Quote:
58L8134 wrote:
Hi Steve203
The same gambit was being tried on the Packard-Clipper Division, B-W had developed a heavier duty version of the basic Ford-O-Matic, named Turbo-Drive which took the place of Hydramatic in the 1955 Lincoln. After some initial teething problems, it developed into a serviceable unit used in Lincolns into the 1960's. As Lincoln's volume ranged around 25K-30K units annually, the addition of Packard and Clippers business would have made it a more cost-affective propositon. The logic ran that a transmission capable of handling the torque of a Lincoln 341/368 would also be adequate for a Packard 320/352/374.
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Nance may well have been wary of getting into the same situation for automatic tranmissions as they had been for bodies. But, unlike the dependence on Briggs-Chryslers which had developed into a less-than-desirable situation, B-W as an industry transmission supplier had no valid reason to cut off supplies capriciously. They gladly built all there was demand for by Ford and AMC.....and Studebaker......and Packard if they could have.
Steve
According to Langworth, the DG's development was a joint venture between B-W and Studebaker, which gave Studebaker some authority over it's use. When the DG came out, Ford wanted it too, but Studebaker vetoed it, so Ford went to the Warner division to develop the Ford-O-Matic instead. Langworth speculates that, had Studebaker not vetoed the Ford offer, the DG would have been produced in higher quantity and Studebaker might not have been faced with the price increase.
The Wiki entry for the Lincoln Capri says the Turbo-Drive was built by Ford, not B-W. If Wiki is correct, then there would be no economies of scale for B-W building a version of the Turbo-Drive for Packard. Apparently production of the Ford-O-Matic was split between Ford and B-W.
Packard's real problem re bodies was not so much a capricious move by Briggs, though Briggs didn't appear to be doing Packard any favors. It was a capricious move by Chrysler. Recall that Chrysler was demanding something like $8.7M for the Conner plant, while AMC sold the somewhat larger Hudson body plant to Cadillac for only $2.1M. It would not be beyond the realm of possibility for B-W to sell complete control of the Warner Gear/Ford-O-Matic technology and production to Ford, and Ford could treat Packard the same way Chrysler did.
The real red flag to me, though, is the offer to buy the Ultramatic line. What good was that equipment and tooling to B-W? Seems it would be just so much scrap. Why not just offer Packard a better price on transmissions and let the old Packard equipment sit in Utica?
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