Re: 2nd Round: How the Luxury Market Dominance was Lost

Posted by 58L8134 On 2008/12/31 14:01:06

Hi

Just a few more thoughts enlarging upon the subject:

With the 1940 One-Sixty, Packard finally got it almost right. The most popular body styles were powered with the great new 356 cu. in engine, competitive in size and horsepower with the Cadillac V8. Each of the popular body styles was priced on target to the Cadillac 62. Although a different type of car, the longer wheelbase models gave those considering a 60 Special an excellent alternative. Customer reasons to purchase a Packard 160 5-7 passenger sedan where somewhat different from the 60 Special where stylishness was a larger consideration than passenger capacity.

Why then did the sales of 160 models not exceed the Cadillac 62 and Special 60 for 1940? One factor is the sales momentum built by Cadillac since introducing the Series 60 in 1936. Just the potential replacement sales of the 13,715 Series 60 models sold in 1936 and 1937, a fifty percent trade-in would carry the base sales effort. Brand loyalty was important to all car makers, Packard had a large loyal customer base to draw from. Those loyal customers ready to trade-in their '36 Eights and '37 Super Eights, though purchasing in a higher price market initially, were no doubt pleased to spend less on their new 160, even if it seemed a less majestic car than the old one.

An additional blow to 160 sales was the appeal of the new GM Torpedo C body, putting Packard at a style disadvantage. As much as we like the Packard styling today, it has to be recognized that it looked out of fashion compared to the Series 62 Sedan. Folks had been seeing versions of that Packard body design since 1938, mostly in the form of Six/110/Eight/120.

If styling similarity to Senior models abetted sales of the Junior line up to this point, the subtle, detailed differences between the lines was lost on much of the public for 1940-41. No matter that Packard gave it updated frontal styling, it was still the same old overall design everyone was used to. The public was receptive to and even expected new styling on a two-three year cycle by this time. The yearly model changes to stimulate sales were having the desired affect. The excitement of seeing the new models every fall was now a cultural phenomenon.

If the sales for 1940 were a holding action, 1941 was a market rout. Packard offered a handsomely restyled 160, incorporating the updated coupe style trunk into the now forth model year old body. The prices were raised a little, still in the competitive range of the '40 Cadillacs, resulted in 3,525 units sold. Wily marketers, the new '41 Cadillacs carried trendsetting new styling and for the Series 62, a 12-14% drop in base price from '40. Even disregarding the LaSalle replacing Series 61, sales of 24,734 Series 62 Cadillacs has to be seen as a coup. Just icing on the cake are the 4,101 60 Specials sold.

Had the Clipper arrived in 1940 as a 160, would this outcome have been different? Interesting to ponder, it might have kept the competitive situation more evenly divided. GM and Cadillac resources certainly pressed Packard extremely hard to match the model and prices it offered. The brand loyal and those whose loyalty was to neither make beforehand voted with their dollars.

I'll be interested to read your reflections and comments on any of the ideas I've presented.

Steve