Re: Packard versus the Rest

Posted by Dave Kenney On 2010/12/6 16:59:28

I am by no means an expert on Packards or any other car and I have limited experience with working on old cars. The one thing more than any other that strikes me about Packard and what makes them stand out from mediocre cars is the engineering, perhaps even over engineering of things which one cannot often see but which contribute to durability over time. On many occasions when taken something as simple as the clutch linkage apart I noticed that Packard used bearings and not simple bushings and made provision to lubricate these parts. The supports for the transmission and frame, the huge nine main bearings supporting that enormous crankshaft, the use of fine thread bolts ( I didn't break one when I restored my car!) are some of the things which set Packard apart from the "bean counter" companies including GM. The only other make of car that I am familiar with that even comes close is Mercedes-Benz.
Alas as H.L Mencken once said;
"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." but some perhaps overestimated that taste of the consumer by thinking that engineering and quality would sell cars and so Packard died.