Re: What SINGLE factor MOST contributed to the demise of Packard?

Posted by Rusty O\'Toole On 2013/10/19 13:33:32

When you look at the above figures certain things leap out at you.

- Packard started off strongly in the post war period. They got off to a good start in the reconversion year of 1946 then hit their stride with the 1947s

- The 1948 restyle of the prewar Clipper body was well received with sales more than double the previous year.

- 1949 and 1950 were not so stellar. This was typical of the times. You had to have a new style to catch the public eye. Sales would drop off from a third to a half in the second year, no matter how good the car.

- 1951 with an all new car, and high sales again, although not as good as 1948. I suspect this was because the new Packard looked too much like the 1948 Cadillac and Futuramic Oldsmobile. In other words the style was up to date but broke no new ground, it was good enough but not exciting enough to make buyers break out their cheque books. By this time Cadillac, Olds, and Chrysler all had new OHV V8s, all selling against Packard.

- Subsequent years sales were less as might be expected. 1953 surprisingly good, but look at 1954. The now 4 year old body and lack of a V8 are telling.

- 1955 sales with the new V8 and restyled body almost double 1954 but still much lower than 1948 and 1951. In fact the trend is to lower highs and lower lows all along. 1948 was the peak of sales, after that Packard slowly lost ground. 1953 was the last decent year for sales.

- 1956 down again. By this time they must be deep in the red. Last year for real Packards

- 1957 and 58, the Packardbaker years. A rear guard action selling dressed up Studebakers. Sales so low they probably did not recoup the trivial tooling expense of turning Studebakers into Packards.

When I look at these figures it seems the real turning point was the 1948 - 51 period. This is the last time they had any real financial strength. This is when they were planning and developing the cars they were to build from 1951 on.

If they had not stuck with the 51 body so long, if they had restyled it more comprehensively in 52 and 53 then had an all new car in 54, if they had an OHV V8 4 years sooner things might have been different.

As it is they rested on their laurels too long and did not move with the times. For a while they got away with it, there were enough loyal Packard customers to keep them going, but they did not realize the general public saw them and their cars as out of date and obsolete.

When they finally pulled their finger out and gave the car buying public something really new and sensational it was too late. Nobody was interested.

And by that time they had dissipated their capital to the point that everything depended on that one roll of the dice. When it came up snake eyes they were through.