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

Posted by LINC400 On 2010/2/16 17:23:52

Very interesting discussion of where Packard might have gone wrong prewar. But I think Packard lost the luxury market postwar, not prewar.

All automakers had to come out with cheaper models to survive the depression. But they were not needed after the war in the postwar sellers market. I think any wrong steps Packard might have taken prewar would have quickly been forgotten if they had either made Clipper a seperate division after the war, or dropped the lower price models completely. Probably making it a seperate division would have been the better move so that they would still have something to sell in volume.

But take a look at what they did. In 1935-41 there was an obvious difference between junior and senior models. What was the difference postwar? A hood a couple inches longer, different taillights, a slightly different grill, a little bigger engine? Not enough of a difference to make too many people willing to pay 1 1/2 to 2 times as much for essentially the same car with a few subtle differences. Whereas you could definitely see a difference between a Cadillac and Buick, Olds, or Pontiac. Also the 1951-54 just does not look prestigious compared to the presence of the 1951-54 Cadillacs. To those not familiar with cars, it could easily be mistaken for a Pontiac or other mid-price car.

Also prewar, Packard had power windows, air conditioning, always new innovations, etc. Where was this stuff postwar? Why no V-8 engine? That is what everyone wanted postwar. Maybe Packard's straight 8 had the same horsepower as its contemporaries, but it didn't have that important V-8 buzzword. There were a lot less chauffer driven cars postwar. And there were more women drivers. Suburban housing booms required 2 cars. The wife didn't want a manual transmission, steering, brakes, windows, etc. for when she drove the car. Not when she could get power everything in a Cadillac or even Buick or Olds plus air conditioning. And the husband discovered he liked all the power stuff as well. By the time Packard got in in gear in 1955 and offered everything they should have been since 1949 at least, many Packard buyers had moved on to another brand. And introducing everything at once resulted in quality problems. So those that preferred quality over new gadgetry were disappointed as well.

Advertising was a part of it as well. Cadillac ads showed cars against expensive silk drapery backgrounds or in front of the opera with a woman in exotic ball gown, diamonds, etc. Packard ads showed a middle class neighborhood home or garage with words like "value" and "reliable". If I am spending meagbucks on a car, I want to hear words like "power", "prestige", and "style" not "value leader".

I will never understand why the 1957 Packardbakers were ever made. I hear they were made to keep the name alive while Packard hoped to get financing to eventually get new Packards built. However, I think they would have been far better off doing a minor facelift of the 1956. I cannot see anybody trading in a 1955-56 Clipper Deluxe for a 1957, let alone a Patrician, 400, or Caribbean. I also cannot see anyone buying a 1957 Clipper over a 1957 Cadillac, Imperial, or even odd looking 1957 Lincoln. That wasn't just the final nail in the coffin, it was machine riveting it closed.