Re: new guy questions

Posted by Loyd Smith On 2008/8/21 13:54:54

HH56 wrote: "I must say, that is a different looking car. Somehow, I just can't see it as official. Would have thought the average cash strapped PD would have chosen a Clipper--unless the local Packard dealer was the chiefs brother in law or something."

I never saw a Packard police car. Back in the late '40s and early '50s I remember that nearly every large PD in the country had the, "bathtub," Nashes. Don't know why but have always suspected that Nash-Kelvinator must've had a bang-up fleet sales program in those days. Remember that, somewhere around '57 or '58, the Sheriff's department out in West Texas where I lived had Buicks for a year or so. That was unusual enough that it caused much local comment. I've heard that in the '20s and '30s a lot of large PDs liked V8 Lincolns and know that, at the time of the St.Valentines Day massacre, the Chicago PD used a lot of open bodied LaSalles.

Interesting, however. Could've been a Chief's car, maybe personally owned - or more likely something that somebody saw and thought would make a quality advertisement for the PD and the, "D.A.R.E." program.