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"they just borrow your watch and then tell you what time it is"...just my humble opinion...Ernie in Arizona

Thanks Ernie, you made my day

Leedy, very well communicated points on History, Snob Appeal and how business is not based on wishes, but reality. Think you should paste that directly into an email to the Hemmings writer.

I am saddened by the direction Hemmings appears to be going under its new leadership. Good writers being let go and perhaps the quality of writing slipping. I hope it retains its legacy value despite its younger generation leadership that doesn't participate in the hobby directly.

That's my concern.

Good points, all...., Guys,
and your consultant description made my day also Ernie! With your permission, I'm going to borrow that and it will be my description of 'those guys' from now on! LOL.
Leeedy (THREE E's) your points well stated from an obviously knowledgeable point of view; I always learn something from these exchanges, which I suppose is the point. History is an intricate brocade, isn't it?!?!?! Chris.

After reading the article, my conclusion is Pat Foster should stick to the subject he knows best: American Motors. It was going to take much more than a minor shuffling of model names and trim in early 1956 to stop the inevitable. The perpetual drumbeat of bad business news regarding S-P was more than enough to warn off any new car buyer that feared being stuck with an orphan. Hardcore loyalist would take the chance, just not enough of them or others.

Steve

PS: Anyone who think Packard could have survived the 1930's without the Junior series need only to study Pierce-Arrow history to see the results of decisions to never compromise their standards to please market conditions.

I read a book on the history of auto industry a couple years back, and it said that Nance, in cash strapped post war, had shopped around with other makers(named) to merge with and Stude was the only one that would OK a deal letting him stay in charge. All the others wanted him out and he wasn't selling that. De mortuis nihil nici bonum.

The only constant is change. Fail to change and history will right your epitaph.
An argument with no end, because it's intractable. Opinions are just that. As for me, past time for Packard RIP.

ps:I'll look up that book title if anyone wants the source.
pps: I stopped getting Hemming's when they changed the online viewer and I couldn't view it and they refused to fix it. They were always helpful before that. Casting their own fate. 500 pps of paper will eventually end in today's world. Time to mail and read, vs online. You'll miss the deal or won't know it's sold. Old issues may come in handy with the T-paper shortages though...

Chris...You're welcome to it...Ernie

Its always fun to imagine "what if" for the makes that faded away. I agree that so many of the intricacies of the decisions being made at the time seem to wash away over the years. Myself being fairly new to Packards in general must admit lots of what I read regarding postwar Packard and Jim Nance was not particularly flattering. Many sources even cite him as a furniture/interior design/whatever he was in his previous role exec with a comically low understanding of the automotive business. But being familiar with all the things said about Kaiser Frazer in its waning years lead me to take everything I read with a grain of salt.

In my incredibly biased what-if scenario, I'd have loved Packard to buy Kaiser Frazer. Overnight they'd have 3 models to choose from. Packard retains Luxury status, Frazer fills the Buick/Mercury tier, and Kaiser becomes the bread and butter. In my eyes its mostly win-win, Packard gets lower tier models for more volume, allowing the Packard brand to remain fairly prestigious, Kaiser is free to make the volume focused "people's car" he always wanted, and the V8 in varying states of tune could be used across the line. Perhaps even working on an F head conversion for the long in the tooth continental six or allows the lower makes the straight eight option. Even more fun to think about, a Kaiser Darrin fiberglass sports car with Packard V8 power beating corvette to market by one month? I salivate at the thought. Or even wilder, a bare bones Henry J with the 374 V8 as the kickoff to the muscle car era - though I doubt anyone would of have the foresight. But, a man can dream...

I will say to some degree, that Kaiser was always a styling leader in their last years. Only trouble unless Packard would have bought in with them early on, Kaiser was losing sales from 1949 on every year till they ceased car production of the Willys and Kaiser cars in the U.S.