The Packard Twelfth Series One-Twenty is an automobile produced by the
Packard Motor Car Company
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 ...
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 th ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, from 1935 to 1937 and from 1939 through the 1941 model years. The One-Twenty model designation was derived from the wheelbase, and it was replaced by the
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 ...
.
The One-Twenty signified the first time that Packard had entered into the highly competitive mid-priced eight-cylinder car market. Packard enthusiasts view the production of the One-Twenty and the
Six/One-Ten models as the start of Packard's losing its hold on the market as the premier American luxury automotive brand. It was a marketing strategy shared with GM's
LaSalle, the
Chrysler Airstream, and the
Lincoln-Zephyr
The Lincoln-Zephyr is a line of luxury cars that was produced by the Lincoln division of Ford from 1936 until 1942. Bridging the gap between the Ford V8 DeLuxe and the Lincoln Model K (in both size and price), it expanded Lincoln to a seco ...
. It was introduced after Rolls-Royce brought to market the
Rolls-Royce Twenty
The Rolls-Royce Twenty built between 1922 and 1929 was Rolls-Royce's "small car" for the 1920s and was produced alongside the 40/50 Silver Ghost and the successor to the 40/50, the Phantom. It was intended to appeal to owner-drivers but many w ...
, which was manufactured between 1922 and 1929 (succeeded by the
Rolls-Royce 20/25
The Rolls-Royce 20/25 was the second of Rolls-Royce Ltd's pre-war entry level models. Built between 1929 and 1936, it was tremendously popular, becoming the most successful selling inter-war Rolls-Royce. Its success enabled Rolls-Royce to surv ...
which was built until 1936).
The introduction of the One-Twenty (and later the Six/One-Ten models) was a necessary move to keep Packard in business during the final years of the
Great Depression, expanding on an earlier approach with the
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 ...
. Branding the One-Twenty a Packard afforded buyers the cachet of owning a Packard. Other reasons the company decided to forgo the development of a companion brand name to sell the less expensive models may have been linked to its single production line capability at its Grand Boulevard manufacturing plant or to the expense of launching a new brand of automobile.
It also ushered in a novel advertising approach, commissioning an advertising "jingle" called "
When Heaven Was at the Corner of Sycamore and Main".
The ''Safe-T-Flex'' suspension
This car introduced the
independent front suspension
Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in ...
to the Packard line. Its so-called "Safe-T-Flex" suspension was an
unequal upper and lower A-arm type with the largest possible lower A-arm composed of two different arms bolted together at a ninety-degree angle.
The support arm was a heavy steel
forging reaching a few degrees forward of lateral from the front wheel support to as close to the centerline of the car as is practicable. An integral pad socketed the helical spring, whose upper end reached a high frame cross-beam. A tubular, hence lighter, steel torque arm was bolted to the support arm somewhat inboard of the wheel to permit a sufficient steering arc. It reached the frame nearly at the dashboard with a spherical rubber bearing. The upper A-arm was conventionally welded and oriented parallel to the lower one. Between it and the frame was an old-fashioned horizontal
shock absorber whose two cylinders were side by side.
The support arm carried all the load; the torque arm carried the accelerating and decelerating torque; the upper A-arm controlled the
camber
Camber may refer to a variety of curvatures and angles:
* Camber angle, the angle made by the wheels of a vehicle
* Camber beam, an upward curvature of a joist to compensate for load deflection due in buildings
* Camber thrust in bike technology
* ...
. Advantages claimed for the system included superior maintenance of
wheel alignment
Wheel alignment sometimes referred to as breaking, or tracking is part of standard automobile maintenance that consists of adjusting the angles of wheels to the car manufacturer specifications. The purpose of these adjustments is to reduce tire ...
from the wide spread of the lower A-arm, a permanent fixing of the
caster angle
250px, θ is the caster angle, the red line is the pivot line, and the grey area is the tire.
250px, Front suspension of a race car, the caster angle is formed by the line between upper and lower ball joint.
The caster angle or castor angle is t ...
, and an increased percentage of the braking force transmitted to the frame through the torque arm.
First generation (1935–1937)
In its introduction year, the Packard One-Twenty was available in a broad array of body styles including two and four-door sedans, convertible and Club Coupe. The One-Twenty, weighing in at ,
[Old Car Advertising](_blank)
Retrieved 12 September 2013 was powered by an all-new Packard aluminum-head
L-head
A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...
inline eight producing at 3850 rpm.
Prices ranged from $980 ($ in dollars ) for the three-passenger business coupe to $1,095 ($ in dollars ) for the Touring Sedan. Introduced in January 1935, the car was an immediate success with consumers, with Packard producing 24,995 One-Twentys, compared to 7,000 of all other type Packards for the year, while competing with the
1935 LaSalle Series 50.
For 1936 Packard increased the displacement on the L-head eight, increasing its output to , making the car capable of reaching a top speed of . The One-Twenty added a convertible four-door-sedan model which was the most expensive model in the range priced at $1,395 ($ in dollars ). A total 55,042 units rolled off the line in 1936, the highest production that the One-Twenty would reach. A built in radio was available at a cost of $59.50 ($ in dollars ).
In 1937, the One-Twenty went up-market as the company introduced the Packard Six, the first six-cylinder Packard in ten years. For 1937, the One-Twenty broadened its model range and was now available in "C" and "CD" trim levels. The line also added a wood-bodied station wagon, Touring Sedan and
limousine
A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment.
A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pr ...
built on a wheelbase and priced under $2,000. Introduced in September 1936, 50,100 units were produced during series production.
For 1938, the One-Twenty name was dropped and its model folded into the
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 ...
model range, bringing the model name into parity with the Packard Six.
File:Packard 120 Eight Business Coupe 1936.jpg, 1936 Packard Fourteenth Series Eight 120-B 998 Business Coupé
File:Packard 120-B Convertible Sedan 1936.jpg, 1936 Packard Fourteenth Series Eight 120-B 997 Convertible Sedan
File:Packard 120-C Convertible Coupe 1937.jpg, 1937 Packard Fifteenth Series Eight 120-C 1099 Convertible Coupé
File:Packard 120-C 4-Door Sedan 1937.jpg, 1937 Packard Fifteenth Series Eight 120-C 4-Door Sedan
Second generation (1939–1941)
Returning to the Packard model range, the One-Twenty continued to be offered in a full range of body styles from coupe to Touring Limousine, with prices for the model range between US$1,099 ($ in dollars ) and US$1,856 ($ in dollars ). New for the year was introduction of column shifting (known in Packard parlance as Handishift), which did away with the floor shifter. Introduced in September 1938, a total of 17,647 units were built.
In 1939, the company introduced a fifth, transverse shock absorber on the 120.
[Old Car Advertising](_blank)
Retrieved 5 October 2013 It also offered Packard's Unimesh three-speed
synchromesh transmission,
[Old Car Advertising](_blank)
Old Car Advertising
Retrieved 16 September 2013. the same as in the
Twelve (and already standard on the
Eight),
as well as the new fourth-gear Econo-Drive
overdrive, claimed to reduce engine speed 27.8%, and able to be engaged at any speed over .
The series name One-Twenty officially became hyphenated for model year 1940. Again, the One-Twenty came in a full array of body styles, including a semi-custom Convertible
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
by
Howard "Dutch" Darrin
Howard "Dutch" Darrin (1897–1982) was an American free-lance automotive stylist born in Cranford, New Jersey.
Darrin had been a US pilot serving in France in the last years of World War I when he met fellow countryman Thomas Hibbard. They were ...
. Introduced in August 1939, total model year output was 28,138 units.
In its final year as a model, the One-Twenty lost a number of body styles to the expanded One-Ten line of cars. The One-Twenty was available in business
coupé, club coupe, two-door
sedan, four-door sedan, convertible coupe, convertible sedan, and two
station wagon styles. Production sank to 17,100 units.
For 1942, the One-Ten and One-Twenty were dropped as model names and their models folded into the Packard Six and Packard Eight lines. In its seven years in the Packard line-up, the One-Twenty saw a total production of 175,027 units.
File:Packard 1701 Eight Touring Sedan 1939.jpg, 1939 Packard One-Twenty Touring Sedan (17th series)
File:Packard 1701 Police 1939.jpg, 1939 Packard One-Twenty Police (17th series)
File:1940 Packard 120 Darrin Convertible, Lime Rock.jpg, 1940 Packard One-Twenty Darrin Convertible Victoria (18th series)
File:1941 Packard One-Twenty 2-door Touring Sedan in Black, front left (Hershey 2019).jpg, 1941 Packard One-Twenty 2-door Touring Sedan (19th series)
Notable vehicles
On August 29, 1935, a Packard One-Twenty
convertible
A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.
A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...
driven by the Belgian king
Leopold III crashed in
Küssnacht
Küssnacht am Rigi (official name since 2004: Küssnacht) is a village and a district and a municipality in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The municipality consists of three villages Küssnacht, Immensee, and Merlischachen, the hamlet ''Ha ...
, Switzerland, killing his wife
Astrid of Sweden
Astrid of Sweden (17 November 1905 – 29 August 1935) was the Queen of the Belgians and the first wife of King Leopold III. Originally a princess of Sweden of the House of Bernadotte, Astrid became the Duchess of Brabant after her marriage ...
, Queen of the Belgians.
Time (magazine)
/ref>
References
* Owner's Information (manual) 1936 Packard 120
{{Packard historic timeline
One-Twenty
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Cars introduced in 1937
Cars introduced in 1939
1940s cars