Re: V8 Model Production Figures

Posted by BH On 2010/2/21 9:28:17

In the absence of bona fide factory doucmentation, sometimes all we have is the consensus of popular belief.

Packard production figures have been cited in several marque-specific books over the decades. Among the many paublications and papers left in a box in the trunk of my Caribbean (by the PO, from his membership with PI back in the early 1970s) was a single sheet of some very basic specs and production figures on postwar models. Credit for that compilation was given to George Hamlin. Yet, I don't recall anyone specifiying an absolute source in any of these instances.

When I ran into conflicting numbers in researching content for the Model Info pages for 55-56 and 57-58, I generally opted for the number that appeared most often. I tend to take third-party info with grain of salt. Also, each time information is transcribed or retyped, there's a possiblility of making a mistake. Heck, I am a damned lousy typist, myself.

Now, someone has come forth with the closest thing we've seen to prima facia evidence that disputes some of the figures, as published, and we can correct some errors, here.

The two figures that I corrected appear to be errors of transposition. They could have been made in a moment of dyslexia and could have been missed by readers suffering from same.

However, it's a minor point that wouldn't the selection and enjoyment of of one's own Packard.