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Don't know if this has been posted before... Ride comparison of Cadillac, Lincoln and Packard.

http://www.motortrend.com/classic/features/12q4_1955_cadillac_eldorado_packard_caribbean_1956_lincoln_premiere/viewall.html

Neat article I hadn't seen before. Packard comes off pretty good, IMO.

Craig

If it was posted before, I missed it. Thanks for posting... I enjoyed the article

Only statement I saw that I'd take serious exception to was that the sales of the 54 Caribbean PLUNGED to 400. Not so, as each sale represented a loss, 400 was the targeted production from the get-go.

Interesting article. I enjoyed it.
Tom

I know the author. He is a member of my wife's community theater group, he and I get together and talk cars, and we both enjoy Manhattans!
I told him he needed to take all three out over railroad tracks, and on the expressway, especially off ramps at speed.

RESTORING/MAINTAINING: The Torsion-Level suspension was technically advanced, and sorting out its many electrical sensors and circuits can cause headaches.

BEWARE: Electric shift mechanisms ('56) are prone to shorting out. Valve lifters in early V-8s were a weak point, and Twin-Ultramatic transmissions tend to slip and wear unless meticulously maintained and adjusted.

What many electrical sensors?? The box that controls it is located in one spot.
I know of original 56 PBs that are still running flawlessly.
Mr Kughn hired people to fix things for him and I doubt he had much personal knowledge of the intricacies of any car he owned.

The V8 Packard was well received, but only marginally affected Cadillac sales. 1955 was definitely not the year to "Ask the mogul who bought one". Lincoln's new model sales actually fell in 1955. Cadillac was outselling Studebaker in 1955 so forget about it.

The weird thing is there is still a market for big highway cruisers. Today that market is buying trucks. Up here at the Canadian border I don't know what they use to move snow.
All these pick up trucks have been optioned into cruisers. There isn't anything to fill the needs of the old Dodge D200 Snow Commander.

The other day I was looking at the long wheelbase Ford Crown Victoria and how it goes 700,000 miles. They sure don't make them like they used to.

Mr. PB's comments:

Quote:--If you don't understand simple auto electrics. Apparently many people STILL don't, or just don't want to read a manual and learn a few things.

Quote: Not so much shorting out (everyone who does not understand electricty calls every fault a "short") as other electro-mechanical problems. Ironic that I know Frank, and I am "the pushbutton guy" Like Randy, I know many 56s running fine on PB systems, sometimes I help this situation along. That is a bad rap going back to the mid 50s when these cars were new, and unfortunately it stuck. No amount of factual examination or quantifying will fix this tribal knowledge.
Quote: Ultramatics are 55+ years old, and if they haven't been adjusted or serviced they need it. If they are working fine they can be left alone until they don't work well.

Quote: yes Randy, it's pretty simple, two limit switches, and the timing/control box, that's it. Ironic that we live in an age with inexpensive commuter boxes like the Chevy Sonic having more computing power than the spaceships that took our astronauts to the moon in the late 60s, and every dealership is equipped to diagnose those, but this system boggles even "professionals" today. What is required is a strong knowledge of basic analog electronics and an ability to think through a circuit.
Quote: Mr. Kughn had 100 cars at the time this drive-test was done, and basically one mechanic to service them all. I know this car, I saw it, and did some detailing on it in 2011. It could have had a couple of issues, and yes, it is entirely likely that Dick himself did not know the car the way an enthusiast who owns (and obsesses over) one car does. This is not uncommon behavior with large scale collectors. He might not know all of the trivia about that one car, but he does know how to amass the kind of funds to put together a stellar 100 car collection.