Re: multistory assembly line

Posted by 55PackardGuy On 2015/2/16 23:01:02

I don't recall if it was Brown

Brown did bemoan the quality of the cars, but probably didn't originate the term "cracker box", which is said to be the affectionate pet name given to the Conner plant by those who actually had to build the cars there.


By personal observation:

Neither of the rear windows rolled down except with extreme effort on our '55 400. We re-worked one of them, but that was enough, and the other one was just left the way it was, as a test of our strength and fortitude.

The left rear door on our '55 Clipper Custom was stuck shut. (That's where I sat, so no need for "child-proof door locks.") You could argue that this car did not go through the "dealer re-work" because it was bought at auction, but it sure had plenty of bugs coming out of Conner. Including...

The windshield, which rattled in its frame (apparently a common problem). When the regional service manager was called in, he just grumbled to my dad something about "whaddaya expect with a big heavy windshield like that?" So, the prevailing attitude at Packard was, apparently, "fix it yaself."

Morale was not high.