Re: Great Packards

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2008/12/13 10:40:59

There were the usual number of comparisons in Motor Trend and other publications of the time, some of the comparisons have been posted here and there on this site from time to time, but perhaps someone will come along and refresh the information. I also believe there were some more current comparisons, perhaps in SIA.

My view is that Imperial and Cadillac were already in the luxury market that Packard had pretty much forfeited postwar with perhaps the exception of the 48-50 Customs. Thus all they had to do was to maintain their position, a lot cheaper than having to build up to it, and of course they had the luxury of being able to afford a low volume "loss leader" to maintain their cache. But Packard had to spend money which they didn't have a lot of to climb back into that market. It was a noble effort, the V8 Patricians and 400s were not quite a match for the Imperials and Cadillacs, but nevertheless closely approached the competition. The Caribbean convertibles were particulary well-positioned as Imperial didn't even have a convertible (except for the single one built for Keller). As far as styling pizzas goes, that's subjective but I think the Packard exceeded the Cadillac and Imperial unless you were ultra-conservative in your tastes. Packard tried to do a lot all at once, sort of a last-gasp, to quickly reenter the market that had previously forsaken; they got very close indeed even with an older body shell. The restyle of the 51-54 body shell was nothing more than spectacular. But the build quality was no longer there, and the stunning engineering achievements a bit less than totally refined. In the end, a very commendable and noble effort which I believe is one reason why we love these cars.

Anyway, that's my view.