Re: The Sudden End of the Detroit Packards

Posted by Dave Brownell On 2014/1/24 18:53:55

It might have been more appropriate to compare the demise of the Detroit Packards with Plymouth, Pontiac, Saturn and Oldsmobile, rather than SAAB. But the same uncertainty that was going around with East Grand and Conner Packard employees was evident in the quiet factory in Trollhatten, waiting for a Chinese White Knight to come in and rescue a fine brand.

The rapidity of Packard's closing down their Detroit operations was shocking for me. Thousands of jobs suddenly gone, troves of parts and records destroyed and still 1,700 new cars (mine included) waiting to be shipped to dealers who dreaded what the next step might be. All while the other independents were desperately looking for sales just as GM and Ford were dealing with their own sales downturns by dumping their cars. Thank goodness for Ford taking in many loyal, quality workers from Packard. Those, like Bob Aller, who welcomed any port in a storm, looked forward to furthering their careers with the new Edsel brand, only to watch it crash while Henry II blamed James Nance for a second failure.

The personalities of Nance, GM's Charlie Wilson, George Romney and Robert McNamara all played their parts, too. As far as business schools, I would hope that the lesson of checking the books of a potential purchase like Studebaker is stressed with the new MBAs. Without that millstone, we might have seen a few more years of big Packards coming out of Detroit.