Re: Master Motor Builders

Posted by Steve203 On 2014/9/15 10:55:11

Vincent's sway with the Board of Directors and the amount of autonomy granted to him which he used to pursue his other interests.


That thought crossed my mind, but I couldn't believe that Macauley would spend that kind of money indulging Vincent's whims. But maybe so. Maybe the company, at that early stage, was already so infected with hubris, that they felt they could fund such unfocused, random, work.

The money spent on the Indy 500 in 23. Purely a publicity stunt. Developing an engine with no commercial application. Fielding three cars, and all three failed to finish the race. Then they drop Indy racing.

Financing two different sets of 1300cuin diesels for Jessie's yacht, along with several other diesel models, then dropping development entirely.

They spend a fortune on the DR980, then, with all the big expenses behind them, they drop it. Meanwhile tiny Guiberson starts developing an engine very much like the DR980, hangs with it and the engine finds a home in a few thousand Stuart tanks during the war, more engines than Guiberson could produce so production was licensed to Buda.

Developing products for other markets, using the foundries and machine shops Packard already had, would be a good move. Unfocused tinkering, not so much.