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Dear fellow Packard members,

My obsession with Packards started about 5 years ago at the age of 15, now at the age of approaching 20. I have had the privilege to attend many local car events down here in Australia. My time spent on runs and rallys has been fantastic & I am sure they will continue for many many years to come. Though I have come to notice that there are not many people from the younger generation that show interest in Packards. I bought my first Packard at the age of 16, a 34 sedan. When I told people my age about the car i bought many replied "What's a Packard?" The younger generation don't know what a Packard is.

I thought i'd start this thread to find out if there are any other's from my age who have an interest in Packards. My brother 2 years my junior likes classic cars but he's interest lies with muscle cars like many others of his age.

My interests with Packards continues, I have had the privilege to build the Packard Club of Australia's website and along the way met many people

Regards,
Mathew Rattray

Mathew,

Welcome to the website!

I belive more and more young people are looking at indepentant cars (Packard, Stude, Nash, etc) as a way to have something unique in the hobby washed in a Sea of "build from a catalog" cars dominated by the "Big 3".

There is a lot of fun in just researching these cars and hunting down the parts, and actually talking to people about their cars.

I am sure to many 16 years old your 34 looked like some type of Alien craft. I get that same look when I go to and local autoparts store and ask for anything for my Packard. Of course the obvious question I get is "Who makes(or made) Packard?!", to which I respond "Packard". Then I tell them they wont find it in the computer, so look it up by this part number.

I have noticed over the last year on the website we are seeing more and more younger guys (and gals) find there way into the website. I think that is a good sign for the future. I know people have reffered to the "Graying" of the hobby. But I think that the Internet is exposing more and more people to what is available, and allowing them to connect to others around the world.

If I was trying this to put my car together 20 years ago with no internet, I am sure the car would be sitting in my backyard under a tarp and I would be working on something else.

Again welcome!

Mathew-

Again, welcome to this great site.

I find it great that you have found a Packard at such a young age. The knowledge you will gain from owning an old car will be worth more than the car itself. Not only will your car stand out among the rows & rows of Brand X you will have the satisfaction of knowing you had to do 3 times of much work to get yours into top shape.

My first old car was a '64 Thunderbird I pulled out of the weeds when I was 15. While I was constantly working on this car, my friends were playing nintendo, computer games and waxing their Hondas,Mustangs,& toyota trucks (this was 1992). They gave my car nicknames like "Plunder-turd" & "Gramps". By my junior year of high school, I had learned so much from my car. Mechanical theory,vacuum,body & paint, and lots of patience. All my friends learned was that turtle wax leaves crusty white gunk on a honda that you dig out with a toothbrush & if we ever end up in a video game world, they could defeat anyone.

I got my first packard when I was 23, and it taught me alot as well. You have chosen a hobby that will pay you back in much more than money. Be sure to post your car in the owner registry, and get some pictures up.

I'm 17 now, and my father and I started working on my great-grandfather's 1940 Packard 110 when I was 14...I was hooked! It was great having a father-son project, especially while working on a family heirloom!

I know exactly what you mean by getting, "What's a Packard?", from you friends. I use to get that too, but they all know what I'm talking about now and they like it! I guess that's one way Packard's story is going to live on. Thanks for the topic...I was beginning to think I might be the only one on here my age...

my .02 cents worth....

i have grown up around packards all my life, first picture with one was when i was 2 years old....last memory in one was driving in my grandfather's 120 limo to his funeral....now i am trying to bring honor to him and my family name and that was the motivation for my newly acquired clipper. frame off, eat off, kind of restoration.

but, i must say i have had better experiences with the younger car clubs. (even the older people in my BMW Z3 club are nicer) most of the people i have met in the Packard club or have talk to via email, have been very rude and condisending. they are grumpy and don't really seem to like the idea that you, being young, can own or respect or rebuild one of these cars. this has turned me off VERY much. This website has a youthful flair and that is what i LOVE about it. even the older gentlemen and ladies don't treat me like a kid that doesn't deserve this car. they are GREAT on this website. I love this website and the people on it. i almost lost hope in the club and the meets, etc....just because of the way people were looking at me or treating me. i have only met a select few that actually want to pass on their knowledge as they are smart enough to know that when they dye...the Packard stays and someone younger will have to own it or it will be junked.

so, maybe that is another reason noone really knows about Packard, especially my age....maybe they get treated like crap and that gives a bad image of the car. i know i wouldn't want to own a car that is know for it's crabby grumpy owners.

so, Packard club if you are listening.....i think it best to start treating the younger generation with alittle more respect.....we are the future of Packard you know.

i am 27 now, and although i am not 60-70-80 years old, doesn't mean i dont understand how a v-8 works or how to restore a car, etc.....in fact...i may just beable to teach you a thing or two.....i know my dad respects my thoughts and sometimes gets great ideas from them...and he is 53 ;0)

anyways....no flames please, just expressing my thoughts. but i must say big kev....you saved the day for me with this website that's for sure!

the pic is my dad, me, and my grandpa on my grandpa's 47 clipper that Mike Rigsby owns now........and will probably NEVER let me see again (another one of those grumpy ones) i am 3 generations into Packard, and soon (october) there will be Henry V....the 4th generation of Packard lover. i plan to recreat this picture with my son on my completed Clipper.....;0) Thanks Grandpa....i love you and miss you.

Hank

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It's kinda funny, I both laugh and cry when folk say that "kids" my age are all interested in muscle cars and rice rockets. I bought my first car at age 22, a '52 200, and I cannot even begin to name the number of old cars my brothers have had (or still have) over the years (the oldest of which is the '50 Willys Jeepster, most obscure is the '72 Toyota Crown). The last car show I was at, I was talking to the other Packard owners, and only one of them actually seemed interested in the fact that a young buck like myself was into old cars other then the big 3. The rest of the owners.... Well, let's just say, the nicest of them spoke to me in a tone that implied I should be asking "Who makes Packard?". I don't pretend to know all there is to know about cars, but I've pulled the 200's engine apart, and I'm reasonably certain I could put it back together, too. The official Packard club turned me right off joining, simply due to their "grayer-there-for-holier-then-thou" attitude.

Then I found these forums, and haven't looked back! ^_^ I can never says kudos enough to Big Kev and the rest for getting this going, and keeping it going. It really helps when you're young, working three jobs over six or sevens days a week just to survive, to have a place you can go and get support and resources for the hobby that keeps you going. It's so cool to see so many other young'ns here, all as into the "rich man's car" as the older gen.

Thank you, to all of you, young and old, guys and gals, for keeping a grand old car maker on the road, and in people's hearts and minds.

- Kay

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ClipBee-

Sadly, this is a common feeling among ALL marque specific clubs. The cruiser type everybody inclusive clubs are very accepting of youth. I am involved in a local marque specific club that can get outright nasty sometimes to new comers, youth, and modified cars. We had an international convention in 2005, and I got all my local club buddies with modified cars to enter the show and we all got thrown back next to a brick wall, away from all the other cars and told "we would not be judged, just displayed" & "how could we judge cars that we don't understand?". What the clubs don't understand is without a younger generation keeping the flame alive, it will go out. The only cars you will see are museum cars that haven't run in years. I am 31 now, and hoping I will still see packards on the road for years to come.

but.....I don't want packard34 to think he will be run off. Be proud that you have a great car like a Packard. There is a long tradition of packard ownership represented on this site and while there are some sticklers, know that we look forward to you working on & enjoying your packard 30 years after we are all dead.

Hank -

Let me thank you for expressing your opinions and experience with clubs. Much of what you wrote coincides with the very reasons that PackardInfo was established and is now supported by so many.

While many people with similar views have often been dismissed by some people in traditional clubs as chronic malcontents, rouges, scoundrels, etc., plenty of us know better. Mind you, not all clubs are like that, but too many for my tastes.

I was a "subscribing" member of PAC for over 25 years, but let my membership lapse a few years back - after waffling about it for over the last ten years, but I won't go into all of the reasons as you and others here have mentioned several of them already. Yet, regardless of that decision, I still have some good friends who happen to be members of that club.

IMHO, there is room here for those who preserve, restore, personalize, or customize their Packards - provided we treat each other with a little respect, exercise due diligence, and use a little common sense.

My grandson is now 18 years old and graduated from high school this year. He has been interested in cars since the age of eight.

When it comes to his knowledge of cars of any type he is a walking encyclopedia. I am most proud to say that he will be coming with me to Warren this year.


John F. Shireman

It is great to see that there is young blood interested in Packards. I have attached an image of my 34. I purchased the car at the age of 16, even before I had got my License. I plan to take the car over to South Australia to attend the Bay to Birdwood Run. One of Australia's biggest Bi-annual runs for classic cars. The run usually attracts over 1000 vehicles and this will be the longest run the 34 has been on for a long time

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