Re: 23rd Series Missing Model Mystery

Posted by Mahoning63 On 2018/8/17 14:53:07

Steve's points about the difficulty in taking cost out of the convertible and cannibalization of the more expensive models likely explains much of the decision. Once the 22nd-23rd Series' bloom left the rose, sales dropped. It's too bad because Christopher's idea for sleek, modern sheet metal was admirable and he wasn't alone. Hudson, Nash, Kaiser/Fraser and Cosmopolitan all did the same. It proved tricky and all fell short for various reasons. I always loved the brochure renderings of the Packards of this era, especially the Customs. The artists knew what the fundamental problems were (proportions) and corrected them. The only untouchables were the split windshield and wide gap between front and rear doors. Had they been able to correct these (and I took the liberty of getting the artist's Cormorant off steroids), the result would have been a well-proportioned car that was longer, lower and wider than production but otherwise carrying the same lovely theme.

No question the sectioning of 24th Series would have been expensive, especially the firewall. Had everyone decided ahead of time on two body heights, design enablers could have been dialed to ease the pain, such as maintaining a continuous 1.5 inch section that could be removed and, for most class A surfaces, seams covered with trim.

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