Re: Packard wins Best of Show at Pebble Beach

Posted by Craig the Clipper Man On 2013/8/19 12:39:06
Nice car, I guess. Too bad we'll never see this one actually driving on tours or anything like that. Chances are its owner keeps it in a hermetically sealed, climate-controlled environment and requires those who are special enough to don special suits to avoid any possible contamination. I suppose these cars have to be able to start and drive a few feet in order to qualify in these beauty shows.

The problem I have with Pebble Beach and other Concourse de Oever-Extravagance is that they lead a lot of people to believe that car collecting is confined to the ultra rich and unobtainable for regular working stiffs. These super cars represent a rarified niche and are not treated anything like the cars they were meant to be. Augie Duesenberg told people that he was uncomfortable with the Model J's he was producing under his name. He and his brother Fred had been top-notch mechanics and did not see themselves as a part of the elite society that purchased Duesenbergs.

This Packard Twelve was a great automobile and it was meant to be driven. A couple of guys in local Packard clubs have Twelves of this era and definitely drive them. One, in fact, took part in the Lincoln Highway Tour in Nebraska. I am sure that the owner of the one in the Concourse would shudder to think of his 100-point car actually driving along down a real asphalt highway, risking being hit by debris or bird droppings.

When I think about it, I kind of feel sorry for that Packard. It exists in an unnatural environment, is untouchable, rarely (if ever) driven, and exists solely to embelish its owner's grandiose ego and to eventually be resold to another "collector" for an astronomical price. It is, comparatively speaking, like the perfect trophy wife who exists to be beautiful, but no one cares much about whether she has anything to say.

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