduced a station wagon instead of a two-door hardtop in response to Cadillac's Coupe DeVille. The
Station Sedan, a wagon-like body that was mostly steel, with a good deal of decorative wood in the back. A total of 3,864 were sold over its three years of production. The Packards of the late 1940s and early 1950s were built in the old tradition with craftsmanship and the best materials, but the combination of the lower-priced Packards leading sales and impacting the prestige of their higher-end models and some questionable marketing decisions, Packard's crown as "king" of the luxury car market was at risk. In 1950, sales dropped to 42,000 cars for the model year. When Packard's president George T. Christopher set the course for an evolutionary styling approach with a facelift for 1951, others wanted a radical new design. Christopher resigned and Packard treasurer Hugh Ferry became president and demanded a new direction. Ferry, who had spent his career at Packard in the accounting department, did not want the job and quickly made it clear that he was serving on a temporary basis until a permanent company president could be found.
![Flickr - DVS1mn - 51 Packard 300 (13)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Flickr_-_DVS1mn_-_51_Packard_300_%2813%29.jpg)
The 1951 Packards were redesigned. Designer John Reinhart introduced a high-waisted, more squared-off profile fitting the contemporary styling trends — very different from the traditional flowing design of the postwar era. New styling features included a one-piece windshield, a wrap-around rear window, small tailfins on the long-wheelbase models, a full-width grille (replacing the traditional Packard upright design), and blunt "guideline fenders" with the hood and front fenders at the same height. The wheelbase was used on the 200-series standard and Deluxe two- and four-doors, 250-series
Mayfair two-door
hardtops (Packard's first), and convertibles. The higher-end 300 and Patrician 400 models were built on a wheelbase. The 200-series models were low-end models and now included a business coupe. The new appearance had similarities to
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...
s, which were more moderately priced and sold in greater numbers.
The 250, 300, and 400/Patricians were Packard's flagship models and comprised the majority of the production for that year. The Patrician was now the premium Packard, replacing the Custom Eight line. Original plans were to equip it with a engine, but the company decided that sales would not be sufficient to justify producing the larger, more expensive engine, and so the de-bored (previously the middle engine) was used. While the smaller engine offered nearly equal performance in the new Packards to that of the 356, the move was seen by some as further denigrating Packard's image as a luxury car.
Since 1951 was a quiet year with little new from other manufacturers, Packard's redesigned lineup sold nearly 101,000 cars. The 1951 Packards were a quirky mixture of the modern (automatic transmissions) and antique (using flathead inline eights when OHV V8 engines were becoming the norm). No domestic car lines had OHV V8s in 1948, but by 1955, every car line offered a version. The Packard inline eight, despite being an older design that lacked the power of Cadillac's engines, produced no vibration. When combined with an Ultramatic transmission, the drivetrain made for a quiet and smooth experience on the road. Packard struggled to keep pace with the horsepower race, which was increasingly moving to high compression, short stroke engines capable of sustained driving at speeds above .
Packard's image was increasingly seen as dowdy and old-fashioned, unappealing to younger customers. Surveys found that nearly 75% of Packard customers had owned previous Packards and few new buyers were attracted to the make. Compounding this problem was the company's geriatric leadership. The Packard board of directors by the early 1950s had an average age of 67 and younger executives with a fresher approach to running the company were badly needed. In 1948, Alvin Macauley, born during the
Grant Administration
The presidency of Ulysses S. Grant began on March 4, 1869, when Ulysses S. Grant was inaugurated as the 18th president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1877. The Reconstruction era took place during Grant's two terms of office. The Ku ...
, had stepped down as chairman. Hugh Ferry decided to hire an outsider as president. He recruited
James Nance from appliance manufacturer Hotpoint. At 52, Nance was more than a decade younger than the youngest Packard executive.
One reason for the aged leadership of Packard was the company's lack of a pension plan for executives (rank-and-file workers had a pension plan per their
UAW
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American Labor unions in the United States, labor union that represents workers in the Un ...
contract). As a result, Packard executives were reluctant to retire with no source of income other than a
Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
payment, thus blocking younger men from coming to power in the company. One of James Nance's first actions as president was creating a pension plan to induce Packard executives to retire. Nance worked to snag Korean War military contracts and turn around Packard's badly diluted image. He declared that Packard would cease producing midpriced cars and build only luxury models to compete with Cadillac. As part of this strategy, Nance unveiled a low-production (only 750 made) glamor model for 1953, the
Caribbean convertible. Competing directly with the other specialty convertibles marketed that year, (
Buick Skylark
The Buick Skylark is a passenger car formerly produced by Buick. The model was made in six production runs, during 46 years, over which the car's design varied dramatically due to changing technology, tastes, and new standards implemented over t ...
,
Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta,
Cadillac Eldorado
The Cadillac Eldorado is a luxury car manufactured and marketed by Cadillac from 1952 until 2002 over twelve generations.
The Eldorado was at or near the top of the Cadillac line. The original 1953 Eldorado convertible and the Eldorado Brougham ...
, and
Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe), it was equally well-received and outsold its competition. Nevertheless, overall sales declined in 1953. While the limited edition luxury models such as the Caribbean convertible and the
Patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
400 Sedan, and the
Derham custom formal sedan brought back some prestige from past Packards, the "high pocket" styling introduced two model years prior was no longer drawing buyers for Packer's volume models. Furthermore, Packard's build quality also began slipping during this period as employee morale decreased.
![1953 Packard Caribbean convertible, Water Mill](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/1953_Packard_Caribbean_convertible%2C_Water_Mill.jpg)
While American independent manufacturers like Packard did well during the early postwar period, supply had caught up with demand and by the early 1950s they were increasingly challenged as the domestic "Big Three"—
General Motors,
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
, and
Chrysler—battled intensely for sales in the economy, medium-priced, and luxury markets. Those independents that remained alive in the early '50s, merged. In 1953,
Kaiser merged with
Willys
Willys (pronounced , "Willis" )
was a brand name used by Willys–Overland Motors, an American automobile company, founded by John North Willys. It was best known for its design and production of World War II era and later military jeeps (MBs ...
to become Kaiser-Willys. Nash and
Hudson became
American Motors Corporation (AMC). The strategy for these mergers included cutting costs and strengthening their sales organizations to meet the intense competition from the Big Three.
In 1953–54, Ford and GM waged a brutal sales war, cutting prices and forcing cars on dealers. While this had little effect on either company, it damaged independent automakers. Nash president
George W. Mason
George Walter Mason (March 12, 1891 – October 8, 1954) was an American industrialist. During his career Mason served as the Chairman and CEO of the Kelvinator Corporation (1928-1937), Chairman and CEO of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation (1937-19 ...
thus proposed that the four major independents (Nash, Hudson, Packard, and Studebaker) merge into one firm
American Motors Corporation (AMC). Mason held informal discussions with Nance to outline his
strategic vision, and an agreement was reached for AMC to buy Packard's Ultramatic transmissions and V8 engines. They were used in 1955 Hudsons and
Nashes.
It did not help that Chrysler and Ford waged a campaign of "stealing" Packard dealerships during the early 1950s. Consequently, Packard's dealer network became smaller and more scattered which made it even more difficult to sell Packard vehicles.
Although
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
defense contracts brought in badly-needed revenue, the war ended in 1953 and the new Secretary of Defense
Charles E. Wilson began cutting defense contracts from all automotive manufacturers other than GM, where he had been president.
Packard's last major development was the Torsion-Level
suspension
Suspension or suspended may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Suspension (topology), in mathematics
* Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics
* Suspension of a ring, in mathematics
* Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspende ...
by Bill Allison. The front and rear suspension on each side of the car side are interconnected by a long torsion bar. This design reduced pitching while allowing for low spring rates, which imbued Packards with a ride that was soft yet controlled. Additionally, this suspension featured an electro-mechanical compensator or "levilizer" that kept the car level regardless of passenger or trunk loading.
Studebaker-Packard Corporation
As of October 1, 1954, Packard Motor Car Company bought the failing Studebaker Corporation to form America's fourth-largest automobile company, but without full knowledge of their circumstances or consideration of the financial implications. Studebaker-Packard's Nance refused to consider merging with AMC unless he could take the top command position (Mason and Nance were former competitors as heads of the
Kelvinator
Kelvinator was an American home appliance manufacturer and a line of domestic refrigerators that was the namesake of the company. Although as a company it is now defunct, the name still exists as a brand name owned by Electrolux AB. It takes its ...
and
Hotpoint
Hotpoint is a British brand of domestic appliances. Ownership of the brand is split between American company Whirlpool, which has the rights in Europe, and Chinese company Haier, which has the rights in the Americas through its purchase of GE ...
appliance companies, respectively), but Mason's grand vision of a Big Four American auto industry ended on October 8, 1954, with his sudden death from acute pancreatitis and pneumonia.
A week after the death of Mason, the new president of AMC,
George W. Romney
George Wilcken Romney (July 8, 1907 – July 26, 1995) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as chairman and president of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd gover ...
, announced "there are no mergers under way either directly or indirectly". Romney continued with Mason's commitment to buy components from SPC. Although Mason and Nance had previously agreed that SPC would purchase parts from AMC, it did not do so. Packard's engines and transmissions were comparatively expensive, so AMC began development of its own
V8 engine
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...
, and replaced the outsourced unit by mid-1956.
Although Nash and Hudson merged, the four-way merger Mason had hoped for, which would have joined Nash, Hudson, Studebaker and Packard, did not materialize. The S-P marriage (really a Packard buyout) proved to be a crippling mistake. Although Packard was in fair financial condition, Studebaker was not, struggling with high overhead and production costs and needing the impossible figure of 250,000 cars annually to break even. Due diligence was placed behind "merger fever", and the deal was rushed. It became clear after the merger that Studebaker's deteriorating financial situation put Packard's survival at risk.
Nance had hoped for a total redesign in 1954, but the necessary time and money were lacking. Packard that year (total production 89,796) comprised the bread-and-butter Clipper line (the 250 series was dropped), Mayfair hardtop coupes and convertibles, and a new entry-level long-wheelbase sedan named Cavalier. Among the Clippers was a novelty pillared coupe, the Sportster, styled to resemble a hardtop.
With time and money lacking, 1954 styling was unchanged except for modified headlights and taillights, essentially trim items. A new hardtop named Pacific was added to the flagship Patrician series and all higher-end Packards sported a bored-out 359-cid engine. Air conditioning became available for the first time since 1942. Packard had introduced air conditioning in the 1930s. Clippers (which comprised over 80% of production) got a hardtop model, Super Panama, but sales fell to 31,000 cars.
![1955-Packard-Patrician-Touring-Sedan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/1955-Packard-Patrician-Touring-Sedan.jpg)
The revolutionary new model Nance hoped for was delayed until 1955, partially because of Packard's merger with Studebaker. Packard stylist
Dick Teague
Richard Arthur Teague (December 26, 1923 – May 5, 1991) was an American industrial designer in the North American automotive industry. He held automotive design positions at General Motors, Packard, and Chrysler before becoming Vice President o ...
was called upon by Nance to design the 1955 line, and to Teague's credit, the 1955 Packard was indeed a sensation when it appeared. Not only was the body completely updated and modernized, but the suspension was new, with torsion bars front and rear, along with an electric control that kept the car level regardless of load or road conditions. Crowning this stunning new design was Packard's brand new ultra-modern
overhead-valve
An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located bel ...
V8, displacing , replacing the old, heavy, cast-iron side-valve straight-eight that had been used for decades. In addition, Packard offered a variety of power, comfort, and convenience features, such as power steering and brakes as well as electric window lifts. But air conditioning was an anomaly. Although available on all makes by the mid-1950s, it was installed on only a handful of cars in 1955 and 1956 despite Packard's status as a luxury car. Model year sales only climbed back to 55,000 units in 1955, including Clipper, in what was a very strong year across the industry.
As the 1955 models went into production, an old problem flared up. Back in 1941, Packard had outsourced its bodies to
Briggs Manufacturing Company
Briggs Manufacturing was an American, Detroit-based manufacturer of automobile bodies for Ford Motor Company, Chrysler Corporation and other U.S. and European automobile manufacturers.
In 1953 it was bought by Chrysler Corporation without its fo ...
. Briggs founder Walter Briggs had died in early 1952 and his family decided to sell the company to pay estate taxes. Chrysler promptly purchased Briggs and notified Packard that they would cease supplying bodies after Packard's contract with Briggs expired at the end of 1953. Packard was forced to move body production to an undersized plant on Connor Avenue in Detroit. The facility proved too small and caused endless tie-ups and quality problems. Bad quality control hurt the company's image and caused sales to plummet for 1956, though the problems had largely been resolved by that point. Additionally, a "brain drain" of talent away from Packard was underway, most notably
John Z. DeLorean
John Zachary DeLorean (January 6, 1925 – March 19, 2005) was an American engineer, inventor, and executive in the U.S. automobile industry, widely known for his work at General Motors and as founder of the DeLorean Motor Company.
DeLorean man ...
.
![Packard Clipper Custom 4-Door Sedan 1956](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Packard_Clipper_Custom_4-Door_Sedan_1956.jpg)
For 1956, the
Clipper became a separate make, with Clipper Custom and Deluxe models available. Now the Packard-Clipper business model was a mirror to Lincoln-Mercury. "Senior" Packards were built in four body styles, each with a unique model name. Patrician was used for the four-door top-of-the-line sedans, Four Hundred for the hardtop coupes, and the Caribbean for the convertible and vinyl-roof two-door hardtop. In the spring of 1956, the Executive was introduced. In a four-door sedan and a two-door hardtop, the Executive was aimed at the buyer who wanted a luxury car but could not justify Packard's pricing. It was an intermediate model using the Packard name and the Senior models' front end, but using the Clipper platform and rear fenders. This was to some confusion and went against what James Nance had been attempting for several years to accomplish, the separation of the Clipper line from Packard. As late as the cars' introduction to the market was, there was reasoning for in 1957 this car was to be continued. It then became a baseline Packard on the all-new 1957 Senior shell. Clippers would share bodies with Studebaker from 1957.
Despite the new 1955/56 design, Cadillac continued to lead the luxury market, followed by Lincoln, Packard, and Imperial. Reliability problems with the automatic transmission and all electrical accessories further eroded the public's opinion of Packard. Sales were good for 1955 compared to 1954. The year was also an industry banner year. Packard's sales slid in 1956 due to the fit and finish of the 1955 models, and mechanical issues relating to the new engineering features. These defects cost Packard millions in recalls and tarnished a newly-won image in its infancy.
![Packard Ultramatic control](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Packard_Ultramatic_control.jpg)
For 1956, Teague kept the basic 1955 design and added more styling touches to the body such as then−fashionable three-toning. Headlamps hooded in a more radical style in the front fenders and a slight shuffling of chrome distinguished the 1956 models. "Electronic Push-button Ultramatic", which located transmission push buttons on a stalk on the steering column, proved troublesome, adding to the car's negative reputation, possibly soon to become an orphan. Model series remained the same, but the V8 was now enlarged to for the Senior series, the largest in the industry. In the top-of-the-line Caribbean, that engine produced . Clippers continued to use the 352 engine. There were plans for an all−new 1957 line of Senior Packards based on the show car Predictor. Clippers and Studebakers would also share many inner and outer body panels. (A private presentation of this 1957 new-car program was made to Wall Street's investment bankers at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in January 1956.) These models were in many ways far advanced from what would be produced by any other automaker at the time, save Chrysler, which soon felt public wrath for its poor quality issues after rushing its all−new 1957 lines into production. Nance was dismissed and moved to Ford as the head of the new Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln division. Although Nance tried everything, the company failed to secure funding for retooling, forcing Packard to share Studebaker platforms and body designs. With no funding to retool for the advanced new models envisioned, Studebaker-Packard's fate was sealed. The large Packard was effectively dead in an executive decision to kill "the car we could not afford to lose". The last fully Packard-designed vehicle, a Patrician four-door sedan, rolled off the Conner Avenue assembly line on June 25, 1956.
1957–1958
![1958 Packard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/1958_Packard.jpg)
In 1957, no more Packards were built in Detroit and the
Clipper disappeared as a separate brand name. Instead, a Studebaker President–based car bearing the
Packard Clipper
The Packard Clipper is an automobile which was built by the Packard Motor Car Company (and by the later Studebaker-Packard Corporation) for model years 1941–1942, 1946–1947 and 1953–1957. For 1956 only, Clipper was classified as a stand-a ...
nameplate appeared on the market, but sales were slow. Available in just two body styles, Town Sedan (four-door sedan) and Country Sedan (four-door station wagon), they were powered by Studebaker's
V8 with a
McCulloch
McCulloch is a Scottish surname. It's a variation of the Northern Irish surname McCullough. It's commonly found in Galloway.
Notable people with the surname include:
*Alan McCulloch (politician), New Zealand politician
*Alan McLeod McCulloch ( ...
supercharger, delivering the same as the 1956 Clipper Custom, although at higher revolutions. Borrowing design cues from the 1956 Clipper (visual in the grille and dash), with wheel covers, tail lamps, and dials from 1956 along with the Packard cormorant hood mascot and trunk chrome trim from 1955 senior Packards, front bumpers, and Dagmars from the 1956 model, the 1957 Packard Clipper was much more than a badge-engineered Studebaker—but also far from a
Patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
. Had the company been able to invest more money to finish the transformation and position the car under a senior line of "true Packards", it might have been a successful Clipper. Standing alone the cars sold in limited numbers; a number of Packard dealers dropped their franchises while customers stayed away, despite huge price discounts, fearful of buying a car that could soon be an orphan. Additionally, there was internal competition from Studebaker-Packard dealers that also carried the Mercedes Benz brand, to which SP had the USA rights, with the market flooded by inexpensive cars, minor automakers struggled to sell vehicles at
loss leader prices to keep up with Ford and GM. There was a general decline in demand for large cars heralded an industry switch to
compact car
Compact car is a vehicle size class — predominantly used in North America — that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, ...
s such as the
Studebaker Lark.
The marque suffered further loss of exclusivity and consumers perceived a reduction in quality. Competitors and media critics described the new models as "
Packardbaker
The Studebaker-Packard Corporation was the entity created in 1954 by the purchase of the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana, by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan. While Studebaker was the larger of the two companies, P ...
s". The 1958 models were launched with no series name, simply as "Packard". New body styles were introduced, and a two-door hardtop joined the four-door sedan. A new premier model appeared with a sporting profile: the
Packard Hawk
The Packard Hawk is a model of automobile. It was the sportiest of the four Packard-badged Studebakers produced in 1958, the final year of Packard production.
History and description
The Packard Plant in Detroit, Michigan had been leased to Curti ...
was based on the Studebaker Golden Hawk and featured a new nose and a fake spare wheel molded in the trunk lid reminiscent of the concurrent Imperial. The 1958 Packards were among the first in the industry to be "facelifted" with plastic parts. The housing for the new dual headlights and the complete fins were fiberglass parts grafted on Studebaker bodies. Very little chrome was on the lower front clip. Designer
Duncan McRae managed to include the 1956 Clipper tail lights for one last time which also included the
"Packard Cusps" in the front hood. Added to the front of all but the Hawk were jet nacelles for quad headlights, in a desperate attempt to keep up with late-1950s styling cues. All Packards were equipped with road wheels to lower the profile. The public reaction was predictable and sales were 2,622 vehicles for the 1958 model year, even being outsold by Checker Motors Corp. The Studebaker factory was older than Packard's Detroit plant, with higher production requirements, which added to dipping sales. A new compact car on which the company staked its survival, the Lark, was a year away, and it also failed to sell in sufficient numbers to keep the marque afloat. Several makes were discontinued around this time: Packard,
Edsel
Edsel is a discontinued division and brand of automobiles that was marketed by the Ford Motor Company from the 1958 to the 1960 model years. Deriving its name from Edsel Ford, son of company founder Henry Ford, Edsels were developed in an effor ...
,
Hudson,
Nash,
DeSoto, and
Kaiser. Not since the 1930s had so many makes disappeared, and it would not be until the
automotive industry crisis of 2008–10 that so many makes would be dropped at the same time again. The last Packard by Studebaker Packard Corporation rolled off the assembly line on July 16, 1958.
Concept Packards
![Packard Predictor, SNM, 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Packard_Predictor%2C_SNM%2C_2011.JPG)
During the 1950s, a number of "dream cars" were built by Packard in an attempt to keep the marque alive in the imaginations of the American car-buying public. Included in this category are the 1952
Pan American
Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to:
* Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean
* Something of, from, or related to the Americas
* Pan-Amer ...
that led to the production
Caribbean and the
Panther
Panther may refer to:
Large cats
*Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis''
**'' Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards.
*** Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in So ...
(also known as Daytona), based on a 1954 platform. Shortly after the introduction of the Caribbean, Packard showed a prototype hardtop called the
Balboa. It featured a reverse-slanted rear window that could be lowered for ventilation, a feature introduced in a production car by
Mercury in 1957 and still in production in 1966.
The
Request was based on the 1955 Four Hundred hardtop, but featured a classic upright Packard fluted grille reminiscent of the prewar models. In addition, the 1957 engineering mule "Black Bess" was built to test new features for a future car. This car had a resemblance to the 1958 Edsel. It featured Packard's return to a vertical grill. This grill was very narrow with the familiar ox-yoke shape that was characteristic for Packard, and with front fenders with dual headlights resembling Chrysler products from that era. The engineering mule Black Bess was destroyed by the company shortly after the Packard plant was shuttered. Of the 10 Requests built, only four were sold off the showroom floor.
Dick Teague also designed the last Packard show car, the
Predictor. This hardtop coupe's design followed the lines of the planned 1957 cars. It had many unusual features, among them a roof section that opened either by opening a door or activating a switch, well ahead of later T-tops. The car had seats that rotated out, allowing the passenger easy access, a feature later used on some Chrysler and GM products. The Predictor also had the opera windows, or portholes, found on concurrent Thunderbirds. Other novel ideas were overhead switches—these were in the production Avanti—and a dash design that followed the hood profile, centering dials in the center console area. This feature has only recently been used on production cars. The Predictor survives and is on display at the
Studebaker National Museum section of the Center for History in
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
.
Astral
One unusual prototype, the Studebaker-Packard Astral, was made in 1957 and first unveiled at the South Bend Art Centre on January 12, 1958, and then at the March 1958 Geneva Motor Show. It had a single gyroscopic balanced wheel and the publicity data suggested it could be
nuclear powered or have what the designers described as an ionic engine. No working prototype was ever made, nor was it likely that one was ever intended.
The Astral was designed by Edward E. Herrmann, Studebaker-Packard's director of interior design, as a project to give his team experience in working with glass-reinforced plastic. It was shown at Studebaker dealerships before being put into storage. Rediscovered 30 years later, the car was restored and put on display by the Studebaker museum.
The end
Studebaker-Packard retired the Packard marque in 1959. In 1962, "Packard" was dropped off the corporation's name at a time when it was introducing the all-new
Avanti, The Packard name had been considered for the Avanti, but a less anachronistic image was being sought for the new model. Thus the Packard name ceased to exist in the American auto industry.
In the late 1950s, Studebaker-Packard was approached by enthusiasts to
rebadge
In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a man ...
the French car maker
Facel-Vega
Facel S.A. was a French manufacturer of pressed steel automobile components, later complete automobiles of their own design.
To intensify its World War II war effort, French subcontracting company for military aeronautics Bronzavia created a s ...
's
Excellence four-door hardtop as a Packard for sale in North America, using stock Packard V8s and identifying trim including red hexagonal wheel covers,
cormorant hood ornament, and classic vertical ox-yoke grille. The proposition was rejected when
Daimler-Benz
The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactur ...
threatened to pull out of its 1957 marketing and distribution agreement, which would have cost Studebaker-Packard more in revenue than they could have made from the badge-engineered Packard. Daimler-Benz had little of its own dealer network at the time and used this agreement to enter and become more established in the American market through SPC's dealer network, and felt this car was a threat to their models.
Aborted revival
In the late 1990s, Roy Gullickson revived the Packard nameplate by buying the naming rights and logo and developing a Packard Twelve for the 1999 model year. His goal was an annual production of 2,000 cars, but a lack of investment funds stalled that plan indefinitely. The only
prototype Twelve made was sold at an auto auction in
Plymouth, MI
Plymouth is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. The population was 9,370 at the 2020 census. The city of Plymouth is surrounded by Plymouth Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Plymouth is a western suburb of Metro ...
, in July 2014 for $143,000.
Packard engines
Automobile
Packard's engineering staff designed and built excellent, reliable engines. Packard offered a 12-cylinder engine—the "Twin Six"—as well as a low-compression straight-eight, but never a 16-cylinder engine. After WWII, Packard continued with their successful straight-eight-cylinder
flathead engines. While as fast as the new GM and Chrysler OHV V8s, they were perceived as obsolete by buyers. By waiting until 1955, Packard was almost the last U.S. automaker to introduce a high-compression
V8 engine
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...
. The design was physically large and entirely conventional, copying many of the first-generation Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Studebaker Kettering features. It was produced in and displacements. The Caribbean version had two four-barrel
carburetors and produced . For 1956, a version was used in the Senior cars and the Caribbean two four-barrels produced .
Other Packard engines
Packard also made large aeronautical and marine engines. Chief engineer
Jesse G. Vincent
Jesse Gurney Vincent (February 10, 1880 – April 20, 1962) was an American aircraft, marine, and automobile engine designer. Famed initially for his design of the World War I Liberty aircraft engine, he rose to enduring prominence as the longtim ...
developed a V12 airplane engine called the "
Liberty engine
The Liberty L-12 is an American water-cooled 45° V-12 aircraft engine displacing and making designed for a high power-to-weight ratio and ease of mass production. It saw wide use in aero applications, and, once marinized, in marine use both ...
" that was used widely in Entente air corps during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. After the war the Liberty was adapted for marine use, becoming a multiple world record setter under inventor and boating pioneer
Gar Wood
Garfield Arthur "Gar" Wood (December 4, 1880 – June 19, 1971) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and championship motorboat builder and racer who held the world water speed record on several occasions. He was the first man to trave ...
from the late 1910s through the 1930s.
In the interbellum, Packard built one of the world's first diesel aviation engines, the 225-hp
DR-980 radial. It powered the
Stinson SM-8D, among others. It also powered a
Bellanca CH-300
The Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker was a six-seat utility aircraft, built primarily in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. It was a development of the Bellanca CH-200, fitted with a more powerful engine and, like the CH-200, soon became renowned ...
on a record endurance flight of over 84 hours, a mark that stood for more than 50 years. Other Packard-powered airplanes set several records during the 1920s.
During WWII, Packard license-built
Rolls-Royce Merlin
The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres (1,650 cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was late ...
engines under the
Packard V-1650
The Packard V-1650 Merlin is a version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engine, produced under license in the United States by the Packard Motor Car Company.Gunston 1995, p. 144. The engine was licensed to expand production of the Rolls-Ro ...
designation, used with great success in the famed
P-51 Mustang fighter. A marine version of the successor to the V12 Liberty was adapted in three versions –
M3-2500, M4-2500, and M5-2500 – to power the war's iconic
PT boat
A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war ...
s.
After WWII, Packard produced a new line of flathead design six (model 1M-245) and eight (model 1M-356) cylinder marine engines based on the automobile versions and the experience gained from the war production. Of the 1M-245 type engines, only 1,865 were produced between Spring 1947 and January 1951, with only a handful of survivors. Of the 1M-356 type engines, approximately 1,525 were produced between 1947 and 1950. Even more rare is the experimental "R" type racing versions (1M-245 "R"), of which only 10 were produced with currently only one known survivor, a 1M-245 R six-cylinder engine powering today a 1936
Gar Wood Speedster.
Packard also developed two turbine aircraft engines for the
US Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...
, the
XJ41 and
XJ49. This was one reason for the
Curtiss-Wright
The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...
take-over in 1956, Packard wanted to sell their own jet.
Packard automobile models
![Packard 1907-1106](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Packard_1907-1106.jpg)
*Packard single-cylinder models:
**
Packard Model A
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
(1899–1900)
**Packard Model B (1900)
**Packard Model C (1901)
**Packard Model E (1901)
**Packard Model F (1901–1903)
**Packard Model M (1904)
*Packard twin-cylinder model:
**
Packard Model G Packard Model G is a two cylinder car built in 1902 by the former American automobile manufacturer Ohio Automobile Company that changed name to Packard Motor Car Company in October, 1902.
At that time the company was located in Warren, Ohio; owner ...
(1902)
*Packard four-cylinder models:
**
Packard Model K
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury vehicle, luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
...
(1903)
**
Packard Model K Gray Wolf
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
(1903)
**
Packard Model L
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
(1904)
**
Packard Model N
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
(1905)
**
Packard Model 24 (Series S)
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
(1906)
**
Packard Model 18 (Series NA-NC)
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
(1905–1907)
**
Packard Model 30 (Series U)
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury vehicle, luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
...
(1907–1912)
*Packard six-cylinder models:
**
Packard Dominant Six
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Th ...
(1912–1915)
**
Packard Single Six (1921–1924)
**
Packard Six
The Packard Six was a series of luxury automobiles built over several generations by Packard from 1913 until 1947. The name was originally used to describe the car in general terms, while Series numbers were initially used and changed every year t ...
(1925–1929)
**
Packard One-Ten
The Packard Eighteenth Series One-Ten was a range of six-cylinder automobiles produced by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan during the 1940 and 1941 model years. The One-Ten designation was renamed from the previous Packard Fif ...
**
Packard 115 (1937)
**
Packard Six
The Packard Six was a series of luxury automobiles built over several generations by Packard from 1913 until 1947. The name was originally used to describe the car in general terms, while Series numbers were initially used and changed every year t ...
(1937–1949)
*
Packard Eight
The Packard Eight was a luxury automobile produced by Packard between 1924 and 1936, and was an all new platform that took the top market position from the earlier Packard Twin Six which was first introduced in 1916. When it was introduced, it w ...
**
Packard Single Eight & Eight (1924-)
**
Packard Custom Eight
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
**
Packard Light Eight
The Packard Ninth Series Light Eight Model 900 was an automobile model produced by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan only during model year 1932. The Light Eight was planned as a new entry model, building off the 1928 Packard Six#S ...
**
Packard One-Twenty
The Packard Twelfth Series One-Twenty is an automobile produced by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, from 1935 to 1937 and from 1939 through the 1941 model years. The One-Twenty model designation was derived from the wheelbase, ...
(1935–1942)
**
Packard 160
**
Packard 180
The Packard Custom Super Eight One-Eighty was introduced for the 1940 model year (18th series) by the Packard Motor Car Company to replace the discontinued Packard Twelve as their top-of-the-line luxury model. The car was derived from the Packar ...
**
Packard Super Eight
The Packard Super Eight was the larger of the two eight-cylinder luxury automobiles produced by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan. It shared frames and some body types with the top model Packard Twelve. The 1933-1936 Packard S ...
*Packard V-12:
**
Packard Twin Six
The Packard Twelve was a range of V12-engined luxury automobiles built by the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. The car was built from model year 1916 until 1923, then it returned 1933 until 1939. As a sign of changing times, the m ...
(1916–1923)
**
Packard 905
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
(1916–1923)
**
Packard Twin Six
The Packard Twelve was a range of V12-engined luxury automobiles built by the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. The car was built from model year 1916 until 1923, then it returned 1933 until 1939. As a sign of changing times, the m ...
(1932)
**
Packard Twelve
The Packard Twelve was a range of V12-engined luxury automobiles built by the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. The car was built from model year 1916 until 1923, then it returned 1933 until 1939. As a sign of changing times, the m ...
(1932–1939)
*Postwar Packards (including Clipper)
**Packard 400, ''see
Packard Four Hundred
The Packard Four Hundred was an automobile built by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana during model years 1955 and 1956. During its two years in production, the Four Hundred was built in Packard’s Detroit facilities, a ...
''
**
Packard Caribbean
The Packard Caribbean is a full-sized luxury car that was made by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, during model years 1953 through 1956. Some of the Caribbean's styling was derived from the Pan American Packard show car of the ...
**
Packard Cavalier
The Packard Cavalier is an automobile produced by the Packard, Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan during 1953 and 1954. Produced only as a four-door sedan, the Cavalier took the place of the Packard 300 model that was fielded in 1951 ...
**
Packard Clipper
The Packard Clipper is an automobile which was built by the Packard Motor Car Company (and by the later Studebaker-Packard Corporation) for model years 1941–1942, 1946–1947 and 1953–1957. For 1956 only, Clipper was classified as a stand-a ...
**
Packard Clipper Constellation
The Packard Clipper is an automobile which was built by the Packard Motor Car Company (and by the later Studebaker-Packard Corporation) for model years 1941–1942, 1946–1947 and 1953–1957. For 1956 only, Clipper was classified as a stand-a ...
**
Packard 200
The Packard 200 was an automobile model produced by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan during model years 1951 and 1952. Models in the 200 designation represented the least expensive Packard model range, on the firm's shortest wh ...
**Packard 250, ''see Packard 200''
**
Packard 300
The Packard 300 is an automobile built and sold by the Packard, Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan for model years 1951 and 1952. The 300 represented the upper mid-range Packard model and provided better appointments than the Packard 2 ...
**
Packard Executive
The Packard Executive was an automobile produced by the Packard- Clipper Division of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation in 1956.
The Packard Executive was introduced on March 5, 1956 to fill a perceived price gap between the prestige Packard Pa ...
**
Packard Four Hundred
The Packard Four Hundred was an automobile built by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana during model years 1955 and 1956. During its two years in production, the Four Hundred was built in Packard’s Detroit facilities, a ...
**
Packard Hawk
The Packard Hawk is a model of automobile. It was the sportiest of the four Packard-badged Studebakers produced in 1958, the final year of Packard production.
History and description
The Packard Plant in Detroit, Michigan had been leased to Curti ...
(1958)
**
Packard Mayfair
The name Mayfair was applied to the 1951-53 Packard 200 as a hardtop coupe nameplate built by the Packard Motor Corporation in an attempt to compete in this body style with Cadillac, Buick, and Imperial from Chrysler, whose hardtop sales were boom ...
**
Packard Pacific
The Packard Pacific is an automobile manufactured by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan for the 1954 model year. It replaced the Mayfair and was sold exclusively as a two-door hardtop.
In the early 1950s, Packard used a numeric ...
**
Packard Patrician
The Packard Patrician is an automobile which was built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, from model years 1951 through 1956. During its six years in production, the Patrician was built in Packard's Detroit facilities on East ...
(including Patrician 400)
**
Packard Station Sedan
The Packard Station Sedan was a pseudo luxury station wagon model produced by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan between 1948 and 1950, using the Packard Eight
The Packard Eight was a luxury automobile produced by Packard betwe ...
(1949–1950)
**
Packard Super Panama
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
**
1957 and 1958 Packards
The 1957 and 1958 Packard lineup of automobiles were based on Studebaker models: restyled, rebadged, and given more luxurious interiors. After 1956 production, the Packard engine and transmission factory was leased to the Curtiss-Wright Corpor ...
Packard show cars
*
Packard Phantom
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
(1944; also called ''Brown Bomber'' and ''Macauley's Folly'')
*
Packard Pan-American The Packard Pan-American is a concept car produced for the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan in 1952.
Conceived as a moderate-performance two-seater by Hugh Ferry, president of Packard, it was built by Henney, which was responsible ...
(1951; also called ''Macauley Speedster'' after Packard design executive Edward Macauley)
*
Packard Pan-American The Packard Pan-American is a concept car produced for the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan in 1952.
Conceived as a moderate-performance two-seater by Hugh Ferry, president of Packard, it was built by Henney, which was responsible ...
(1952) and ''Panther-Daytona''
*
Packard Balboa
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
(1953)
*
Packard Panther
The Packard Panther is a concept car built in 1954 by Packard and was displayed at auto shows to showcase some of the ideas the automaker was considering for its production models. This show car was first named the "Grey Wolf" and also called the ...
(1954–1955)
*
Packard Request
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
(1955)
*
Packard Predictor
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
(1956)
*Packard Black Bess (1957; not an official name, it was a driveable design proposal)
Packard tradenames
*
Ultramatic
Ultramatic was the trademarked name of the Packard Motor Car Company's automatic transmission introduced in 1949 and produced until 1954, at Packard's Detroit, Michigan East Grand Boulevard factory. It was produced thereafter from late 1954, thru ...
, Packard's self-developed automatic transmission (1949–1953; ''Gear-Start Ultramatic'' 1954, ''Twin Ultramatic'' 1955–1956)
*Thunderbolt, a line of Packard Straight Eights after WW2
*Finger Tip Shift, similar to the Chris-O-Matic shift, a servo and remote control to shift the marine engine transmissions (1947-1951)
*
Torsion Level Ride
Torsion may refer to:
Science
* Torsion (mechanics), the twisting of an object due to an applied torque
* Torsion of spacetime, the field used in Einstein–Cartan theory and
** Alternatives to general relativity
* Torsion angle, in chemistry
Bio ...
, Packard's torsion bar suspension with integrated levelizer (1955–1956)
*
Easamatic, Packard's name for the
Bendix TreadleVac power brakes available after 1952.
*Electromatic, Packard's name for its electrically controlled, vacuum-operated automatic clutch.
*
Twin Traction
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...
, Packard's optional
limited-slip rear axle; the first on a production car worldwide (1956–1958)
*Touch Button, Packard's electric panel to control 1956 win Ultramatic
Advertisements
The Packard advertising song on television had the words:
Ride ride ride ride ride along
in your Packard, in your Packard.
In a Packard you've got the world on a string.
In a Packard car you feel like a king.
Ride ride ride ride ride along
in your Packard, what fun!
And ask the man, just ask the man
the lucky man who owns one!
Legacy
The National Packard Museum
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
of Warren, Ohio USA is the official museum of both the original Packard Motor Car Company and The Packard Electric Company. Its purpose is to preserve the Packard legacy and recognize Packard’s influence in transportation and industrial history through interaction with the community and outreach programs.
Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum Was closed after the COVID-19 Pandemic and its entire collection of Packard cars and memborbilla was purchased by a local businessman. The collection was auctioned off in 2021.
America's Packard Museum
America's Packard Museum is an automotive museum located in Dayton, Ohio.
History
The Citizens Motorcar Company, known as America's Packard Museum, is a restored Packard dealership transformed into a museum that displays twentieth-century classic ...
holds a collection of Packard cars on display.
The electrical connectors developed by Packard were used extensively by
General Motors in its automobiles. The first series of connectors was the Packard 56, followed by the Weather Pack, and finally, the Metri Pack, which are still in common use today.
A massive crushing of circa 50 vintage Packards happened in 1977 in southern California and was dubbed by the Special-Interest auto magazine as "Crushathon". Cars formerly property of a Packard collector were auctioned off after his death. Due to different disagreements in the terms of the auction between SoCal Packard fan clubs, roughly half of the cars auctioned off did not meet the listed price leading to the cars being ultimately destroyed, despite their purportedly good mechanical and rust-free condition.
Packard Proving Grounds
The Packard Proving Grounds (the remains of which are now called the Packard Proving Grounds Gateway Complex), was a proving ground established in Shelby Charter Township, Michigan in 1927 by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit. It is liste ...
of Shelby Township, MI USA is the remnants of the former proving Grounds owned by The Packard Motor Car Foundation. The mission of the Packard Proving Grounds Historic Site is to preserve the legacy of the Packard Motor Car Company through the restoration and preservation of the Packard Proving Grounds, educating future generations about America’s automotive history.
See also
*
Afton Station Packard Museum
Afton Station Packard Museum, a privately owned automotive museum on U.S. Route 66 in Afton, Oklahoma, was situated in a restored 1930s Eagle D-X filling station. It housed a showroom, 18 Packards & other vintage automobiles plus a collection of ...
*
List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers
This is a list of defunct automobile manufacturers of the United States. They were discontinued for various reasons, such as bankruptcy of the parent company, mergers, or being phased out.
A
* A Automobile Company (1910–1913) 'Blue & Gold' ...
*''
The Martha Wright Show
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'', also known as ''The Packard Showroom'' (1954)
*
Packard 1A-1500
The Packard 1A-1500 was an American 12-cylinder liquid-cooled 60-degree Vee piston aircraft engine designed in 1924.Gunston 1989, p.109. Test flown in the second prototype Douglas XO-2 it proved to be unreliable. Only 29 engines w ...
*
Packard 1A-2500
The Packard 1A-2500 is an American V-12 liquid-cooled aircraft engine designed by Packard in 1924 as a successor to the World War I-era Liberty L-12. Five aero variants were produced, of which the 3A-2500 was the most numerous. Three marine ve ...
*
List of Packard aero engines
*
Toronto Transportation Commission
Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) was the public transit operator in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, beginning in 1921. It operated buses, streetcars and the island ferries. The system was renamed the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in 1954.
H ...
References
External links
''Automobile-Catalog'' Full line of postwar PackardsA resurrection effort of the Packard Motor Car companyAmerica's Packard MuseumThe Packard ClubNational Packard MuseumPackard 1M-245 Marine Engineat Engine History
Packard Automotive Plantat Abandoned
Free online library of Packard information
The Packard LibraryPackard Motor Car Company—'Ask the Man Who Owns One'The Packard Motor Car FoundationPackard Predictorat Pt-Boat
All Packard Concept CarsOldConceptCars.com
Packard Proving Grounds Historic Site
{{Authority control
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Brass Era vehicles
Defunct aircraft engine manufacturers of the United States
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
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Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Ohio
Studebaker
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1962
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