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This article is in The Sydney Morning Herald today, Sydney's broadsheet newspaper, - Can old brands be revived?

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Mal, let me borrow a couple million...I got an idea.

Wait. If I put Packard back into production, would you make me register each one here? Lol.

In all seriousness, I think we should leave dead "breeds" alone. Half the fun of owning a Packard, Pierce-Arrow, etc. is having something that doesn't modernly exist. I know some of these Bugatti models are too cool for school but they're just not practical. If Packard was revived I fear it would be so full of electrical gizmos it would take away from the mechanical prowess of the namesake. I'm young but I DON'T appreciate electronic traction control, airbags, and booming stereos. I grew up around the cars from the 40's-70's. We never had a modern car, due to dads realization of quality. I'm sure this point will be argued. I was generally upset when Tammy decided she wanted a new car and bought a Scion. I had a dodge dart, and it was referred to as insufferable.

All I'm saying is that if Packard came back, the standard of quality may or may not be what we would deam fit.

I have to go along with Fatmike. With companies dropping models within a brand, this would not be the time to try an play Doctor Frankenstien and revive a brand. I know dodge revived the Challenger model, but I think that is a rarity. Let well enough alone. I don't think it would be cool to denegrate the old lines by producing a fully equipped rice rocket or detroit cheese box where the name of the car has more letters in it than you can fit on the hood.
I.E. Stutz - Bearcat, Pierce-Arrow Etc.

I can't think of a single example of an "old brand" that's BEEN successfully revived!

MAYBE Avanti, but even that's debatable since I'm not sure they're even in production any more, and the most current one is an all-new car.

I think you'd have to consider the Mini-Cooper revival a successful venture, though the difference is that it was revived by an existing major player, not a new venture.

The problem with brand revival is that the revivals thus far are predominately just clones of some modern production and revived in name only or minor motif.

Possible exceptions are Mustang, T'bird (sports car version) and maybe, as someone already metioned the Avanti.

Early COrd reproduction ca. 1965 was a good effort but smaller than original and Corvair powered.

I beleive that so called revivals are nothing more than an attempt to capitalize from a legend rather than a deliberate attempt at reproduction.

However, one mite consider such models as tri-5 chevies, Indian, Cushman, Model A's among a few others as genuine attepts at revival. Buy ALL the parts from a supplier book and put one togeher yourself.

That Maybach looks no more like any original Maybach than the Packard V12 pictured above looks like any of the originals made by PMCC.

Friends


What made Packard cars special were the people and the organization. those are gone.

A new car full of technical innovations and styling cues isn't the same thing a vehicle made by an organization that has a continuous existence. Packard standards and modern management are incompatible, I'm afraid

Regards


John Harley

The two modern examples of the resurection of a great marque -- Bugatti and Maybach -- were made possible due to the financial and engineering resources of great modern auto companies, VW and Mercedes respectively. Come to think of it we probably wouldn't have RR and Bentley today, without successful corporate parents.

any packards that were attempted AFTER the company closed have been the BIGGEST POShits EVER MADE and FUGLY!!!!! enough said.

to revamp the company would mean to make it all new....cause so far retro has not worked out for any of the "newer" ones.