Re: Would it have been easier to salvage Packard than Studebaker?

Posted by Mahoning63 On 2010/11/24 22:13:56

Yes, and rightly so. Mass production of the "fine car" had been the way to go since a number of years before the war but Packard was slow to figure it out, which was ironic given that Macauley was a big proponent of production efficiencies. In the Twenties these helped his company make tons of money. And Packard was also a style leader through the Twenties and into the Thirties. Rich people aren't blind, they like a nice looking car just like the next guy.

Macauley didn't get the Seniors onto the Junior line soon enough and didn't pick up on the latest design trends, those were perhaps his only big mistakes. He probably should have done all this in 1938 instead of spending money on an IFS for the Seniors. That and what was spent on the 110 could have paid for a new 1938 Super Eight with a new 356, under a hood 5 inches longer hood than the 120. Lower height and 3-box torpedo sedan styling would have rounded out the plan and put Packard right there with Cadillac. But this is fodder for another thread...

Someone in a distant forum, I think it was the good Peter Hartmann, said that in 1955 the public was ready to believe in Packard again. My gut says the same thing. Packard wasn't Lincoln or Imperial. It had a richer history and meant more to the public. Feelings might have fallen dormant but they were still there. The data says Packard jumped in market share from 2% to 8% from '54 to '55. A 400% increase. With a still tall body, 4 year old body shell, late launch and quality issues everywhere. So yes, I think they could have jumped to 20% with a lower car that was exquisitely and hotly styled and built to Packard's traditional standards. And I think they could have sustained the gains by pounding away at a better marketing message and with a follow-up home run in 1958.

The dealer issue, big town or small, might have been rooted in the product too. Put out a hot product and the American entrepreneur will want to hitch his plow to it. And once he became profitable selling Packard, the company could have imposed higher standards to support the new upscale image. But let's say small town America still had limited access to Packard. Maybe Nance should have asked "what would Alvan have done?" How did Packard move the metal in the Twenties? Did they have more rural dealers back then? If so, how did they get them? If not, how did the company get so darn rich?

I reposted the data to include Lincoln and Imperial market share. One can see movement when new designs came out. Imperial jumped from 5% to 16% from 1956 to 1957 and the '56 Imperial was no dog to start with, so big gains were possible back then.