Re: Merger of Nash/Kelvinator, Packard & Hudson
Posted by Mahoning63 On 2015/4/18 7:50:27
"I have always thought Packard's only hope was to sellout to Ford and avoid the Edsel disaster."
Tim - interesting comment, got me thinking...
What if The Deuce had concluded that "Continental" would not be enough for the high end 1958 Lincoln and that after seeing Nance's '57 Packard proposals based on the Predictor in mid-1956 when Nance went begging, concluded that FoMoCo could pick up Packard for cheap, redo the sheetmetal on the '58 Lincoln to make it look similar to the Packard proposal, and use the Packard name as the company's highest priced car. The new Patrician would be made in Wixom alongside the new Lincoln and T-Bird. Maybe a Packard coupe and convertible based on T-Bird was also in the cards, with all the same Predictor elements and also its C-pillar port hole and hidden headlights.
Alrighty, let's keep going. What if The Deuce also concluded that the new Packard would still be sold in stand-alone dealers and would therefore need a lower priced car for volume. Nance's Clipper theme was ugly and Ford would have no interest in tooling another car anyway. What about the new Edsel?
More, more. What if The Deuce also concluded that Edsel might not make it as planned, being shoe-horned between Ford and Mercury. Why not make it a bit more upscale and pricey, in keeping with the Packards in the same showroom? And as he pondered, might have concluded that the big Edsels would be too close in size to the Packard and that what the market really wanted was an up-scale medium sized car, an American Mercedes. "Yes, the Edsel Pacer has the right stuff! If two things are changed. We'll give the interior leather and broadcloth and we'll clean up the rear quarter. And then we'll leave the styling alone for three years to give it lasting value and make the business case work on the lower volumes."
But wait... one more! What if The Deuce concluded that making the new Edsel was going to be a problem, the volume-oriented plant managers not wanting to give the car due care and attention. And what if he looked around for a body-on-frame plant that was up-and-running, with a 100,000 unit capacity, putting out good quality and ready to take the car. And what if the new Packard purchase came with such a plant (Conner) for pennies?
And so the Packard-Edsel Division would be born.
Work-ups, we need work-ups! See Lincoln-Packard progression and Edsel clean-up.
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Tim - interesting comment, got me thinking...
What if The Deuce had concluded that "Continental" would not be enough for the high end 1958 Lincoln and that after seeing Nance's '57 Packard proposals based on the Predictor in mid-1956 when Nance went begging, concluded that FoMoCo could pick up Packard for cheap, redo the sheetmetal on the '58 Lincoln to make it look similar to the Packard proposal, and use the Packard name as the company's highest priced car. The new Patrician would be made in Wixom alongside the new Lincoln and T-Bird. Maybe a Packard coupe and convertible based on T-Bird was also in the cards, with all the same Predictor elements and also its C-pillar port hole and hidden headlights.
Alrighty, let's keep going. What if The Deuce also concluded that the new Packard would still be sold in stand-alone dealers and would therefore need a lower priced car for volume. Nance's Clipper theme was ugly and Ford would have no interest in tooling another car anyway. What about the new Edsel?
More, more. What if The Deuce also concluded that Edsel might not make it as planned, being shoe-horned between Ford and Mercury. Why not make it a bit more upscale and pricey, in keeping with the Packards in the same showroom? And as he pondered, might have concluded that the big Edsels would be too close in size to the Packard and that what the market really wanted was an up-scale medium sized car, an American Mercedes. "Yes, the Edsel Pacer has the right stuff! If two things are changed. We'll give the interior leather and broadcloth and we'll clean up the rear quarter. And then we'll leave the styling alone for three years to give it lasting value and make the business case work on the lower volumes."
But wait... one more! What if The Deuce concluded that making the new Edsel was going to be a problem, the volume-oriented plant managers not wanting to give the car due care and attention. And what if he looked around for a body-on-frame plant that was up-and-running, with a 100,000 unit capacity, putting out good quality and ready to take the car. And what if the new Packard purchase came with such a plant (Conner) for pennies?
And so the Packard-Edsel Division would be born.
Work-ups, we need work-ups! See Lincoln-Packard progression and Edsel clean-up.
Attach file:
(9.91 KB) (10.04 KB) (40.95 KB)
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