Re: Continuing the Packard

Posted by 58L8134 On 2012/9/4 12:05:22

Hi

Following up on post #2, here's my take on who would be the head of the combined corporation and it's division leaders, plus a bit of explanation on choices and caveats.

Corporate President/CEO: Joseph Frazer

Packard-Hudson Division President: James Nance

Nash Rambler-Studebaker Division President: George Romney
Truck-South Bend Division: Harold Churchill

Why Joseph Frazer? Assuming George Mason suddenly passed away, and given the animus of Nance and Romney, the corporation primary need was a leader with deep industry experience and an objective position regarding his division heads. Romney had only about six-seven years actually in active auto company management by '55. Nance, as we know, was a complete greenhorn whose strength was product development/content/sales, badly lacking in manufacturing and finance. He could be developed in the position with considerable oversight by an experience manager.

Yes, Joseph Frazer, late of Kaiser-Frazer, was the other half of that company for a while. As background, he divorced himself from active management in a 1948 show-down over Henry Kaiser's plan to gear up for 1949 production of 200K units. Frazer, in the auto industry since 1912, understood if one's company had no new models in the face of all-new competition, one always retrenched, took the defensive course. To which HJK bellowed "The Kaisers never retrench!", which given his greater financial share of K-F made his plan final. To make 200K unit year happen, HJK wanted Frazer to sign on for millions more in loans float the company through as well as front the Henry J and new '51 body development costs as well. Frazer foresaw Henry's plan as a roadmap for a sales disaster resulting in major losses which ultimately it did, had staked most of his personal fortune just to get the company going. For HJK, the auto venture wasn't much more than a sidetrack fascination, wouldn't leave him broke if it failed. The upshot was Frazer resigned as president to be replace by Edgar Kaiser, who turned out to be the Nance of K-F. Frazer was put on a sales consultancy contract which ended in 1952 when he was still in his later 50's, time enough to assume another key position with an independent automaker. There may have been other men with auto industry experience available and willing within the Big Three as well.

In the near-term 1954-60, the managerial acumen of both Romney and Nance were needed by their respective divisions to navigate the choppy waters that were a rapidly changing market. While Romney was up to the task, Nance still had to be coached along, which Frazer could have done very well. If either balked at a being just a division head, Frazer would have done well to replace him with a candidate immediately underneath whose skills demonstrated he would be a good division leader.

For the Studebaker Truck/South Bend Foundry Division, Harold Churchill would have been the ideal choice having deep familiarity experience with those functions.

Next, further comments on models selection and engines, various details presented here.

Steve