Re: Why no Packard in a "Packard"?

Posted by Mahoning63 On 2012/4/15 20:59:52

Hard charging Nance has been accused of a lot of poor decisions through the years. I am inclined to give the guy a break on most of them but there is one area where I think his planning temperment/style didn't just hurt Packard but sank them: he seemed too willing to p#$% away whole model years in the hope of cashing in on a later "big plan" like the 57s. Keeping the money coming in, year after year, is what keeps an OEM alive. His lack of producing a 4-dr hardtop in 1956 is admittely small potatoes in the big picture scheme of things, although other OEMs did manage to bite the bullit and crank out a one-year only style before completely restyling their 57s.

Nance's biggest mistake IMHO was that he p%#$ed away 1954. That was the year he should have put out a heavily redesigned, lowered body that took Cadillac head on and lent itself well to a later 4-door hardtop design (i.e, no old-fashioned body insert between the front/rear doors). Losses would have become profits this year and life would have been much easier for the '55 V8 roll-out with the restyling task now behind them.