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Well the pic itself isn't a masterpiece. But it entails an interesting story.

"This is an original photograph from 1935 or 1936 showing a line of new Packards in a factory driveaway. The first cars are towing the second and there are three teams of cars. This was a common method of getting new cars delivered to dealers in the pre World War II era."


source: worthpoint.com

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Gusha, thanks, I'd not seen that photo before. Here's another factory "driveaway" photo that surely had a story to tell, too bad we can only guess. 5 cars, 10 drivers or delivery folks. All have the deluxe radiator cap and deluxe horn options, all seem to have the same paint job. Perhaps all 5 were identically equipped? On the lead car the rear license plate is strangely on the right side. License plates also appear to be consecutive or nearly consecutive numbers as well. Photo courtesy of PAC.

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Dave (O_D), thanks for sharing this marvelous photograph (I've enhanced the contrast). Two drivers per car would indicate a far journey.
Under the heading of "driveaway" here's the next pic.




"Lot filled with various body types of the 1936 Packard One-Twenty Fourteenth series. These were part of the 3,000 cars that distributors and dealers drove home on September 4, the biggest driveaway in the history of the auto industry."
The photograph above is from the National Automotive History Collection at the Rose & Robert Skillman Branch of the Detroit Public Library, the photograph below courtesy of PAC.

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Plates consecutive numbered would imply that t he cars are all going to the same location or county.

I assume that the plate "relocated" to right hand side means NO facility to mount one on the left side???? Or brackets on BOTH sides???

Why not ship by rail which was popular in the prewar era unless there was a railroad strike of the coal miners on strike.'

Most likely the cars were homologation units for some rather local show or event or display.

Michigan plates???

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Yes, why not ship by rail or truck? And why to collect them for such a long time? To deliver all at once for equal treatment of the dealers?



[picture source: exotic.autotraderclassics.com - Click to enlarge!]

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Hi

Although rail shipment was the typical method used in that era, those mass drive-aways were great for dealer morale. Get those troops to the factory, wine and dine 'em, give 'em the sales pep talk, send 'em home full of vigor to knock a new sales record out of the park!

Steve

Cars, especialy of the prewar era were occasionaly sold to john q public FOB. Pick it up at the factory. Some consignment sales if the dealers picked them up at the factory.

What finance company did Packard use for dealers might also be a key. There was very little financing to JQ Public of the prewar era or at least not thru the manufacturer. GMAC, nearly unheard of to the general public was finance for Dealers. Ridisco for FOord (later AMC). Not sure who Chrysler used nor any of the other manufacturer/dealer netwworks.

Of course JQ public could get financing thru local banks, even today if JQP had enuf collateral (land, bussiness, farm etc.).

Even in recent years not uncommon for a Jhn Q public to show up at the bank for a loan of a car he's picked out. But the bank will say "oh, go see the local dealer or used car lot to buy a car". But will not loan for just ANY dealer even with high customer collateral.


What baffles me is the license plate relocation coupled with consecutive plate numbers. Pretty much indicates somekind of homolagation units or possibly a fleet sale. Canada maybe??? Not sure if Canada had somekind of license plate location restriction.

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Steve, Keith, it should have been a driveaway weekend, a kind of ongoing party with continual coming and going. The first Packard started Saturday morning, the last Sunday evening, always three per minute. It's amazing that the internet offers no pictures of that mass event (music, tombola, roasted suckling pig, ...) or the terms "driveaway" and "drive away" were not in use.




photograph of the Packard plant and newly produced 1937 Packards, view from above. Inscribed on photo back; most appear to be; Packard six, fifteenth series, model 115-C, 6-cylinder, 100-horsepower, 115-inch wheelbase (various body types), and; Packard one twenty, fifteenth series, model 120-C, 8-cylinder, 120-horsepower, 120-inch wheelbase (various body types), portion of Packards involved in drive away of September 4th 1936, setting Packard Motor Car Co. Detroit, Mich.

Item # EB01d987

Photo courtesy of the Detroit Public Library, National Automotive History Collection and used with permission.

Local newspapers cover the event and confirm Steve's approach of a marketing concept, a remedy, which has been applied for decades.


sources
The Palm Beach Post, June 24, 1931
Milwaukee News Sentinel, September 25, 1938
The Free Lance - Star Fredericksburg, May 4, 1949

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Hi Guscha

Thanks for those newspaper clippings, a fine window into the fact the drive-aways were a big deal promotion activity then.

Just think how those thousands of dealers and personnel enjoyed traveling to the sales convention by train, being treated royally by their factory, living it up in the big city away from 'the women folk', then returning home with a shiny new Packard to sell! That was about as good as it got back then. When the time machine is perfected, I'll set it to that 1931 convention and climb in!

Steve