Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

We've had a spate of beautiful Autumn weather in Georgia with cool temperatures and beautiful Fall colors on the leaves. I'm taking this as a prompt to make sure all the old cars are exercised and serviced before wet roads (or worse) shows up. The Packard seems to be loving the attention of almost daily drives; it starts up instantly and even the Ultramatic seems less cranky. The approval of other observers helps when I pass by a thumbs-up or friendly shout. I'm hoping that other forum members who have a drivable Packard and live in an area with three or four seasons will take the carpe diem approach and drive them as conditions permit.

But no short drives where the coolant and oil don't reach optimum temperatures. The previous owner had a grandfather who was a machinist in the Washington DC Packard dealer that serviced the White House cars. He related stories of how particular the agency was with all the Senior cars owned by very important people. This may not have applied to the Junior cars, but no senior car was started and then run only a few minutes before being turned off. If a senior was started, it was expected to run or idle for at least thirty minutes, often on the roof-top parking area, before it was turned off just to keep condensation from forming as an oil contaminant. Obviously, there might be exceptions such as when the oil was about to be changed anyway. For the White House cars, they would always be under the direct observation of a Secret Service agent, even if it involved an overnight stay for servicing...no exceptions. And no Senior Packard left the dealership garage without a full fuel tank. Just another small way to say to that important customer that Packard really appreciates your business and come back when you want another.

When did the White House have Packards? They used Pierce Arrows as long as the company was in business, then switched to Lincolns.

Rusty, you really surprise me, you're normally sharp as a tack and right on target. Did you see the recent Ken Burns series on PBS about the Roosevelts? It was discussed a bit on here, including quite a bit of comment on the various Packards pictured.

Yes the White House fleet used Pierces and Lincolns. But many Packards in FDR's terms, also Hoover and Truman. And in the Eisenhower era they had 4 or 6 of the 53 or 54 long-wheel base Henney limousines (more about that in the upcoming Robert Neal book). Hoover, FRD and Truman era Packards (below), data from the Smithsonian files.

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Doesn't look very accurate either.

Three or four years ago a Salado participant from California brought his 2106 that he said was part of the Truman White House fleet. Seem to recall some documentation or a plaque attesting to this. He drove it to Salado from the San Francisco Bay Area and back. It was blue.

(o{}o)