Re: What if Packard developed an overhead cam short stroke straight eight?

Posted by Craig the Clipper Man On 2014/3/3 9:29:38

I think this is a fascinating question, but the problem would have been Packard's place in the automotive industry. The engine you are talking about is would have been perceived more as a racing engine, possibly for use in Indy cars of that time. Packard was considered a luxury car manufacturer with literally no background in racing.

The comment about the tires is valid, as would be the issues of the transmission, brakes, and suspension. We all know that the Ultramatic was not particularly capable of handing very high torque, so what would be the solution? Ditch it in favor of a manual transmission at a time when the automatic was increasingly desireable? Not likely, particularly after all of the time, money and resources Packard had expended in developing such a transmission. Packard had to modify the Ultramatic to accomodate its new V-8 in 1955.

Another problem I see is the fact that the straight eight was pretty much running out of time by the late 1940s/early 1950s. Bringing out a new, high-powered inline eight could possibly be met by skepticism and possibly even confusion. It would have been similar to Chevrolet countering the Ford Boss 302 Mustang with a dual overhead cam straight six. It may have matched the Mustang in performance, but I am sure it would have flopped in perception and sales.

The best thing Packard could have done, in my humble opinion, would have been to have brought out an overhead valve V-8 in 1947 and beefed up its Ultramatic ASAP so that by 1949, the company would have been ahead of the Detroit curve, especially if it added air conditioning as standard equipment. That would have driven Cadillac nuts!

There are a lot of advantages that a V-8 has over a straight eight. Don't get me wrong, I like the straight eight. But it is extremely difficult to change the public's perception of what is antiquated and what is modern. I think Packard's management would have been aware of that fact.