Re: Clippers at the Motor Muster.

Posted by 58L8134 On 2015/6/27 8:10:20

Hi Paul and Steve203

Utilizing the '57-'58 M-E shell to develop into a Predictor-styled '57 Packard while the concept car's styling was fresh with the public would have been a good move. It would be better than just going the expedient "Packard-ized" '56 Lincoln shell which was becoming out of vogue with its overall height taller than the all-new '57 Cadillac and Imperial. Architecturally, the M-E shell was more similar to what had been developed for the '57 Packards: low, rectilinear styling, the frame design fully integrated with the body concept to provide deep footwells and adequate seating position. Examining the '58 Edsel Citations and Mercury Park Lane impresses one that the size and width is very much what luxury cars were as the time and would become.

Applying Predictor-styling to the M-E platform to would probably be no more costly than to do so on the '56 Lincoln shell. Stretching the wheelbase to 130-131" would present little problem; four inches ahead of the cowl for a nice long hood, kick the rear axle rearward two inches for enough to apply fender skirt to the Packard-unique quarters. The Turnpike Cruiser/Predictor roof without the "Dream Car Design" antennae complete the package, powered still by a Packard engine. Whether they could gin-up a quick installation of half a Torsion-Level for at least the front suspension would be an unknown. Whatever else, definitely they would have to be far more carefully crafted than either of the other M-E body-mates were. Most of the gadgets would remain with Mercury and Edsel; Packard s could share the Mercury push-button transmission selector but.....definitely not Edsel Tele-Touch!

"I never warmed to the cathedral taillights grafted onto the Predictor show car and '57 Packard proposal. What worked so wonderfully in '55-56 somehow got lost in translation."

While they look good in the broad context, they do seem a tad out-sized when one looks at them in isolation. The '55-'56 units are for the time, quite a subtle design, not all that large, fitting the fender ends very nicely. The '54 Cadillac-style bumper ends , something of a gimmick, could have been just as well been neat units shaped like those on the '61 Lincoln and looked just fine.

Steve