Re: Year-end Leftover 1953 models

Posted by Dave Brownell On 2014/7/29 18:29:26

While waiting for Neal's book for those left over numbers, it's important to remember that there was a lot happening in the U.S. economy in early 1953. The Korean conflict was ending and the Fed was anxious to forestall inflation by tightening consumer credit. Defense contracts were also being terminated, so a major source of Packard's income suddenly took a dive. Packard and the other independents did not have the luxury of an in-house credit facilitator like GMAC and Ford Motor Credit as they supported the unprecedented flooding of the market with more cars than their dealers wanted. Remember that buying a car in 1953 on time meant a much larger down payment (perhaps 30 percent or more) and shorter terms for payment (averaging 24 months). Relying on community banks instead of an industry lender like GMAC, meant that the Packard or Nash buyer had some mighty distracting messages to look at those new attractively priced Chevys and Fords. Cadillac and Lincolns had the same advantages as their corporate cousins when it came to "Easy Payments". If you compared cars by price alone, Packard was no big bargain with their higher prices.

The one ace in Packard's hand was their clientele was a bit wealthier and able to pay cash rather than resorting to loans. For a year or two, the Packard legend of quality and value paid a needed dividend when the company needed it most. The production problems of 1954 and 1955 were just ahead and by that time, customer and dealer loyalty had worn dangerously thin, resulting in lots filled with leftover models that had to be deeply discounted. My car may have languished on a Virginia dealer lot for five or six months before being sold at a 30 percent discount.