Re: 1955-57 What-If Line-Up
Posted by Mahoning63 On 2010/12/1 10:51:05
Am not sure when T-Bird production left Wixom but my guess is when the car was downsized in 1977. It might have been sooner though because Lincoln sales took off in the early 70s and Wixom had a capacity limit. Interesting that you mention your '95 T-bird, I have a related story. Was a product development engineer at Ford from 2000-09 and one of the first "lessons" I heard was that at the same time your T-bird was being honored by Motor Trend, the program team was grilled by the higher-ups about how the car was over-contented and over budget. The consumer got a little gift from Dearborn...
Totally agree about Packard engineering and styling. On Studebaker, wouldn't it have been easier to bring production to Detroit? Maybe the issue was Conner. Had Packard still made cars at EGB maybe the second line might have been workable.
The forum has been discussing the styling topic in another thread as well:https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6047&viewmode=flat&order=ASC&type=&mode=0&start=10
I think Packard styling seemed to slowly fall behind beginning in the late Thirties, not with the front appearance but with the overall vehicle proportions. Packard scrambled to catch up with the Clipper, then came the controversial '48s and beyond. I've been noodling some images over the holidays to try to come to terms with Christopher's critical decision to do the '48s. He wanted to go modern. Fabulous, a sensible strategy given the industy's post-war design renaissance. Why not make the big splash in '49 so as to coincide with Packard's golden anniversary? Doing it right would have meant both a new platform and a new modern styling theme with no half measures.
I tried to work up an alternative to the '48. Started with a '52 200 sedan, added 5 inches to make a "400" with a formal roof more in keeping with the late 40's, then stood back, took a hard look at the proportions and began cutting & pasting. Compare the images below. In the '49 proposal the cab is moved rearward 3 inches, the headlights and front fenders are lowered 2 inches, the rear fender is lifted an inch and slab sides (and a wider front track) are incorporated for the modern look that Christopher wanted, albiet more similar to the '49 Ford and '51 Frazer. Also got rid of the body insert between the front/rear doors and worked in a subtle Darrin dip to relieve the high pockets and give the sides more drama and movement. Because the hood would now have effectively been 3 inches longer the big 356 would probably have fit. A freshening in '52 could have carried Packard to '54 where they could have then lowered the car and evolved the styling a la Teague. Toggle between the images to see the changes. Also included an image of a grill design that might have worked for this would-be '49er.
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Totally agree about Packard engineering and styling. On Studebaker, wouldn't it have been easier to bring production to Detroit? Maybe the issue was Conner. Had Packard still made cars at EGB maybe the second line might have been workable.
The forum has been discussing the styling topic in another thread as well:https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6047&viewmode=flat&order=ASC&type=&mode=0&start=10
I think Packard styling seemed to slowly fall behind beginning in the late Thirties, not with the front appearance but with the overall vehicle proportions. Packard scrambled to catch up with the Clipper, then came the controversial '48s and beyond. I've been noodling some images over the holidays to try to come to terms with Christopher's critical decision to do the '48s. He wanted to go modern. Fabulous, a sensible strategy given the industy's post-war design renaissance. Why not make the big splash in '49 so as to coincide with Packard's golden anniversary? Doing it right would have meant both a new platform and a new modern styling theme with no half measures.
I tried to work up an alternative to the '48. Started with a '52 200 sedan, added 5 inches to make a "400" with a formal roof more in keeping with the late 40's, then stood back, took a hard look at the proportions and began cutting & pasting. Compare the images below. In the '49 proposal the cab is moved rearward 3 inches, the headlights and front fenders are lowered 2 inches, the rear fender is lifted an inch and slab sides (and a wider front track) are incorporated for the modern look that Christopher wanted, albiet more similar to the '49 Ford and '51 Frazer. Also got rid of the body insert between the front/rear doors and worked in a subtle Darrin dip to relieve the high pockets and give the sides more drama and movement. Because the hood would now have effectively been 3 inches longer the big 356 would probably have fit. A freshening in '52 could have carried Packard to '54 where they could have then lowered the car and evolved the styling a la Teague. Toggle between the images to see the changes. Also included an image of a grill design that might have worked for this would-be '49er.
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