Re: 1957 Proposed Packard Models

Posted by BH On 2007/2/10 15:23:40

Big Kev -

Glad you liked those pictures, and I hope other fans of mid-fifties Packards will enjoy them as well.

I've had these three pix for almost 20 years, but just couldn't decide where they'd be most appreciated, and least subject to piracy. Submitted at only 480-pixels wide, someone would have to be awfully stupid to try and make a fast buck off of these - especially when I have 'em in 8x10 (though not for sale).

Given the length of time that I've had these photos, the presence of the date card in the foregorund of a setting that is known to be "factory", and a few corroborating views of the Clipper and Four Hundred that have been published elsewhere, I am confident that these are not another example photoshopped phakery - likk we've seen in that terrible article on the 1965 V12 Revival that was published by both PAC and SDC.

There is a lot more to the story of the proposed Packards for 1957, which was part of a grand shared-body concept between the Packard, Clipper, and mainstream Studebaker lines, which included a revival of the Coupe Express model (think ElCamino or Ranchero). This was aimed at achieving some economies of scale and bringing costs in line, while evolving distinctive and competitive styling and engineering.

In fact, in the April 23, 1956 issue of TIME magazine, it was reported that troubled S-P was planning "only a face lifting of its Packard models for next year", but still had "hopes to rush through retooling of its highest-priced line and bring out at least one model like the Predictor".

In the July 23, 1956 issue, reporting on a "rescue" by Curtiss-Wright, TIME advised that S-P would "probably stop making Packards for a year, (and) wait until 1958, when it can develop an interchangeable body shell with Studebaker along the lines of its Packard Predictor dream car".

Then, in the Septemeber 10, 1956 issue, TIME reported that while the S-P would "start turning out either face-lifted 1956 model or redesigned and upgraded Studebaker bearing Packard name" by January, a "completely new model based on (the) experimental Predictor would come out in 1958".

Clearly, someone in authority (then) still held out hope that these clays would become a reality, but it was all downhill for the Packard brand after 1956.

Gee, imagine the fun we could have with a flux capacitor.