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Interesting concept drawings of possibilities for 22-23rd cars in latest PAC bulletin. Contributed by JW with some history of their origin. Done with an English flair, I think seeing one pass by would certainly need a second look to make sure what it was. Very different than what actually happened but also maybe too similar to another well known car. The flacks of the era would probably have called it the poor mans version.

I shared the illustrations with the Packard Information crowd first, but thought they deserved to be published for a broader distribution. Happy New Year !!!

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Must have missed them when posted but that's what happens when something falls off the 10 most recent list. Glad you decided to give them a second chance.

I believe this is orginal thread on the subject:

Carl G. Evers Post War Clipper Sketches

If so, then here are direct links to those images in the Photo Archive (under "Show and Concept Cars"):

Post Clipper Concept 1

Post Clipper Concept 2

Post Clipper Concept 3

Post Clipper Concept 4

Post Clipper Concept 5

Post Clipper Concept 6

Post Clipper Concept 7

...where they have been preserved for all to enjoy.

Very sleek drawings. I often wonder why those sitting on the Executive Board at the time couldn't see how beautiful those cars could have been? Then again, those long lost board meeting minutes may someday give insight to us?

Thanks for posting Brian.

kg

Very classy indeed, but in my opinion, except for concept # 1, hopelessly out of date for the US market in the 50s. Jags, Bentley, MB and Rolls were considered, even at the time, very old fashioned, and with good reason... they were! Not a whit of imagination whatever. If Packard could have come up with something as Futuristic as the 1957 Forward Look cars from Chrysler, which are widely acknowledged nowadays as automotive works of art, but, unlike the somewhat gaudy Imperial, which was an uncharacteristically over-the-top successor to the impressive 55/56s, with the typical ineffable Packard touch of quiet and restrained elegance, they would have been world beaters.

The stillborn '57 Packards would have suffered mightily next to the beautiful '57 Mopars, and it is good that they did not have to suffer that ignominy. Let the overly conservative but oh-so-American, gorgeous, and quietly powerful appearing 1956 Packards be, finally and unlametedly, the last will and testament of America's Finest Automobile.

There are always alot of different views on how the next generation of a line of cars should look. Just think how different the market would have played out if Cadillac went with this design in 1949 (see attached). The "bathtub" Packards would probably been the postwar style leader.

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No need to thank me. I'm just a tour guide, connecting points of interest along the way, in this case.

Thanks should go to JW for providing us with these images and the backstory, earlier this year - and BigKev for providing the means to display them.

There's no doubt that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and these designs would have been out of step for the 1950s. However, from what I gathered of the backstory provided here, the intent behind these concepts was for the first new Seniors following WWII. In that light, they seem a bit more in keeping with tastes of the 1948-1950 timeframe. However, I'm not sure where that might have led Packard afterwards.

Yet, when it comes to the stillborn 1957 Packards, I think they would have stood the industry on its ear - even compared to other offerings for 1958. Don't think of "what might have been" solely in terms of "Black Bess", which was a cobbled-up mule. Instead, consider this Four Hundred:

Since we are on the subject of concept drawing, here are a couple more to toss on the stack. These were commissioned by Packard in the early 40s and drawn by Brook Stevens.

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