Re: A little Packard History from 1945

Posted by Brian Wilson On 2019/5/28 2:51:06

Very interesting.

You have to hand it to the guy for coming up with novel ideas. It would have to be pretty small/light to achieve that sort of (theoretical) speed on six cylinders at the time. I wouldn't want to be in a car like that at 110mph. Would it have had a separate steel frame?

From memory, the early Corvettes also had a steel chassis.

Arguably, the first successful "plastic" car was the fibreglass monocoque Lotus Elite of the late 1950s, which performed very well with a miserly Climax 1500cc four. That car solved many problems, including solid mounting of suspension components to the tub. But it was prone to catching fire and melting. Shades of Joseph Lucas.

This would have to be a pretty small car to perform the way they envisaged. That would put it in the same category as the Nash Metropolitans (and Bantams). The attraction of those escapes me. Maybe it's the usual story of not many sold or survived, so comparatively rare now. Doesn't make them good. Apologies to Metropolitan or Bantam owners.

In fairness, Nash produced some pretty decent cars early on. But not the Metropolitans or my dad's 1937 Nash Lafayette, which was notable for newer reaching a predetermined destination.

Just my tuppence (two cents) worth.

Cheers Brian