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Thanks for the article. Don't remember reading that one and glad to see he did do a Packard "what if".

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This same (rather Pontiac Grandville/Bonneville-ish) illustration was featured in full color in The Packard Cormorant magazine many years ago.

TPC is a treasure trove of Packard information and it is sad that it does not receive the recognition it truly deserves when cars, events, histories and people are being discussed. There are numerous, numerous items and histories and photos and illustrations that have appeared over the years in this Packard Club magazine, only to pop up later in a news stand publication where readers think it is "new"...but often it has been there all along...

As a note to all, the Packard Motor Car Foundation will be hosting an Automotive Designers & Artist Gallery the weekend before Thanksgiving, November 17 - 20, at the PPG. This will be our inaugural event.

The purpose is to highlight the gift of 12 Packard concept car renderings given to the Foundation by the designer, Bill Robinson. These are works done by Bill in the early 1950s when he was at Briggs Body Company.

Also we want to show off the work done by the League of Retired Auto Designers. Each year they select a vintage marque and update for the current year. Last year they did Duesenberg and this year is PACKARD. Their first exhibit will be at the "Eyes On Design Show" at the Eleanor and Edsel Ford Home in Grosse Pointe on Father's Day, June 19.

As a tease I am adding a 2016 Packard Clipper done by John Perkins, retired from GM Design - 1962-1999 Chief Designer. In his words.

"I chose to focus on those great old torpedo-back Packard coupes and sedans from the 1948-9 era. They were very recognizable with their streamline body sides, flowing rooflines, and skirted rear wheels. I did not want to do a retro-design, but rather a design with Packard heritage expressed in a fresh contemporary manner.

I resisted doing a typical notched-radiator grille in favor of a vertical grille that blended into a horizontal grille reminiscent of post war Packard Clippers. You can see examples of my pattern Clipper vehicles in the background in front of the old Packard Proving Ground building which is being restored as a heritage site."


[Edit} What gives here. I tried 3 times and the image has failed to post. Hmmmm...

[Edit 2] Seems the jpg was "locked" so I did a little work-around. It should take now.

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File size over 2 meg and an illegal punctuation character in the title or incorrect file format are the most common reasons a photo fails to post.

This morning I met with about 20 folks in the League of Retired Auto Designer for coffee this morning. Another guy, Dennis Burke, former designer from GM brought along his design of an updated Packard. Seems to be a theme building as he also picked a late 1940s car. Below is a photo I took of his work.

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Good Morning all...The design by Dennis Burke is very cool! Put that on the lot at 50K and they would be purchased all day...they would not need to be sold. Ernie

I put an order in on the redone 48 by Burke. Hopefully it has a big V8 so it will be a corvette killer!

Dennis Burke sent me a better image than the photo I took yesterday. Meanwhile, in his words:

"In my opinion Packard designs epitomized beauty, grace and elegance from the early 20's through the late 40's. Their designs relied on elegant, timeless proportions and flawless execution rather than the design fads of the day. This is especially evident on some of the custom bodied Packards executed by the likes of LeBaron and Dietrich. These cars just looked expensive and reeked with elegance. In doing my sketch I wanted to do a design that embodied these qualities. A design that would look powerful, graceful and upscale and at the same time would convey a timeless quality."

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