Re: If you are under sixty, how did you get interested in Packards?

Posted by Rich Bishop On 2012/10/28 22:38:36

I had some $ to spend and was looking primarily at Lincolns and Fords, Pontiacs.

I nearly bought a '59 Lincoln, a 56 Starchief (after the Lincoln measured out too large for any garage near me, and I really was hoping for a 56 Fairlane Victoria Sedan but it sold before I had cash in hand, so the'53 Packard Clipper came across my eyes and the price was very affordable compared to everything else I saw, it was a sedan which I needed because I wanted to be able to easily travel with kids (my wife was about to give birth to our first child) and after researching Packards (via this site and specifically the blog post from Ken's 53 Clipper), We chose the Clipper and the rest is history.

After that, I knew kind of wanted a 120 next, which I bought earlier this year. I do like other makes but I feel that the Packard name, build quality/price and relative ease of replacement parts combined with the fact that they are just rare enough to not be seen everywhere but not so rare that you'll never get parts-all of that keeps me interested in Packards. The knowledge and passion of the older folks is what really endures me to know more and I hope to be a conservator of these cars as the Packard owner population ages. Really, all we are is conservators, all of us. You can't take a car with you when you die. And a car is either going to be loved and presrved or its going to get parted/scrapped and cease to exist. I mlove Packards and am trying to pass that love to my son who is now 2. We have names for our cars, "Virginia" is my '53 and "Josephine" is my '40. We call her "Jo" and my son walks up to the cars when he comes to the garage and fake kisses them, so maybe something is sticking!?!?!?!