The Packard Patrician is an automobile which was built 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, from model years 1951 through 1956. During its six years in production, the Patrician was built in Packard's Detroit facilities on
East Grand Boulevard. The word "
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 ...
" is Latin for a ruling class in
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
. It was the last "senior level" Packard until production ended in 1958.
The Patrician was the last of the "senior Packards" and was briefly available as an extended length limousine for 1953 and 1954 called the Corporate Executive which found few buyers.
Packard Patrician 400, 1951–1952
In 1951 and 1952, the automaker attempted to use a numeric naming structure that designated Packard's least expensive models as
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 ...
and 200 Deluxe while two-door hardtop and convertibles were designated Packard 250 and its mid-range sedan the
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 ...
.
The highest trim level available was the Packard Patrician 400. The Patrician 400 replaced the previous model year's
Super 8 model range. The car was easily identified from other Packards by its chrome trim; in 1951 the model featured three chrome ports on its rear fenders and in 1952 the car featured four chrome ports, a styling approach similar to GM's
Buick luxury vehicles. Patricians and 300s also sported a slightly revised grille which included chrome "teeth" in its oval area in 1951. That change occurred to the 250 series soon after introduction.
The Patrician 400 was available only as a premium, four-door sedan, outfitted with high-grade upholstery and chrome trimming within. For the 1952 model year, Packard retained the services of noted interior decorator
Dorothy Draper
Dorothy Draper (November 22, 1889 – March 11, 1969) was an American interior decorator. Stylistically very minimalism, anti-minimalist, she would use bright, exuberant colors and large prints that would encompass whole walls. She incorporated b ...
to bring a fresh look to the interior color scheme. Wilton carpeting and hassock-style rear passenger foot rests were also included with the car. With a list price of $3,662 ($ in dollars ) it also was the most expensive senior Packard offered. The automobile rode upon a wheelbase shared only with the 300 sedan. All other Packards had a wheelbase of .
Power for all Packards still came from their venerable in-line eight-cylinder engines. 200s used a unit with 135 bhp (101 kW); all others had a displacement of , delivering 150 bhp (112 kW). The Patrician got the best engine Packard had to offer, too. For unequaled smooth operation, its engine featured nine main bearings instead of five as in the other engines without increase in power.
Until 1954,
Henney built a few nine-passenger Executive Sedans and Corporate Limousines on a chassis with wheelbase.
Derham in Rosemont built very few Patrician Custom Formal Sedans with leather padded roofs, small backlights and elaborate interiors on the standard Patrician frame.
Introduction of the Patrician was, together with most other Packards (250s were delayed), in August 1950. Production totals for 1951 came to 9,001 Patrician 400 units, and 3,975 units for 1952.
The 400 model name was dropped for model years 1953 and 1954; however the Patrician name continued to occupy the premium trim level Packard from 1953 through 1956.
File:1951 Packard Patrician 400 sdn - maroon - fvr (4665798645).jpg, 1951 Packard Patrician 400
File:52 Packard 400 Patrician (9125203935).jpg, 1952 Packard Patrician 400
File:52 Packard 400 Patrician (9127425094).jpg, 1952 Packard Patrician 400 (rear)
1953–1954
For model years 1953 and 1954, the Patrician continued to represent Packard's highest trim level sedans and rode on the wheelbase chassis. The Patrician also was used for the basis of the custom bodied Henney passenger models, including the 8-passenger Packard Executive Sedans and Limousines, the difference being that the latter had a partition window between the front and rear compartments. During these years the Patrician received annual trim changes and improvements associated with model-year change-overs in the 1950s.
The 1953 Packard Patrician 4-door sedan was listed at US$3,740 ($ in dollars ) while the all-new Packard Corporate Executive 8-passenger 4-door limousine was listed at US$7,100 ($ in dollars ).
The Henney professional cars (hearse, ambulance, flower car, service car) built on the wheelbase commercial chassis generally used Patrician-like trim except for 1954, which used
Cavalier
The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ) ...
-like trim, and was offered in a hardtop bodystyle called the
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 ...
. Since the professional cars were fully coachbuilt bodies (not conversions) built on Packard's separate commercial chassis, their trim level had little to do with the Patrician except for the general appearance. The Henney Junior, a short-wheelbase hearse or ambulance was built on the standard Cavalier-Patrician chasses (but with stronger, heavy-duty rear suspension) but had the 5-main bearing Cavalier engine rather than the 9-main bearing engine of the Patrician.
For 1953, the Patrician used the same 9-main bearing straight eight engine that used for 1951 and 1952 but for the first time added a four barrel
carburetor for an increase in power. For 1954, the new 9-main bearing, aluminum head engine was standard and also featured a 4-brl carburetor. 1954 was the first year to add a start-position to the ignition key - earlier years were started by a switch built into the carburetor which was actuated by depressing the accelerator pedal to the floor.
A general description implies that all Patrician models were fitted out with standard equipment when in fact they could be built to order. If a customer wanted a manual transmission then that is what he or she would be given by the factory.
File:1954 Packard Patrician Touring Sedan rear left, Lime Rock.jpg, 1954 Packard Patrician (rear)
File:Four States Auto Museum April 2016 23 (1954 Packard Patrician 400).jpg, 1954 Packard Patrician
1955–1956
For 1955, the entire senior line of Packards received an extensive design update that freshened the last restyling that was done in 1951. Under designer
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 ...
, the Senior Packards received a more modern grille design, "Cathedral"-styled rear tail lights, hooded headlight housings and a new exterior trim layout that afforded Packard the ability to offer two- and three-tone paint combinations with the simplest of masking patterns. While Packard could not afford a whole new greenhouse for the passenger compartment, new trim at the base of the rear
pillar
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
made it look like it had a redesigned roofline. The cars were also outfitted with a wrap-around windshield, thus bringing it in line with American automobiles of the era. Inside, upholstery and bright work was also freshened and the cars received a new dashboard layout. 1955 and 1956 instruments and controls were similar, but the 1955 dash featured a warm, bronze-like surface, and in 1956 were faced with a machined-look stainless steel facing.
The 1955 Patrician was listed for US$3,890 ($ in dollars ).
For 1955, the Patrician was offered as a four-door sedan only and Packard produced 9,127 of the cars. It was also the year that the company introduced their only V8 engine. For 1956, minor appearance changes included a revised headlight housing that exaggerated the front peak further forward. The area around the headlight was painted black to give the effect of greater depth. The car also received a different grille texture. During the 1956 model year, 3,375 Patricians rolled off Packard's production line before the model was dropped by the ailing carmaker.
The final Packard built (that was a true Packard and not a badge-engineered Studebaker President) was a black Patrician sedan, and it rolled off the Packard assembly line on June 25, 1956.
File:1955-Packard-Patrician-4dr-Sedan-rear.jpg, 1955 Packard Patrician (rear)
File:1956 Packard Patrician.jpg, 1956 Packard Patrician
1957–1958
While Packard's
James Nance had hoped to divorce the senior Packard from its lower-priced
Clipper
A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...
models for 1956 and beyond, Studebaker-Packard's Corporate finances were far worse than Nance bargained for after the 1954 merger between the two firms. Following disposal of Packard's body supplier, Briggs, to Chrysler, Packard bought the old Connor Avenue Briggs plant to produce their own bodies and switched entire production there completely, abandoning the East Grand Boulevard plant. Quality control was terrible and because of this, and a failure by
American Motors
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 the ...
to buy as many
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 ...
transmission units and Packard V-8's as Nance had hoped for, Packard production was eliminated at the firm's ex Briggs Detroit factory and transferred to Studebaker's South Bend complex for the 1957 model year.
The Packard V8 was used in the slow selling
Hudson Hornet
The Hudson Hornet is a full-sized automobile that was manufactured by Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan from 1951 until 1954, when Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson merged to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). Hudson automobiles co ...
and
Nash Ambassador
The Nash Ambassador is a luxury automobile that was produced by Nash Motors from 1927 until 1957. For the first five years it was a top trim level, then from 1932 on a standalone model. Ambassadors were lavishly equipped and beautifully construc ...
for 1955 and 1956 and also the 1956
Studebaker Golden Hawk
The Studebaker Golden Hawk is a two-door pillarless hardtop personal luxury car produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana, between 1956 and 1958.
Styling
The last automobile until the Avanti to have styling influenced by in ...
.
The sole Packard offered for 1957, a badge-engineered
Studebaker President
The Studebaker President was the premier automobile model manufactured by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (US) from 1926 until 1942. The nameplate was reintroduced in 1955 and used until the end of the 1958 model when the name wa ...
, was designated 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 ...
. A McCulloch supercharger was used with the Studebaker V8 in the Packard Hawk which was also later made. The final Packard, a car with no series name, rolled off the line in 1958 and Studebaker-Packard's Board removed the "Packard" name from its corporate name in 1962.
Bad management and particularly Mr. Christopher have been blamed for the company's demise. In fact the best management in the world could not have competed with GM s power. For example if there was no market for Cadillac 62's the same Fisher body would be switched to Buick or Oldsmobile. For example Fisher A Type bodies were Chevrolet Stylemaster, Pontiac 25 or 27 or Oldsmobile 66. B type bodies were either Pontiac 26 or 28, Buick 40 or Cadillac 61. Packard could not do that. At best they had two brands (Packard and Clipper) one ageing body, no station wagon, a new V8 to pay for, a partner in severe debt and the loss of defense contracts to GM. The result was a 35-acre waste land.
See also
*
ZIL-111
The ZIL-111 was a limousine produced by the Soviet car manufacturer ZIL in 1958–1967. It was the first post-war limousine designed in the Soviet Union. After tests with the shortlived prototype ZIL-Moscow in 1956, which gained a place in the ...
Further reading
* Pierson, Don
Packard / IMPERIAL page
{{Packard historic timeline
Packard vehicles
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles