Re: IMHO, the 1950s Packard designs have held up well...

Posted by 55PackardGuy On 2008/10/28 22:27:10

Interesting tidbit on the old complaint about the "Reinhart High-Pockets" design which influenced Packard styling from '51 to '56. He didn't like it. He wanted to lower the beltline another inch and a half back with the original design changes in '51, saying that it was "bottom-heavy." (He's quoted in Kimes, page 546) "I wasn't particularly happy with it, but then I hated every design I ever made anyway. You never get what you really want..."

Spoken like a true engineer: compromise. The story was that sheet metal tooling wasn't a problem but the cost of glass was, hence the higher beltline with a proportionately lower "greenhouse."

I think the effect is quite striking--more so on the '51-'54 because of a 'chopped' look that results. Also, when they could refrain from chrome spears to give the appearance of "sleekness" the Reinhart cars had that wonderful "slab-sided" look like the Caribbean. Hollywood liked it, and even gave 'em an award for the "Most Beautiful Car In the World" in 1951 from the Society of Motion Picture Art Directors. So, why weren't they prominent in more movies? Often, especially in older pictures, you can tell what company supplied the cars because there were several of the latest models in scene after scene. I wonder if Packard didn't want to play ball with that for some reason.