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Re: The "New" and "Old" Hotel Packard, La Habana
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You are most welcome. Of course I knew the original Plainsman owner and his family (the remainder branch of which now lives in Southern California). As for the 5-acre estate they had near Havana, it was their second in Cuba. It was known as "Finca Allegria" and was a beautiful property. It had a large swimming pool that was shaped like a piano. I have more recent photos of it in the Plainsman book. It still exists, but part of the estate was split off and given over to the Russians. I am told that many wealthy and powerful people were once regular visitors to Finca Allegria in pre-Castro days. Of these, Meyer Lansky was one... and that was enough to make Castro enraged (he hated Lansky). RE: Buick Bugle... I've had some of my historical stuff in that publication many years ago and owned a few Buicks in my life. Look back years and you'll find my images of the XP-300 concept taken at its debut in Los Angeles. RE: the Plainsman book... The book was completed and ready to go as of February, 2018. However, the promised funding for the book failed to show up. So as a consequence, I have not released it and it isn't available yet., There may soon be a Kickstarter program to fund the book to get it on the shelves since I have already invested nearly $10,000 of my own cash and can't roll the presses yet, despite a book that is ready to go to market. It reads like a novel and contains photos and information that no one (even those who think they know about this car) has ever seen before. Contains about 142 pages of facts and figures including my original 1970s interview with the real designer of the full car (contrary to what the internet and auction companies say-it certainly wasn't Virgil Exner). And yes, the color on the cover here is accurate-not that diarrhea butterscotch shade shown all over the internet and on scale models they sell-all of which are done wrong! I have added a look at the intro page that discusses the entire story of the car in Cuba and its escape from Castro's clutches... Thanks for the kind words. Attach file:  (283.06 KB) (240.12 KB)
Posted on: 2018/12/31 14:12
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Re: The "New" and "Old" Hotel Packard, La Habana
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I will post a few images from Hotel Packard in Habana, Cuba. Yes it was (and I presume is) on the Prado. It appears that the hotel now has a whole new and modern wing. This one is on a postcard from 1951... I had a relative there when Castro took over and they lost EVERYTHING. Escaped with a suitcase. Of course this is nothing compared to the Hiltons who lost the beautiful Habana Hilton (now known as "Habana Libre").... or Meyer Lansky who lost the Havana Riviera Hotel & Casino and probably hundreds of millions in cash. Americans lost huge amounts after the takeover. Businesses, banks, property were ruthlessly confiscated. I have just finished writing a book a few months ago about the Plymouth (Chrysler) Plainsman concept car... which lived in Havana area as of the late 1950s. I met and interviewed the car's owner in the 1970s and he told me that Castro's people just showed up one day at their 5-acre estate and gave them notice it was about to be "liberated" (in other words stolen). They were given 10 days to be gone and Castro's people didn't care where. Of course Castro's people knew (or thought they did) that there was no way to move everything out of the estate and to move the one-of-a-kind car too. But in the middle of the night the owner arranged to smuggle the car packed with the remainder of their worldly belongings onto a Spanish ship and escaped that way. They had to leave a brand-new Plymouth Golden Fury (with the big engine) behind and heaven knows where that car went. Part of the estate was later handed over to the Russians. More shots... Another friend there told me that some (or maybe all) private vehicles became property of the state and had to be rented back or leased from the government when Castro took over. It was a nightmare for some... and a celebration for others. It all took place on New Year's Eve in 1958. By the time the sun arose over the harbor, it was all over and Cuba would never be the same. It took place 60 years ago tonight. Attach file: (43.18 KB) (195.97 KB)
Posted on: 2018/12/31 12:07
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Re: The Search For The Missing Packard Pan Americans (and a bit about prototype Caribbean #1)
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Ahhh. Well, sorry for the wait, but thanks for the compliment! Glad to know you are enjoying the Pan American history in The Packard Cormorant magazine. There are quite a few years tied up in this one! Happy Holidays and best wishes for a great 2019.
Posted on: 2018/12/25 0:57
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Re: Earliest documented use of designation 'cormorant'???????
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The pelican vs. cormorant is another one of these facets of Packard lore that will likely be argued about forever and forever. The one thing that most don't realize is that people who write text for car companies (and others) often don't bother to look up the official company nomenclature and simply insert whatever name they find to their choosing. But then people see it on a brochure or manual and that's argument evidence that can last ad infinitum. People presume any deviation from company terms means printed on a company publication certainly must have the blessing of the company. But this just isn't always the case. I haver actually seen this done in the automotive business. A reference in the owner's manual or parts book may end up conflicting with what the sales and advertising guys say in the brochures... and then again both of these might conflict with engineering terms. This is how these things usually get started. Quickest thing that comes to mind is the use of the term "tonneau" when what is really being described is a "boot" or "dust boot" in convertibles. Of course all this gets crazier when we mix terms from outside of the USA where, for instance, a "boot" is what North Americans refer to as a "trunk." Somebody, somewhere at Packard simply wrote in one term in place of the other... and it was game-on ever since. The term "Swan" was commonly used by at least two different aftermarket hood ornament makers starting in the 1940s and 1950s. The aftermarket guys used this term in order to avoid getting into trouble with Packard... but didn't seem to worry a bit about copying the bird. People saw these things on the shelves at Pep Boys, Western Auto, and others... also in the J.C. Whitney catalogues, so this is likely how "Swan" terminology got so widespread. It is still used today in labeling and marketing the Packard clone bird ornament they still sell. If you are driving cross-country, stop in and look around in the retail area of any good-sized truck stop and you may see one for sale on the racks. They sell lots of these to long-haul truckers. The two biggest makers of clone Packard birds were both located in Illinois. I have original catalogues for both. One of them shows over 24 different versions for 1955. Both companies also made smaller versions for motorcycles and even smaller still ones for bicycles. One catalogue shows even more names, such as "Flamingo" (looks just like the Packard bird, only with a slightly thicker head) and another version with lowered wings they refer to as the "Bugler." Smaller versions of the bird are called "Swanettes" and come either all chromed metal or with illuminated plastic wings... or just plastic wings. Some of the "Bugler" birds were made in gold plating. Then they have what they call "Jiffy Swan," "Jiffy Swanette," "Jiffy Bugler" and "Jiffy Flamingo" models. Ohhh... and instead of "Sliding boy" they have "Sliding Girl" ...uh, I won't describe that one-use your imagination. Anyway, page after page after page of clone Packard birds. There have also developed at least two different names for another Packard ornament which we always called "the donut chaser" but which I see more recently being called "donut pusher."
Posted on: 2018/12/24 14:56
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Re: The Search For The Missing Packard Pan Americans (and a bit about prototype Caribbean #1)
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Hello Paul. Thanks much for the very kind words. I am glad you found the TPC article enjoyable. It is not something that was a joint project. For instance the chart in the center spread is something I made up from scratch. No one ever did that one before-at least not like it is done here. It is a matter of a lifetime of collecting, saving, talking with people, chasing down stories, chasing down cars, studying the cars I saw and taking photos. And weeding out truth from myth. For instance, online internet and magazine articles and auction company histories will tell you that Pan Am #6 was Pan Am #1 and that it never had a top. None of that is true at all. Can't tell you how many times I chased all over the country and into Europe on the trail of a "Pan American" that turned out to be a Caribbean...some beat to a pulp or wildly customized. Of course it took me many years to write what you read. I imagine that some thought it would never be done. But likewise, almost any historical article is a bit of a collaboration by nature. All of which is why I credit and thank so many people who provided photos and information and leads. And again, of course Stuart is editor and-as always-does an incredible job. The club (and Packard fans in general) is(are) wildly lucky to have him at the helm of TPC.His skill, passion, enthusiasm and energy are boundless. But the editing was not to re-write me, rather it was to condense and corral what I wrote into a size that would fit in The Packard Cormorant magazine. Even as it is, he had to get special permission to add more pages to this issue. But Stuart did a masterful job in laying out the piece and making it all look so beautiful. He also took some of the recent color pics. In the end probably 20-30% of the text had to be cut and I had lots and lots more photos-most of which that have never been published had to be left out. But we only had so much room. As for Packard and their ability to make money off of hand-built specialty cars made by outsiders, the crux of the matter to ever make such stuff work is in the sometimes magical concept of "economies of scale." Having worked on the OEM level in the automotive business I can tell you-no matter what you are building-there have to be enough buyers out there in car land to assure you can make enough of whatever it is. This, to get the retail price down to a profitable amount and still be exciting and attractive to buyers. This-even today is still the magic formula. But the romance and passion of all this old school car biz is slowly being lost. In fact it is worse with most car companies now being run by people more oriented in Wall Street finance and wanting to pay out huge dividends to stockholders...with little to no romance or emotion being involved. Which is why most cars today either look like frowning potatoes or grinning jelly beans and you have to get up close on one to read the name to know which brand is which. Companies are now turning their noses up at anything that doesn't generate huge sales and outrageous profits (for instance trucks vs. cars). All of which is why car companies don't want to bother with making cars anymore when trucks and SUVs generate far more profit per unit. This is despite that many cars still being good sellers and profitable. it's becoming all about profits and those old passions and biz models are less and less relevant to those running things. In Packard's case, Jim Nance had far too many issues to resolve when he first arrived to focus too much energy on making money with Henney. Had things continued as he wanted (and dare I say in the right direction) whatever Henney was doing would have been handled by Creative Industries of Detroit-which was closer, better equipped and more wide-ranging. Creative could do everything from engineering to fabrication to metallurgies to specialized welding to new technologies. And Nance already had several of his designers camped out there anyway. Had the 1957 real Packards have been built as planned, you would have seen a very different enterprise for Packard and the way it interacted with outside suppliers/coachbuilders. As for Nance appreciating Reinhart's work, I'm sure he did, but not those tail lights. He couldn't stand them and they had been (excuse the pun) hanging around for 4 long years. And when viewing this situation one must always keep in mind that this was the 1950s. Back then something brand-new was expected by the American car buyer and the industry-every 365 days! Car designs that were over a year old were considered ancient. A 4-year-old car tail light was worse than a 4-year-old computer is today! Obsolete and over-baked-no matter how good or artful it may have been. That's what Jim was reacting to. Besides, Reinhart was long gone by then. Anyway, thanks again for your kind comments and appreciation.
Posted on: 2018/12/16 23:49
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Re: 1956 Packard Caribbean
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Ahhh... a 5699 Caribbean that went missing off of my list in 1983. Originally delivered new in Maryland if I recall. Nice to see it is still alive. ? You will have a tough time routing the power steering lines until the left front fender and driver's side air vent tube is back in place. The power steering hoses go through a special rubber grommet which is then clamped to the air vent stovepipe tube... which is fitted into the left front fender. Without all this in place, you've got no place to mount or route any of it. ? I also see a 2-prong stoplight switch installed... which of course will disable functions of the torsion-level suspension. The correct stoplight switch should have 3 connector prongs. ? The convertible top is cut and stitched improperly-all of which is partly why it is catching on the driver's door vent window frame top. It won't last long the way that it is with the metal repeatedly scraping against the vinyl. ? Can't see the transmission cooler lines...easiest to route these while the fenders are off. There are other issues I see, but most of them can only be resolved with fenders in place.
Posted on: 2018/12/13 23:10
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Re: 1956 Packard Caribbean
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Let's see some photos of what you have. Several here who can guide you in this effort. What number is it?
Posted on: 2018/12/12 23:08
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Re: The Search For The Missing Packard Pan Americans (and a bit about prototype Caribbean #1)
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Thanks, Steve. However when you speak of "standard reference" this was exactly what I thought I had written 34 years ago for TPC in my history of the Packard Panthers (The Packard Cormorant, Spring 1984). No one, no source, no publication had ever published many of the photos nor any of the serious factual information regarding the Packard Panthers prior to that time. In fact, NOBODY up until that time knew just how many Panthers had been made, how they got made and exactly who made them. I thought surely this was a high water mark and the piece would become a "standard reference." But I was so wrong. The article was so very right, but as a "standard reference"? Nah. It was trampled to death. To this day, there are still people in books, magazines and the internet actually quoting from that article, yet they don't even know they are quoting it. Or me. And there are numerous instances where people are quoting my personal friends from Creative Industries as if-oh yeah-the folks doing the quoting actually talked to my friends (they never did, but they make it appear that way). Often times these quotes come out with people writing them who are obviously unaware that the people they appear to quote are actually long dead! You see, two years later along came a big news stand magazine with access to all this same stuff that I had written and published and ...SHAZAMMMM! There were the same photos and the same info... only without MY name on them! All published as if I were a mere bystander and the TPC article was merely something that fell off the shelf and by magic blew in over the transom and appeared at the big magazine. I didn't like that... and I still don't...34 years later. Oh, I was mentioned in the text of the article as if in passing, but the "standard reference" aspect of the TPC article? Ignored...obliterated... minimized... and otherwise rendered almost meaningless. From that point on, it was the big magazine and their clone article that got the credit for being a "standard reference"... after all my years of hard work... and info and photos no one had ever seen before. The auction companies... the internet web sites... and on and on didn't even know about the original TPC Packard Panther history. Nor do they know I wrote it. Nor do they know the fact that it set the history on paper for the first time and published photos no one had ever seen before. Even those photos were and still are pirated on the internet... with no credit for where they originated. Every real writer has a desire to get credited for their work-just like any artist. So thank you for the praise. But in this hobby, "standard reference" status is not who gets there first with the most... but rather who gets there biggest with the most from the first. Thanks again for the kind words.
Posted on: 2018/12/10 21:50
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Re: The Search For The Missing Packard Pan Americans (and a bit about prototype Caribbean #1)
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Thank you for the kind words. Presuming you mean in the latest issue of The Packard Cormorant? The Packard Pan American history as you see it was compiled over many years and frankly took a lifetime of collecting, chasing people and stories and cars... and saving letters, notes, news clippings, literature and more. As it turned out, we had to cut a significant portion of the text and a LOT of images to fit it all in. Most of the photos in this The Packard Cormorant magazine issue have never been published before. So very glad you are finding it enjoyable.
Just another evidence that membership in The Packard Club has its rewards... and if you're missing out on The Packard Cormorant magazine, every issue is jam-packed with goodies to warm any Packard lover's heart! Anyone who found my info and images in the Hemmings Daily blog of interest will find triple all that in issue #173 of The Packard Cormorant magazine. If you truly love this Packard history, this one will keep you busy reading for a long time-if I do say so myself. I've been a member since the 1970s.
Posted on: 2018/12/10 19:14
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Re: 1949 Packard Monte Carlo - Hood Ornament Identification
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Hello... I've been looking at this car for a lot of years now. When Geoff got it apparently the hood bird ornament had disappeared. So, I believe in addition to searching for more info on this Packard, Geoff is likely wanting to replace the bird with the wings that are part Lucite. Again, these wings are not the full plastic ones, but only part plastic.
While I have seen these wings before, it has been many years, so the issue before us now remains: anybody got one of these now?
Posted on: 2018/12/10 19:03
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