Re: Why Trim Differences on Clipper

Posted by BH On 2012/6/5 17:28:01

Well, compared to the Patrician and Four Hundred, the Executive is a bit plebian (pun intended), but we have to keep in mind that it was meant to be an entry-level Pacakrd.

So, I can't fault Packard too much, as Clipper Custom ended when Exec production commenced. Essentially, the Exec used the same interior as Custom (which was similar in pattern to what Mercury had been using) - save for a few Senior embellishments to the steering column and instrument panel controls/trim. I love that gold i/p overlay, but the Clipper "acorn" knobs help set it apart from the full Seniors.

Was recently talking with my dad about that car, and he confessed that he sometimes wondered if he should have had orderd power seats/windows and air conditining (something his cars wouldn't until have 20 years later). If you look at the list of equipment shown in the Reg, compared to the RPO charts, that would have been one very optioned up car. Also, he wouldn't have power steering in his cars for almost another 15 years - didn't like the feel of it.

Given the failure rate of those Delco electric window motors, I told him that he probably made the right decision for his purposes, but - present parts availability aside - I don't think he would have liked the trade-off in performance with the added weight/load of the AC system.

My apologies if I've drifted too far off-topic.