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Hi

Well, severely formal panel broughams weren't for everyone, nor were they intended to be! They were the last iterations of the old paneled carriages built exclusively for attending high social class functions such as the opera or gavottes. They were only seen at such events, full-liveried chauffeurs in the open, attending to their betters attired in evening gown, tuxedo and tails with top hat, looking down their noses through pence nez and/or lorgnette. It was a society culture that was quickly fading away by WWII when these late panel broughams were built.

The more maneuverable Eight and later 127" wb 120/160 chassis was preferred for such use, especially by the chauffeur, perfectly acceptable to the owner as long as it was a recognized prestige make. Given that the visual differentiation was minor between the 120 and 160, that the 160 Super Eight horsepower wasn't necessary for such occasions, the 120 was perfectly fine as a panel brougham basis.

Rollston/Rollson was trying to survive by exploiting whatever demand still existed for the formal styles which had been their stock and trade. Its a shame their 1940 SunAire sport sedans weren't a success as they were much more attractive and just the styling more Packard sedans should have carried.

Steve

"The more maneuverable Eight and later 127" wb 120/160 chassis was preferred for such use, especially by the chauffeur"

Absolutely Steve. Wasn't it the case the some chauffeurs had much input in deciding which car to buy since they not only were depended on to have the "car knowledge" but they had to do the steering, which the lighter front weight of the One Twenty would have helped. And since chauffeurs also had to fill the gas tank, the longer cruising range of the more thrifty One Twenty would have made trips to the gas station slightly less frequent.

In pondering the year 1941 and the type of car that might have wowed folks at the opera, by then an aerodynamic sedan with abundant rear legroom might have conferred the more traditional, classic style that conservative owners wanted, at least compared to the lower and more sporty new 3-box sedans being churned out by GM.

With this in mind and assuming the shortest wheelbase Packard 8-cylinder was the only car that would fit in the owner's old garage, what if a coachbuilder had simply placed the 138" wb sedan's roof on top of the One Twenty? The doors could have also come from the 138 sedan, the rear's trimmed around the wheelhouse. The only new panels would have been the quarters and decklid. Here's a 138 wb sedan with rear wheels/fenders moved forward 11 inches to depict 127 wb. Also a few minor tweaks. Comparing with the Rollson, looks like they may have actually used the 138 doors.

Personally, I think the 127" Packard sedans were fine looking cars that year, very classy and well-proportioned.

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Hi Paul

That's an interesting concept, in line with the way that Chrysler created the spacious yet stylish 1941-42 Windsor Town & Country. It employed the roof stamping for the lwb sedans on the standard-length sedan body to fit the 121" wb.

Chauffeurs definitely influenced what make and model was purchased, many employers depended on their expertise when it came to new car selection. Hugo Pfau wrote that in the coach-built custom years, purveyors of luxury makes even kicked back some tribute to the chauffeur who delivered a sale for their car.

In general, the chauffeur preferred the shorter wheelbase luxury car for formal style town cars primarily for their maneuverability in congested urban traffic. Although the survival rate of such cars is low, period photos show a fairly high number of open-front town cars on the shortest wheelbase chassis.

To do these late town cars, they also would have had to raise the top shell height to allow wearing of top hats and applied more formal top styling i.e. blind quarters, perhaps even a steeper angle to the backlight. Although not a large market, appearance at the correct social function always burnished Packard's luxury car reputation.

Steve

For these "city cars" a trade off in luggage space was normally OK, as the trips were short. You may recall the 60's Cadillac "Park Avenue" which was a short-trunked DeVille targeted at city use

Hi bkazmer

Another reason those '61-'63 shorter-decked Cadillac sedans at 215" O.L. were made available was a response to the '61 Lincoln. At only 212.4" O.L. the Lincoln was very trim compared to 222"-225" for prior Cadillacs. Clark Avenue and Misterl had been pushing extended-deck styling for a number of years which proved very popular. Long trunks implied luxurious cars.

Having gotten wind of the trim-sized '61 Lincoln, Cadillac hedged its bets with the Series 62 Town Sedans and DeVille Series Park Avenues. For public consumption, the reasons given were Cadillac was responding to buyer complaints their new Cadillacs wouldn't fit in existing garages and maneuverability issues in modern urban traffic.

Apparently the excessive length objections weren't that great of a motivator as the sales volume for the short-decked models was a tiny percentage of overall sales. After three years, they were quietly dropped for 1964. Lincoln eventually grew back to 224" O.L. by 1970. So much for the down-sizing foray until the market forced it in the late 1970's

Steve

It may have come down to proportions, Park Ave's short deck looking a bit stubby next to long hood and greenhouse. Never thought Coupe de Ville looked quite right either, its shorter greenhouse looking odd next to long deck and lengthened end panel forward of deck. Which of course made me wonder... what would Coupe look like with Park Ave's 7 inch shorter rear overhang and what appears to be sedan's 7 inch shorter end panel? The car's 223 inch length would drop 14 inches and its 129.5 inch wheelbase would drop 7. Classic long hood/short deck coupe or freak show mod?

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In the absence of any period documents I don't think there are any verifiable theories on this matter. They were building "budget" town cars before the depression so the economic theory goes out the window. I do remember a lot of Buick Limiteds that came out of New York City hotel livery service.

Any theory could be plausible including chauffeurs wanting smaller motors because part of their compensation included an expense account. So smaller motors would use less gas and they could pocket the difference. The rich are often weirdoes and so who knows how they might try to chisel the help?

For the love of all that is good and pure, why did they build this car! They might as well have completed the exercise by fitting a mechanic's seat on the back and spearing a fake crank into the bottom of the grill.

I have but two theories left. The first is that this size and style of car, as used 15 or 30 years prior to 1941, made an indelible image of class and status on society that neither time nor good sense could erase. The second is that the owners were simply blockheads who needed the square roof to fit.

Hi Paul

Those panel broughams truly were the end of a society era and the attendant proper livery coach to travel in. "Blockheaded" likely would fit our description of such blue-nose folks these day, think the old "Bringing Up Father" comic strip Maggie and Jigs. They couldn't bring themselves to give up the style and social class distinction inherent in their old horse-drawn panel brougham. Both those society doyens and their formal liveries were anachronisms in the rapidly changing world on the brink of world war.

Your '63 Park Avenue coupe work-up is very close in size and concept to it's would-have-been contemporary Buick Riviera. It may well be what FWD mechanical prototypes for the '67 Eldorado looked like running around in open-road durability trials. Years ago, companies ran prototypes on the public highways just as they do today, sometimes wearing modified sheet metal of current models as disguise. Today we see them in zebra or camo sheeting to cover the latest styling. Personally, I liked the old method, it was a test for the auto savvy to pick out their modified proportions as clue to being a prototype.

Steve

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