Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Since this is all personal opinion, there are no right or wrong answers. I prefer the 56s in both models, but the differences are minor. I'm not crazy about the 56 senior eyebrows, even if they didn't rust, but the 56 "C" pillar and trunklid are both improvements. The differences between the 55 and the 56 Clipper is considerably greater. The 56 Clipper is, IMHO, the best looking car packard built after the war. The horizontal grill, "flame" taillights, and two-tone style are all improvements over the 55's. The 55 two-tone that first came out was great, but Packard chickened out when they saw that the 55 Pontiac had used the same layout. Packard then added that strange blob on the front fender which I always hated. Notwithstanding anything I've written above I would love to own any of them.

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I'll second that emotion.

Great stories about actual crowd reaction, Craig.

"... the epitome of '50s flash" that Eric attributes to the '56 models is one of the things that I dislike about them (not that I dislike them, but in comparison with their Packard brethren of '55). The '55's are more elegantly understated IMHO.

I think the 1956 Packard seniors were ahead of the times in styling, with the late '50s over-the-top "look" really not appearing in other brands until '58. F'rinstance the Buick Special as well as most of the rest of the GM lineup, the MOPAR bunch, as well as Ford, although they were upsized in '57 the Fords didn't become chrome monsters until '58. 1958 was a real watershed for styling change across the board, including a general widening and lowering of just about every American car.

That's one reason I'm always puzzled by the sentiment that it was essential for the '57 Packard model to undergo a radical change. The Chevy that year was still a "shoebox," based on a platform that was even older than Packard's, while Fords and MOPARs were upsized.

Here we're all talking about how beautiful the 55-56 Packard lineup was, and yet bemoan the fact that they were "completely outdated" by '57. Not true, IMHO. If Packard had been able to make more '56 cars, ON TIME, I think they would have sold what they could make, and been just fine waiting until '58 to bring out the all-new Packard.

But I guess that's way off topic, and the whole "last years of Packard" discussion has been done at length elsewhere.

like a few others here, i own an example of both, and for a few reasons the 56 is my favorite of the v8 styles. I really like the hooded headlights, wider grill spacing, grille emblem and hood ornament. I like that you dont have to use the key to open the trunk every time on the 56, but i rather like the 55s trunk emblem. its a bit more classic looking.

I agree.The 55 trunk emblem is a bit more classy.If memory serves me well, I also believe the seats in my 55 400 were better than the seats in my 56 Patrician.The seats in my 55 felt more like the seats in my 48 Custom 8 and the 56 feel more like the basic 8 model.The block letters on the 55 also detract from its looks.56 looks much better with the coat of arms.

Lots of interesting, thoughtful comments. For me, I think the front styling of the Clippers is the most distinct advantage in '55. I much prefer the classic vertical bars on the '55 grille. The direction signals, while not wrap-around style, are attractive and cleverly incorporate the "V" motif. The '55 Clipper did not get a chance to trumpet the V8 nearly as much as the seniors did in '55.

It's a fun exercise for any Packard fan: "Count the "V's" on the '55 seniors"--inside and out.

To me, the '55 Packards and Clippers belong to the best facelifts of all time. Teague did a marvel when creating this design starting from the '54 (which is a slightly reworked '51).

The reason why I own a V8 Packard is simple: I love these cars for what they are. All of them.

The reason why I own an Executive Hardtop is simple, too: It has been the car of my (affordable) dreams for many years - and that's a matter of design. The Executive provides the only original possibility to combine the '56 front clip (superior to the '55 because of the wider-placed "dagmars", gold anodized mesh grille, and frenched headlights) with the smooth an beautiful junior's rear end.

This car will remain stock but if I wanted to improve the looks with other Packard parts I would go back to the '51-55 trunk lid (with '54-55 ornamentation on it), and add either '56 Clipper Custom side trim ('55 is a bit too close to the '55 Pontiac to me) or '55 senior (I like the "stop" in the mid of the car. It's unusual. Up front, it would get either a less streamlined Packard cormorant or a (smaller than the '30s) goddess of speed.

I like the 56 Clipper rear light/bumper design best, the Sr cathedral lights and huge exhaust ports are to me a bit heavy looking, the sore thumbs just awkward. The Exec is a great combo of Sr front and Jr rear, but the extended headlight hoods, a bit too much. I prefer the 56 Clipper front with the wider spaced Dagmars directly under the headlights for improved symmetry, the better integrated wrap around turn signals at the extreme corners, and the horizontal grill bars, all serving to make the front end look much wider. I also lke the very stylized "Clipper" logo on the hood and the redesigned deck and hood for 56. All that said - I like Larry Shinoda's proposed 56 Clipper front design best of all!

In general, the 56 Packards, to me, epitomize the Power, Optimism, and Glamour of post-war America while still having a restrained yet confident maturity that most of the '57 and later over-the-top flashy designs that followed managed to lose with their excessive chrome my-fins-are-bigger-than-yours body designs. The '56 Super/Roadmaster and '56 Lincoln Premiere were the next best designs, IMO, and, of course, the Continental MkII is in a class by itself.

It certainly is a matter of taste. michaelk's points about the '56 Exec are well-put. I also like your comment on the 54-'55 trunk lid. It has a throwback elegance that I think is lost in the update. Also, the truncated side trim of the '55 seniors lends more visual interest, in my opinion as well. In general, the Exec is an inspired compromise, with arguably the best of both worlds of the '56 body styles. I say the '56 body styles, because, overall, I still like the '55s greater simplicity. I look at it kind of like comparing a '55 Chevy versus a '56. The original concept is really hard to improve upon without making it "busier" than it needs to be.

Interesting how easy to compare the pic of your Exec and that of the '55 Clipper Custom on our two posts. Gives a good perspective on the overall "feel" of the two looks.

Great topic, and I appreciate the various comments tho I tend to prefer 55s--I never could quite deal with the headlight hoods on the 56 seniors, or the chrome headlight dishpans on the 56 juniors. I also like the windsplits on the tops of the 55 fenders and the concave scallops on either side of the hood. The view over the hood while driving is great.

But an important detail I'd like to point out, where Packard was ahead of most of the competition is surface development, that is the actual contours or sculpture of the sheet metal. Stand by the front wheel of a 51-56 and site towards the rear. The sculpturing of the rear quarters is taut and quite well done, especially the 54-56 seniors. Likewise the scallops on the hoods. Site along the fenders of say a 58 Olds and it brings to mind standing behind a fat lady in stretch pants at the checkout at Walmart. I'll take the Packard.

That's why 53 Caribs and 55 Senior look so smart with minimal trim on the quarters, IMHO.

For illustration, check out this great 55 Clipper Deluxe I saw at Warren this year. The sculpturing of the rear quarters is fine.

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