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Shortly after I started renting a parking Spot for one packard, the landlord proudly showed me this organ that he recently bought. Is there any connection to our Packards?

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Nope. The organ company actually predates the car company and I think also Packard Electric.

Likewise as far as I’m aware that Packard family had no connection with the others.

Interesting story, there is a very fancy and expensive organ in the Crescent Hotel, Eureka Springs, Arkansas USA which was custom made for the Packard family (though not a Packard organ). This organ was made in Germany and was planned to be shipped, with its creator riding along for delivery, on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. But thankfully it was not completed in time! So the automotive Packards we know were certainly fans of organs, enough to buy an elaborate German organ.

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Yes Mike (Tobs), humanpotatohybrid is right, PMCC maintained a very strong connection to the music industry. Starting with experimental jukeboxes on chain-driven trucks before the 1st world war,




Detroit offered an organ kit for retrofitting Super Eights.




It was nobody less than the LIFE magazine that called the Phantom grille "mouth organ".





image sources
#1 - uniqueguitar.blogspot.com
#2 - JD in KC
#3 - LIFE magazine

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Packard brand pianos/organs have already been discussed in the Packard Bikes thread in the General index. There was no official connection to Packard Motor Car Company.

However, years ago when I was doing some work for the giant LeMay Family automobile collection in Spanaway, Washington, we had a fellow show up one day with a very tall tale. In his story, he claimed that the factory for the maker of Packard pianos/organs was just a short distance from the Packard Motor Car plant in Detroit Michigan. He went on to say that...Packard automobiles were brought to the piano factory to inspire the assembly lines there! (WOW!). The story went on to say that the plants traded cars and pianos with the pianos somehow being played in the Packard plant to help assembly line workers keep up the pace! He claimed there were even competitions between the two plants! So help me!

Of course I pointed out that the piano factory was down in Indiana and the car factory was in Michigan. While this distance that may not seem too far today in the era of super-highways, 18-wheel trucks with 53-foot trailers and 70 MPH speed limits, it was it was a serious trip in those days. My family had a summer home in Indiana, still a long way from the Packard Piano plant. I can assure you that travel even in the 1950s from Detroit to (for instance South Bend) was not something approached lightly... and nothing like commuting to swap pianos and cars!

An outrageous story. But as incredible as it may seem, some people actually believed this fellow's stories about the pianos and automobiles and workers on the assembly lines humming to piano music.

Anyway... no connection between Packard Motor Car Company and the Packard Piano company. Nor to Packard bicycles.

BTW... nice to see you have a 1990 Miata. I wrote your Owner's Manual and much of all the other manuals on that vehicle. I also walked the first handful down the assembly line in Hiroshima, Japan.

The 2nd Quarter 2013 (#151) issue of The Packard Cormorant has Leeedy's article on Packard Bicycles, as well as "Non-Packard Packard Advertisements," such as organs, pianos, shoes, tires, hats, etc.