Re: The Packard Request

Posted by John McCall and Mitch Parker On 2016/9/18 9:09:01

I am so glad that my query has garnered so many interesting responses, although I am not sure how we digressed to Packard's air conditioning system vs. rival Cadillac. However,I have gotten a great deal of education!

My response to Mr. Foster's observations on the styling of the Request, as sent to Hemmings is:

Well, it had to finally happen. It is the first time I can ever remember disagreeing with the erudite writings of Pat Foster. Despite this friendly difference of opinion, he remains a true credit to the magazine. Mr. Foster's treatise on "Packard Styling" [pg. 45 of the November, 2016 issue] is actually on-target with what Packard might have considered in the final restyling of the Detroit-built Packards from 1951-56. Too, Richard Teague was certainly one of the most ingenious automotive stylists ever and his restyling of John Reinhart's original 1951 Packard was right in step with the longer-and-wider look demanded in the showrooms. However--to me--his Packard Request was not. Talk about "tacked on." I dare anyone to say anything further about the dual headlight pods on the later offerings of Studebaker-Packard in 1958!

The addition of a classic Packard grille, tandem with pseudo Buick inboard parking light housings looks foreign and very much an afterthought on an otherwise beautifully styled senior hardtop. Remember, until 1955 Packard didn't offer a senior hardtop on the longer wheelbase. With Packard's innovative "plastic tooling" the company was finally able to turn out a real contender to Cadillac's less than lithe Coupe de Ville. The 1955-56 Packard grilles are a variation on the old Packard theme: the cusps are still there, as is the arc at center, yet they scream mid-1950's, and that was good for those who planned to "Ask the man who owns one." Had Packard really looked at what Mercedes was fashioning with their clay models, they would have discovered that an upright grille was the very basis of the cowl line's shape, the resulting hood, and the way the rest of the front end followed in concept. It was an approach much akin to the teachings of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It was organic.

I think Teague himself would have agreed with me. The Request project was essentially a rush job, allowing scant time to do anything but place a classic grille on little else than an otherwise stock Packard front end. With more time, a truly unique-in-the-marketplace model might have resulted, and as Mr. Foster points out, it could have fostered Packard's attainment of a banner sales year.