Re: Was the 1957-1958 Packard manufactured ONLY for marketing purposes?

Posted by BH On 2013/6/12 9:53:54

I have a few original, signed, Packard dealer agreements from 1955 and 1956 in my personal archive, but not within reach at the moment.

However, I would expect that the terms weren't much different from what the rest of the industry followed. A highly relevant point, with regard to dealer termination, is the repurchase of the dealer's unsold new vehicle and parts inventories. Never mind possible litigation for any breach of contract, but just imagine the financial consquences for S-P if they had not produced Packard vehicles for Packard dealers in 1957-1958 and had to buy back all that unsold inventory.

Fast forward 50 years to the Great Recession, and I imagine that the troubled automakers actually embraced the idea of a gubbamint bailout that stipulated a "controlled" bankruptcy. They didn't have to pay one cent out of their pockets to discontinue hundreds of dealers - and that's just one of the little sordid details of the whole affair.