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The Packard Proving Grounds (PPG) held their last open house of the year yesterday in celebration of their 80th anniversary. Motor City Packards provided many Packards to display at this event. Enclosed are photos of forum members Mr. Pushbutton and Packards1 at the event. Also some photos of Packards. Marvin King brought his 1956 Caribbean as well as three other Packards to the PPG. The Caribbean had not been started or moved for 12 years, glad he got the old car somewhat back to life.

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A former Packard employee showed up and pulled out his original ID card which is shown in the first post. Here are a couple more pictures.

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Some gorgeous cars there. Sure wish PAC, logically via Motor City, would make an official formal project helping to defray costs to round up as many of the former employees that are left. Place an ad, throw a whingding, get their memories on paper, tape, pictures of smoke signals or whatever before it's too late. Hopefully the fellow that attended was wined, dined and given the third degree.

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing them with us!

Great pictures and a nice event. I looked up Marvin's Carib on the registry and it was certainly one of the early ones built. Nice to get it out in the daylight.

PPG is on my list of places to visit next year. It's turning into my "bucket list."

Regards,
Robert.

12 YEARS!!! good grief....poor Packard....

cool event, i hope to get up there one day.

also, i have a set of hubcaps that are just like the ones on that Henney....hanging on my wall in my study ;0) stained glass still intact and all. ;0)

I always thought PPG meant "Pennsylvania Paint and Glass"????

Why(so)ever, I've never heard of Packard Proving Grounds (PPG). Would you please amplify a bit?

Ford has a proving grounds, GM has one, all the car manufacturers of any note had one or more. It's easier for me if you visit <www.packardmotorfdn.org> than for me to try to describe it. It's a project very much worthy of our contributions if we want to save any physical remnant of corporate Packard.

Actually, PPG = Pittsburgh Plate Glass. In the earl 1900s, the PPG acquired the Patton Paint Company, expanding their product line.

Guscha -

See also:

http://shelbyhistory.tripod.com/packard_proving_grounds/

...for seven pages of thumbnail images, each linked to the full-size image.

The Packard Proving Grounds was much more than the impressive banked concrete oval test track (which had to be repoured after WWII). There were also twelve miles of what the company bragged were the worst maintained roads in America (not just gravel, but think "off-road"). They also had "test labs" on the site to conduct all sorts of horiffic experiments - like freezing a car to sub-zero temps.

Only a fraction of the ground survives today, but better than none at all.