Re: Packard & Hudson proximity

Posted by 58L8134 On 2014/8/23 14:15:31

Hi

Interesting discussion.

"Chapin talked about the need to get out of the Hudson Jefferson plant. He said it had workflow issues, the union was agressive and the plant itself had not been maintained for 10, maybe 20, years and was in very poor material condition."

One wonders how badly neglected the Hudson Jefferson Plant was by '53. If it was badly and a Packard and Hudson merger had been done in late 1953, most of the next year would have been occupied with renovating the body plant portion, unless it was a separate building. In the meantime, short-term leasing Connor Avenue only to continue body production for a year or so while consolidating assembly of both Packards and Hudsons at EGB would have been optimum. Issues of who owned what machines and tooling would have been wrangled out with Chrylser. Stamping presses they would have kepted; Contour body dies, jigs and fixtures were of no use to them.

Considering what Hudson was bringing to the table, the Step-down body was obsolete, therefore a badge-engineered Hudson based on the Contour body was the best course available for 1955-57. Hudson engineering knowledge for lowered body construction was a valuable asset for future all-new '57-'58 models. In my postings above, I had dismissed the L-head sixes as over with, though have given that a re-think after running the percentages of Hudson sixes sold in 1955 and 1956. Turns out Hudson loyalist preferred them 69% for '55, and 55% for 1956 in their "Hash" Hornets and Wasps.

While 1954 seems to be the end of the medium and upper-medium priced six cylinder market, Hudson and Nash proved there was still some steady demand for them. Chrysler and DeSoto had run off their last Windsor and Powermaster sixes respectively by year end. In the lower-middle, Pontiac bid adeiu to it's L-head sixes along with the straight eight. That left Dodge to soldier on against Statesmans and Wasps. It's an indication of the type customers for Dodges that the flamboyantly styled Forward Look Coronets could still be had with a 230 ci L-head six. As a way to update the Hornet/Wasp L-heads, perhaps a conversion to F-head or OHV could have been affected. By the 1960's, if Hudson Wasp was to effectively compete with Big Three full-sized six cylinder models, an OHV unit was de riguer.

It would have made more sense for Packard to acquire Hudson for development into its volume medium-priced line rather than continue with Clipper. In addition to being long established with a solid customer base and dealer network, the greatest advantage would have been to allow the Packard to be luxury-priced models only. The entry-level Packard models for '55-'56 still would have been built on the 122" wb body, renamed Packard Executive as '56, priced at $3,400-$3,600. This would have opened the $2,600-$3,200 segment to be covered by Wasp and Hornet also on the 122" wb platform. A 262 ci six Wasp for priceleaders, 308 ci six Hornets as mid-range and 320 ci V8 Commodores topping off, the next price step for the upcoming young executive being a Packard appropriately named.

For 1957-'58 on into the '60's, Packard was developing a perimeter frame for their new Predictor-style cars (detailed in The Cormorant over the last few years) which would have given them body architecture consistent with the Big Three. Given that tooling amortization over a range of models was necessary to every manufacturer, a Hudson-Packard model line-up would have nicely competed with Olds 88 through Cadillac Fleetwood. Although there were unibody advantages for smaller cars, the body-on-frame lent the greatest flexibility for wheelbase lengths and body configurations. Everything from a 122" wb Wasp to a 145" wb Packard Dietrich Limousine and all appropriate lengths in between, modeled on the GM B and C body program were just what they need to compete.

Of Studebaker: I could get banished from the Studebaker websites for writing this but the other independents should have stood by while the South Bend company collapsed of its own mismanagement and intractable problems. This would likely have taken place in the 1957-'58 recession. With their bankruptcy, the useful assets such as the Chippewa plant, engine foundry, perhaps V8 tooling and truck-line could have been acquired by either Packard-Hudson or Nash. The foundry cast AMC blocks after Studebaker car production ended, the Chippewa plant continued with Kaiser-Jeep and eventually AM General. There was also a skilled workforce, who with an industry-parity labor contract , might have been the ideal place to produce Packard Diesel engines for the trucking and heavy equipment makers.

Steve