Re: Your Opinion Whether the New '57 Packard Vertical Grille Would Have Been a Marketing Hit?

Posted by Mr.Pushbutton  On 2009/12/29 14:06:08

Firedome--It is important to realize that Dick Teague never had had the deep pockets that a Virgil Exner (in whose styling department Dick worked after Packard, he arrived while Exner was recovering from his heart attack and left shortly after he came back) or a Harley Earl had, Dick was very creative in working around someone else's platform, underbody or whatever other crutch he was saddled with. As for those AMC products, the Gremlin, Pacer and other models were what the boss wanted, and what the marketing department dictated. They sold in the hundreds of thousands, so someone liked them enough to sign on the line.
I think that the vertical grille was a bit much, and another revolving example of how vestigial styling elements are thrown at "modern" (meaning current styles of the moment) by the marketing department or dealers--to whit: Vinyl tops. These began in the 60s, and on the square cars of that era were OK, they were really popular in the 70s and stuck around in the 80s as cars became even more boxier. Lincoln had those faux-convertible tops on the Town cars of that era. I thought that some of the more pleasing designs of the early 90s had been designed so that you couldn't put a vinyl roof on them, like the Chrysler LH cars. The dealers proved the stylists wrong, and did it anyhow, wheter it looked good or not. If there is money to be made, the dealer will do it.

Everything else about the '57 Packards pointed toward a contemporary automobile. The vertical grille is just the wrong shape on the right form, long and low--all horizontal motifs, the mode of the day. Had they been built I think they would have stood up well to the competition, I like the basket handle fin, although that would have been hell to manufacture. It stands out as different. One thing is for certain: a '57 Packard would have had a structurally superior body to any '57 Mopar product, that year began their entry into the dark ages of Chrysler body building, which lasted unitl Iacocca brought talent from Ford to tell them "you can't do it that way".

The history of American cars is dotted with these vestigial elements that won't go away fast enough, or when they should:
"Continental" bumps on Lincoln trunks
diecast "Portholes" on Buicks
Vinyl roofs on everything
chrome plated (plastic) "grilles" that resemble 1920s "form follows function radiator grilles/enclosures
Wooden artillery wheels--these persisted into the mid 1930s, long after the all-steel wheel was the way to go.

The oldtimers want something comfy that reminds them of the good ol' days. Ii have a lot of respect for a company that says "this is how a car should look NOW", like the Ford Tarus or the current Cadillacs. GM realized that if they wanted their product to appeal to someone ten years younger they better not make them all comfy-old-y, and for them it's working.