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

Fred - I must point to companies like Porsche, BMW, Mercedes and VW. Granted they operated from a home base outside the U.S. and sold cheaper cars there (except VW) but they came to the U.S. as small two bit players and grew globally in no small measure because of their success here. Size can be a double-edged sword over the long haul, as we have recently painfully seen in Detroit.

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Post-war? Pretty much. Look at Hudson. They were doing fine with the step down, carving out a nice little niche for themselves. The Big 3 weren't about to touch such a technology. In 1951 they had a little cash to spend and instead of updating the car, Barit directs it towards the Jet. And instead of making a dazzling compact, he whips up an uninspired design. He was totally responsible for that car. Nobody made him do it, he made that wrong decision all by himself. Another leader might have taken a totally different path. Now, he also did the '48 so sometimes these folks give, sometimes they taketh away. My point is that PEOPLE, not circumstances, make things happen in this industry to a great extent and always have. Why did GM take off like Secretariat in the 30s? Because of Sloan and Earl. They were a two man wrecking crew that wrought havoc on Packard and everyone else not because of their size but because of their gutsy innovative good looking products and mastery of the marketplace.

Good discussion. In my opinion, Packard really lost sight of who and what it was when the juniors morphed into the seniors. After that there was not enough distinction between the seniors and juniors. The senior 21st Series Clippers were great cars, the problem was that someone looking at a Six and a Custom could not readily tell the difference, and there was a huge difference - beneath the skin. Granted, the 22nd and 23rd Customs had distinctive features, but the 24th series onward all looked too much the same. Too much momentum lost. I always thought that if Packard had used a Request styling on its senior V-8s, to distinguish them from the Clipper line, there might have been some hope of making it to 1957.

(o{I}o)

I think the market dictated in the 30's that "juniors morphed into seniors". The surviving US luxury makers (Packard, Cadillac, Lincoln, Imperial) all evolved into cars that were based on more "standard" corporate technology. Pierce Arrow didn't fare so well with the only luxury approach - there wasn't enough market left. I think you can make the case that Buick was actually making the best GM luxury car just before the war, and GM put a halt to that (except there's that nagging babbit thing - please, PeteH, don't say it again).

That said, I agree that the styling carried the family resemblance too far between juniors and seniors. An average old car person has difficulty telling models apart. Don't exempt the bathtubs - a 23rd series Super Deluxe looks a lot like a Custom. Any car maker with a "face" featuring a verticle grille had a styling challenge in the 40's - 50's as cars tried to look wider and lower. LaSalle's issue became moot. Alfa and Packard tried to make the grille smaller and narrower. Rolls Royce and Jaguar just went retro - it's handsome today but very dated in its era.

The bathtub (and Hudson, Lincoln, Merc) had a more streamlined and advanced style that the later GM designs (still have rear fenders). The compromise in those cars is using the narrower Clipper center section. Compare to a Hudson that was done "all at once."

The effort in 51 to incorporate the yoke shape as the top of a contempporary grille shape is a clever try - in my opinion the problem is that the overall shape is so much like other cars of the time.

Great assessment. Not sure how a vertical grill could have worked after the 1947s without being retro but am sure a good designer could have figured it out. Teague was on to something with the narrow grill motif coupled with hidden headlights although the grill seemed to protrude too much in side view. 1940 to the late 50s was a tough transition time for front styling. Always thought the 51 Hudson was a great attempt. 1951 Packard was as you said but the overall body contours and grill theme did have potential with lower height a la the Pan American; wish Packard had kept and refined the idea. Second generation Cadillac CTS is much improved over first because the designers had time to mull things over. Cadillac mulled over and sweetened the same theme all through the 40s and 50s.

The original Clipper's more classic Thirties shape, with its pinched-in body forward of the B-pillar, rear pontoons, V-windshield and tall hood might have made a great final go around for the vertical grill and front pontoons. Kind of like how the 1933 Dietrich Sport Sedan capped off Twenties styling in its final glorious form. Packard rarely did breakthrough body shapes first but it often did them best; problem is these were usually customs and semi-customs. Packard would have helped itself greatly had it mass produced the custom look with the same consistency and fervor it poured into its engineering.

Top 3Q view gives a better look at the trimmer pinched in sides and traditional front.

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Here's one idea on how to integrate the classic grill. Carries over cathedral taillight theme to the front. Virgil Exner explored this type of front corner design throughout the 50s.

Couldn't fiqure out how to add the headlights in a nice way so hid them.

Opinions and suggestions always welcome. And again, many thanks to the owner!

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The "Request" front end styling, while attractive, is too busy for my taste. Your rendering is interesting, and with headlights added would be a more pleasing approach, to me.

(o{I}o)

Tough nut to crack.

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If you want to see how NOT to execute this theme, check out the current German design Rolls Royce front.

I think Alfa handled it better

Agreed , do not look to Rolls Royce for inspiration. The new model look like a cross between a Peterbilt truck and a
Checker.

Fred Kanter
Kanter Auto Products
Boonton NJ