Re: 1953/4 Caribbean 4-door hardtop sedan exploration
Posted by Mahoning63 On 2020/4/19 16:21:53
Steve did a fabulous job dissecting 1954, the first year Packard lost lots of money as a result of Nance's decisions. In hindsight he invested in the wrong things IMHO.
"It's the greenhouse, stupid!" is the first remark I wish someone would have left on his desk in May, 1952 when he arrived, referring to need for pillared sedans with hardtop appearance. He should have had a 127 wheelbase model readied for Spring, 1953. He would not have know this in late '52 when the plan came together but its timing would have been perfect, arriving just as the market began to tank and giving Packard a needed edge against the competition. He also needed to get as much of these new parts into the 1954 Clipper sedan.
"It's also the rear deck length and overhang!" should have been scribbled on the flip-side of the note, pointing to Cadillac CdV and 60 Special. If Nance was really serious about Packard being seen as "the best, Mister" then he needed to take this action for 1954, improving on his flagship pillared hardtop sedan and adding a coupe and convertible.
"Is all this enough for people to take notice of Packard? Haven't seen a front end drawing of the above proposed car. But isn't the public going to think this Packard is just pedaling last years cars for 1955 with straight 8's as obsolete tech?"
Lincoln sales dropped from 37,000 to 27,000 for 1955 on carryover "old" styling. Packard would have had a V8, Twin-Ultramatic and Torsion-Level to sell that year so maybe they could have broken even or eked out a small profit. There were many ways Nance could have played 1955 once he got news from Colbert that he needed to be out of Conner end of 1954. Leasing was probably what Colbert hoped for but Nance could have also merged with Nash and shared its body, or merged with Hudson and developed a new body on Step-Down, deferring the V8 to 1956.
Below is a collage of the major body shells offered that year and the volumes that each enjoyed. Look at the differences in scale! I have included the Italia X-161 to show potential of new tophat on largely carried over Step-Down underbody. Have changed the car to unify the split windshield, remove the black stripe on hood and roof and change Spring's odd headlight/brake vent ensemble to a conventional arrangement, all so that you will take the car more seriously. Hudson and Packard collectively sold 250,000 cars in 1949 so it is not inconceivable that this new body could have found 100-150K buyers spread between the two brands in 1955, increasing in 1956 with intro of V8 family.
"...Christopher stuck with the straight eight because Buick was sticking with the straight eight. In the same vein because Buick was developing Dynaflow, Christopher had Packard develop Ultramatic."
That's a very interesting theory. If true I wish Christopher would have gone all in and converted the Eights to OHVs to keep them competitive longer.
"A step toward that for '54 could have been a Studebaker-like tilt to the front door vent wing while leaving the windshield alone"
Nice job with the mod, would have been an easy change. By 1955 the greenhouse was old and stale and should have never been included in the '55 major refresh in either Clipper or Patrician form. Packard got away with it for '55 but it blew up in Nance's face in '56 with intro of SdV, Imperial 4-door hardtop and new Lincolns. The sedans needed to be pillared hardtops at minimum and Patrician needed to have Four Hundred's trunk volume, which means it probably needed to sit on a 132 wheelbase.
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"It's the greenhouse, stupid!" is the first remark I wish someone would have left on his desk in May, 1952 when he arrived, referring to need for pillared sedans with hardtop appearance. He should have had a 127 wheelbase model readied for Spring, 1953. He would not have know this in late '52 when the plan came together but its timing would have been perfect, arriving just as the market began to tank and giving Packard a needed edge against the competition. He also needed to get as much of these new parts into the 1954 Clipper sedan.
"It's also the rear deck length and overhang!" should have been scribbled on the flip-side of the note, pointing to Cadillac CdV and 60 Special. If Nance was really serious about Packard being seen as "the best, Mister" then he needed to take this action for 1954, improving on his flagship pillared hardtop sedan and adding a coupe and convertible.
"Is all this enough for people to take notice of Packard? Haven't seen a front end drawing of the above proposed car. But isn't the public going to think this Packard is just pedaling last years cars for 1955 with straight 8's as obsolete tech?"
Lincoln sales dropped from 37,000 to 27,000 for 1955 on carryover "old" styling. Packard would have had a V8, Twin-Ultramatic and Torsion-Level to sell that year so maybe they could have broken even or eked out a small profit. There were many ways Nance could have played 1955 once he got news from Colbert that he needed to be out of Conner end of 1954. Leasing was probably what Colbert hoped for but Nance could have also merged with Nash and shared its body, or merged with Hudson and developed a new body on Step-Down, deferring the V8 to 1956.
Below is a collage of the major body shells offered that year and the volumes that each enjoyed. Look at the differences in scale! I have included the Italia X-161 to show potential of new tophat on largely carried over Step-Down underbody. Have changed the car to unify the split windshield, remove the black stripe on hood and roof and change Spring's odd headlight/brake vent ensemble to a conventional arrangement, all so that you will take the car more seriously. Hudson and Packard collectively sold 250,000 cars in 1949 so it is not inconceivable that this new body could have found 100-150K buyers spread between the two brands in 1955, increasing in 1956 with intro of V8 family.
"...Christopher stuck with the straight eight because Buick was sticking with the straight eight. In the same vein because Buick was developing Dynaflow, Christopher had Packard develop Ultramatic."
That's a very interesting theory. If true I wish Christopher would have gone all in and converted the Eights to OHVs to keep them competitive longer.
"A step toward that for '54 could have been a Studebaker-like tilt to the front door vent wing while leaving the windshield alone"
Nice job with the mod, would have been an easy change. By 1955 the greenhouse was old and stale and should have never been included in the '55 major refresh in either Clipper or Patrician form. Packard got away with it for '55 but it blew up in Nance's face in '56 with intro of SdV, Imperial 4-door hardtop and new Lincolns. The sedans needed to be pillared hardtops at minimum and Patrician needed to have Four Hundred's trunk volume, which means it probably needed to sit on a 132 wheelbase.
Attach file:
(138.14 KB)
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