Re: Packard employees question

Posted by Mr.Pushbutton  On 2007/4/8 21:43:43

There are two books I would recommend, the first being "the bible", "Packard, a History of the motor car and company", edited by Beverley Rae Kimes, published by Automotive quarterly. sometimes referred to as "the Kimes book" or "the Automotive quarterly Packard book". three inches thick, chock full of pictures, great writing, the whole story. A few factoids in that book have not withstood the test of time and additional research, such as the business of the senior car dies (falsely reported as) being sold to the USSR for the production of ZIS cars, but whatever small quantity of such errors there are more than made up by the wealth of accurate information and pictures, as well as a unified text that gives the reader a sense of the company, the men who ran it and the customers who were its patrons.
It was originally to be produced in limited numbers then the plates destroyed, I have a first edition copy, but they thought better of that idea and it is still available, you may find a copy on Amazon or Alibiris.com
The second book is "the fall of the Packard motor car company" by James Ward. A straight foreword examination of how a company like Packard failed, told without rose colored glasses, but with an honest admiration for the company and its products.
Here's an Amazon link for a two-fer special they are running for both books, at considerably less than I paid for each (especially if you adjust for inflation!)http://www.amazon.com/Fall-Packard-Motor-Car-Company/dp/0804724571