Packard entered the postwar years as a respected name, and if its glory days of high-end custom bodies were behind it, that was equally true for its competitors. The luxury-car market had changed, and Packard’s real problem was that it couldn’t adapt.
Packard V-12 Returns for Exclusivity; Packard 120 and 115 Add Stability
After a nine-year absence, Packard had reintroduced a V-12 line in 1932 to accompany its straight eights, according to the Collector Car Price Guide, but an ultral-uxury cars' market was obviously thin and Packard didn’t have it to itself. To broaden its base, it expanded down the scale with the 1932 Packard Light Eight, but the price was too high, and it never saw 1933. The concept was valid, though, as both the eight-cylinder 1935 Packard 120 and the six-cylinder 1937 Packard 115 shone where the Light Eight had failed.
The new models’ names varied – the 120 was sometimes the Packard Eight and the 115 the Packard 110 or the Packard Six – but they continued with the top Super Eight and Custom Super Eight lines after the last Packard V-12 was built in 1939. Packard then took a novel turn with its streamlined 1941 Clipper, according to Special Interest American Cars, and for 1942 gave most of its cars a Clipper look, but World War II cut that short and no one saw that Packard was setting itself up for future problems.
Packard Misses Signals as Postwar Difficulties Gradually Appear
American automakers quickly resumed production in 1946 with lightly changed 1942 models, an approach often criticized as taking advantage of a car-starved market. In truth, it efficiently satisfied a demand that had grown from the lack of new cars for more than three years. No manufacturer needed to apologize and the 1946 Packard was of the same quality as the 1942 Packard, but quality wasn’t the problem. Packard was a luxury car company and had not seriously revived its prewar focus on luxury cars. All Packards were now Clippers, according to the Standard Catalogue, with insufficient differences across the range, a mistake for which the company would later pay.
The original Clipper’s novelty had been a big plus; it still looked good, but it no longer looked great and no longer stood out,=; so, Packard dropped the “Clipper” name and modified the look. The 1948 Packard was clearly a relative, but it smoothed the Clipper’s lines considerably and sold well. Cadillac was strong competition, though, and for 1949 offered both style and, according to Motor’s Manual, a modern overhead-valve V-8. The latter was a powerful selling point while Packard continued with its flathead straight eight, a high-quality design that was obsolete.
1951 Packard Looks New
Packard unveiled its new styling in 1951, according to Special Interest American Cars, in a package that was modern with the start of the longer-lower-wider thinking that would grow popular through the decade. The new car was undeniably fresh and even introduced a two-door hardtop. Everyone from Dodge to Cadillac already had a hardtop and Packard still lacked a V-8, but its reputation for quality was unblemished and surely helped generate over 100,000 sales that year. Life seemed good and Packard began working toward a mix of luxury and medium-price cars bearing new designations on different wheelbases and with different engines.
The straight eight dragged on the company, though, and even the semi-exotic 1953 Caribbean convertible – targeting the Cadillac Eldorado convertible – couldn’t offset that. The lack of a modern engine was less important, though, in the remaining carriage trade, where Packard re-introduced long-wheelbase sedans and limousines in 1953. Only a handful was sold through 1954, according to the Standard Catalogue, but with the Caribbean they returned Packard to the top of the luxury market while the Clipper also reappeared in 1953 to serve in the medium-price range. The plan was underway, but it didn’t matter.
Everything Rides on 1955 Packard
Sales had fallen to 70,000 in 1952 and following a recovery to 90,000 in 1953, the figures plummeted to 31,000 in 1954, the design’s final year, according to the Standard Catalogue. The basic body, though, wasn’t dead and an astonishing restyling for 1955 combined with a V-8 seemed to promise great things, the goal of James Nance, Packard’s president since 1952 and the architect of its attempted rebirth. Facing an array of problems with both product and company – plus bad luck and a few unfortunate decisions – Nance rightly saw 1955 as the year Packard would turn the corner.
The 1954 body was re-skinned so perfectly that it went from restrained to exuberant and only a careful look at the 1955 Packard’s roofline might raise suspicion. Nicely hooded headlights, plenty of chrome and color, a wraparound windshield and cathedral taillights virtually destroyed the perception of Packard’s stodginess and those not convinced needed only to look beyond the style. Torsion-Level Ride combined automatic levelling with longitudinal torsion-bar suspension – it worked – and a modern 352-cubic-inch V-8 was finally under the hood, according to Motor’s Handbook. With two four-barrel carburetors in the Caribbean, its 275 horsepower topped the Eldorado’s 270-horsepower 331. Even in the more conservative Patrician and 400, the 352 produced 260 horsepower against 250 in comparable Cadillac models.
With all that, competition against Cadillac seemed genuinely possible again. The company looked like it was back as a serious player and even prepared to cut the Clipper loose as a separate make, but the 1956 Packard would instead bring almost everything to a halt.
References:
- Blanchard, Harold F., Ed. Motor’s Auto Repair Manual Twelfth Edition. New York: Motor, 1949.
- Gunnell, John, Ed. Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 1987.
- Kowalke, Ron, Ed. 2011 Collector Car Price Guide. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 2010.
- Motor’s Handbook 32nd Edition. New York: Motor 1955.
- Murray, Spence, Ed. Peterson’s Special Interest American Cars (1930-1960). Los Angeles: Peterson Publishing Company, 1976.
Bob Tomaine - Automotive writer and photographer Bob Tomaine is a regular contributor to Auto Restorer, AutoWeek and Old Cars Weekly as well as a ...
