Re: Article on development plans for Packard plant

Posted by Craig the Clipper Man On 2013/7/17 8:02:46

Interesting article, but I have a lot of doubts about its likelihood of completion. It begs the question -- where is the $350 million going to come from? And 15 years is a veritable eternity in terms of a development project, likely to be left blowing in the winds of bureaucratic storms and impatient investors.

I also have my doubts about the structural integrity of the plant. From all that I have read and from the photos I have seen, the overall state of the structures are poor. Sinking millions into their restoration could be like pouring water through a sieve. Just like trying to figure the costs of restoring a car at the beginning of the project are invariably low, it is likely that the developer's figures are similarly low. Who is going to pick up the tab when the project exceeds the its budget?

Finally, I think it is doubtful that the name Packard has the same recognition as Coca-Cola. You can buy Coke at any 7-Eleven or gas station; you only see Packards on the road now and then and at car shows. It has been 55 years since the last car bearing the name Packard rolled off an assembly line, which means that most people who can recognize a Packard are either over 70 years old or are afficionados such as ourselves. Who among us has not been asked, "What brand of car is that?" and upon answering is followed by "Who built it?"

There was a time when Buster Brown shoes and Burma Shave were household names. Not anymore. In an age in which people can't remember who was president before Clinton and the origins of the term "doozy," how does Mr. Hults expect folks to remember Packard as a popular brand of automobile? I am surprised that even Mr. Hults remembers to brand, since it closed down production in Detroit the same year he was born.