Re: 1953/4 Caribbean 4-door hardtop sedan exploration
Posted by Mahoning63 On 2020/3/28 23:14:16
Lincoln limped along in '55 with same windshield they had been offering. 1956 saw an all-new body with wrapped windshield and stand-out styling, turned Lincoln's fortunes around and beat Cadillac and Imperial redesigns by one year. This was Packard's timing opportunity too.
"...suggest the trailing edge of the front doors be extended to eliminate the double gap..."
I left the body insert between front and rear doors alone, assumption being that it would have been too expensive to redesign. Might have been doable but would have involved tear-up to many parts. Most cost-effective approach arguably would have been to save the money for the next full redesign, 1956 the suggested year. That theoretical car, btw, would have probably included several design cues that we see on the '55 Seniors including cathedral taillights and hooded headlights. The cars would have been longer, lower and wider, and probably with straight-through sides.
This would have been the year to cut a deal with AMC: they make the Clipper based on Rambler, Packard makes the Hornet and Ambassador based on new Packard. Love without marriage, all ships rise with the improved economies of scale and all kings remain ruler of their kingdom.
I may have shown this before but here is example of '56 Clipper sourced from AMC. Has 9 inch longer axle-dash per '58 Ambassador. Would run with AMC's biggest OHV Six and possibly Packard's smallest V8 as option. Roll down rear backlight per Rambler prototype except with a slightly wider C-pillar to package it so that heads would not hit it in a rear-ender. Clipper boomerang rear fenders and side trim. Packard's dealers would have needed such a volume car, assuming it sold well. '58 Ambassador was middling in sales but it only came with a V8. I suspect that the compact market, even for near luxury appointments, was after a reasonable level of economy.
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"...suggest the trailing edge of the front doors be extended to eliminate the double gap..."
I left the body insert between front and rear doors alone, assumption being that it would have been too expensive to redesign. Might have been doable but would have involved tear-up to many parts. Most cost-effective approach arguably would have been to save the money for the next full redesign, 1956 the suggested year. That theoretical car, btw, would have probably included several design cues that we see on the '55 Seniors including cathedral taillights and hooded headlights. The cars would have been longer, lower and wider, and probably with straight-through sides.
This would have been the year to cut a deal with AMC: they make the Clipper based on Rambler, Packard makes the Hornet and Ambassador based on new Packard. Love without marriage, all ships rise with the improved economies of scale and all kings remain ruler of their kingdom.
I may have shown this before but here is example of '56 Clipper sourced from AMC. Has 9 inch longer axle-dash per '58 Ambassador. Would run with AMC's biggest OHV Six and possibly Packard's smallest V8 as option. Roll down rear backlight per Rambler prototype except with a slightly wider C-pillar to package it so that heads would not hit it in a rear-ender. Clipper boomerang rear fenders and side trim. Packard's dealers would have needed such a volume car, assuming it sold well. '58 Ambassador was middling in sales but it only came with a V8. I suspect that the compact market, even for near luxury appointments, was after a reasonable level of economy.
Attach file:
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