Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

My Mom of 96 is very interested in my Packard restoration and dug out a photo taken of my Great Uncle Frank Anderson's car which she believes was a Packard. I believe she is correct as I can see it having the proper shape to a 1925ish model, but I admit there is a lot fewer hood louvers than the images on our sites photos of these cars. The Hood however seems to have the proper shape at the rad and the car's silhouette looks right. Can anyone confirm it is
a Packard and if so, give me a definitive year/model for this car? The beautiful girl on the running board is Frank's (future?) wife Madge. I did get to meet her in the 80's living in the Gastown area of Vancouver. Great lady. Frank however passed before I was born.
Thanks gang!

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  1920 something Packard.jpg (50.02 KB)

A few car makers tried to copy the Packard look. A so-called authority claimed Packard stole the design from the French DeDion, but I don't think that is the case, rather a coincidental inspiration taken from Gothic architecture. Radiator shells around 1904 were rather uniform.

Anyway, my guess is that is an entry level Buick

But your great Aunt looks delightful in any event.

You’re right. It’s those louvres. Not a wide enough expanse. Hood ornament more like mercury than fly goddess. But the style is very close to 1930/31 in the shape of the top.

The wheelbase looks too short for a Packard.

Bob

It's a 50 Series Chrysler. Four cylinders, two wheel brakes ( i.e dressed up Maxwell.) The giveaway for me is the shape of the headlight buckets and the radiator. The Chrysler sixes had 4 wheel hydraulic brakes..

Regards

John Harley
'

I think I've solved the mystery of the car in this photo. It is a 1927 or 1928 Star, produced by Durant Motors. Durant Motors was the automotive conglomerate cobbled together by GM founder and former chairman William C. Durant after he was ejected by GM's board in 1921 for nearly bankrupting the company. The Star was the low-priced line meant to compete with Ford and Chevrolet. Other Durant Motors car lines included the Flint, Durant, Locomobile and Mason trucks. Also, the Star car was exported to Europe under the Rugby brand name. Although initially successful, sales eventually faltered, and Durant Motors was out of business by 1932. William Durant passed away in 1947, broke, nearly destitute and virtually forgotten by the industry he had done so much to create.

I am identifying the photo car as a Star of this vintage based on several key design elements which I have matched to photos of actual Star cars I found on the Internet:

Bullet shaped headlights painted black
Row of 18 stamped hood louvers
Three external door hinges
Unusually wide belt line extending down the rear of the car
Embossed areas on running board apron
Cowl lamps
Apparent similarity to the Packard radiator design

The Star car was produced from 1922 through 1928, becoming the Durant-Star for 1928 before being folded into the Durant line for 1929-1932, after which, production ceased. Star cars utilized either four (158 CI, 30 HP) or six (169.2 CI, 40 HP) cylinder engines produced by Continental. The six was new for 1927. I believed the photo car is a six. Please examine the attached photos and let me know what you think.

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  1927 Durant Star 6.jpg (39.52 KB)


  1928-durant-star-coupe-2.jpg (42.26 KB)


  1928-durant-star-coupe-1.jpg (43.30 KB)

I think that's right. I was trying to think of a failed maker that imitated the ox yoke radiator and couldn't remember. I was thinking Flint but gave up.

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I think you nailed it. Didn't quite look like a Chrysler to me, but it was very similar. Totally different hood than the Chrysler.

It took quite a bit of research on my part to come up with what I believe is the correct answer. Many of the cars from the 1920's do look very similar to one another. I did see the similarity to the Packard radiator shape and knew that several makes tried to imitate it during this period. Buicks from 1924-1928 copied it so closely that Packard actually considered initiating a copyright infringement lawsuit against GM. The Willys-Knight radiator design from the 1920's through about 1930 also bore a strong resemblance to a contemporary Packard. In fact, when I saw the photo, I initially thought that it might be a Willys-Knight, but upon closer inspection, some of the design elements just did not match, particularly the hood louvers. The short-lived Dagmar car, produced in Hagerstown, Maryland from 1922-1927 had a very Packard-esque frontal appearance, but these cars were extremely high priced and featured rather radical styling for the time period. Looking at the size of the car in relation to Bob J's lovely great aunt seated on the running board, it is apparent that this is a smaller, low-priced vehicle, something similar to a Model T or a Chevrolet. This is something that a young man in the late 1920's could reasonably afford. I'm assuming that the car was fairly new when the photo was taken. The Star car was publicized as "Low-Cost Transportation" in ads of the period and would have perfectly suited a young man about to get married. Unfortunately for Great Uncle Frank, the Star car soon acquired a rather dubious reputation for quality, which was undoubtedly a factor in the brand's ultimate demise.

Hope you enjoy these photos of Packard imitators from the 1920's. I admit to having a great affinity for obscure orphan brands. Always exciting to see a nearly 100-year-old vehicle that almost nobody knows anything about. I'm so tired of going to car shows and seeing rows of Mustangs, Camaros and Chevelles. How boring!

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  1928WillysKnight.jpg (50.67 KB)


  1922-Dagmar-Sport-Sedan.jpg (24.55 KB)


  1927BuickMasterCoupe.jpg (84.14 KB)