Re: Hudson X-161 as basis for '55 Packard
Posted by Mahoning63 On 2019/8/9 16:16:57
Hudson pricing would have been in traditional Hornet range with 308 Six, a rung higher with optional Utica-built 320 V8. Decision of continuing 5 inch shorter-hooded Wasp version would have come down to investment affordability and marketability, Wasp sales deteriorating somewhat in 1954. Those cars ran with a 232 and 262 Sixes and all Hudsons were flat heads.
Packard pricing would have started in '55 Packard Executive range, powered by the 260 HP 352 V8. Torsion-Level could have been a Packard exclusive and standard equipment, one of its "pluses" over Hudson. Other Packard-only features could have included a 4-way power front seat and higher end radio. Interiors would have been generally nicer than Hudson and the highest level trim, the Caribbean, could have featured beautifully crafted leather, broad cloth or a combo, artfully wrapping a pair of Frank Spring-designed individual contoured bucket seats, between them a nice center console with storage. Other Caribbean exclusives would have been the 275 HP V8 and striking two-tone paint separated by the side trim.
To save on investment both cars could have used common door sets and as Steve mentioned, styling across the board needed to be refined to optimal state. Spring's gorpy theme survived only because Barit left him alone as consolation for Jet meddling and because Italia was not a volume car and Hornet Italia was just a prototype. No doubt Barit would have resumed his snoopervising had a mass production body been developed. In the end, thankfully it would have been Nance and his team who had final say on styling, because Nance would have been running the company and would have known full well that a Hudson failure would have meant corporate failure.
The real test of this proposed strategy is how the cars would have stacked up against the competition in 1957 and 58, because there would likely not have been an all-new design until 1959 or 1960. With 14 inch wheels the P-H cars' overall height would have been reduced to around 57.5 inches, right in the thick of it. Length that would have started to hold Packard back, being around 215 inches. But then again, Packard (and Hudson) need not have danced to Detroit's traditional tune, instead establishing a middle position between Cadillac/Lincoln/Imperial and Mercedes-Benz. That long range strategy, more than anything else, would have helped Packard be with us still, imho.
Here's a look with common doors including beltline kick-up, which Hudson needed. I didn't know what to do with those silly Italia headlights so I hid them like Cord and got rid of the brake vents above them.
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Packard pricing would have started in '55 Packard Executive range, powered by the 260 HP 352 V8. Torsion-Level could have been a Packard exclusive and standard equipment, one of its "pluses" over Hudson. Other Packard-only features could have included a 4-way power front seat and higher end radio. Interiors would have been generally nicer than Hudson and the highest level trim, the Caribbean, could have featured beautifully crafted leather, broad cloth or a combo, artfully wrapping a pair of Frank Spring-designed individual contoured bucket seats, between them a nice center console with storage. Other Caribbean exclusives would have been the 275 HP V8 and striking two-tone paint separated by the side trim.
To save on investment both cars could have used common door sets and as Steve mentioned, styling across the board needed to be refined to optimal state. Spring's gorpy theme survived only because Barit left him alone as consolation for Jet meddling and because Italia was not a volume car and Hornet Italia was just a prototype. No doubt Barit would have resumed his snoopervising had a mass production body been developed. In the end, thankfully it would have been Nance and his team who had final say on styling, because Nance would have been running the company and would have known full well that a Hudson failure would have meant corporate failure.
The real test of this proposed strategy is how the cars would have stacked up against the competition in 1957 and 58, because there would likely not have been an all-new design until 1959 or 1960. With 14 inch wheels the P-H cars' overall height would have been reduced to around 57.5 inches, right in the thick of it. Length that would have started to hold Packard back, being around 215 inches. But then again, Packard (and Hudson) need not have danced to Detroit's traditional tune, instead establishing a middle position between Cadillac/Lincoln/Imperial and Mercedes-Benz. That long range strategy, more than anything else, would have helped Packard be with us still, imho.
Here's a look with common doors including beltline kick-up, which Hudson needed. I didn't know what to do with those silly Italia headlights so I hid them like Cord and got rid of the brake vents above them.
Attach file:
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