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

Hi everybody, I am new here -

Does anyone have or could they point me to information about the number of workers employed by Packard in manufacturing year on year between 1935 and 1941? Or failing that the number of cars completed for each of these years?

If anyone has the same info for Auburn/Cord/Duesenberg that would be fantastic.

Thanks in advance.

nick: First of all welcome to the forum. I don't know if I can find any figures on employment numbers at the Packard Factory between 1935 and 1941, but here are production figures for those years.

1935 52,045

1936 80,978

1937 109,815

1938 50,260

1939 76,573

1940 76,927

1941 66,906


John F. Shireman

Nick: here are the production numbers for the 810/812 which was produced from 1935 through 1937.

1935 1629

1936 997

1937 281

Total production of Duesys was between 470 and 480 units total from introduction in 1928 to end in the late 30's.


John F. Shireman

Many thanks John!

Am I right in assuming that Packard was a much bigger operation than Auburn?

It seems Auburns Cords and Duesenbergs were powered by Lycoming engines but Packard built their own engines - is this correct?

If my memory serves E. L. Cord's corporate empire included Cord-Auburn-Duesenberg, Eastern Airlines and Lycoming - possibly others of which I am unaware.

Nick--Loyd put it correctly, Lycoming was part of E.L.Cord's conglomerate during the period the ACD cars were manufactured. Packard was a centralized manufacturing entity, they manufactured their own engines, transmissions and rear axles (until the 1956 models, which used purchased Dana rear axles) in a central plant beginning in 1899 in Warren Ohio, then moving to Detroit in 1903, through 1954. The 1955-56 models were assembled in a plant leased from Chrysler, the former Briggs manufacturing plant on Conner ave. that had been suppling all of Packard's post-war bodies. For the 1955-56 model years the (V-8) engines and transmissions were built at Packard's Utica, Michigan plant, a very modern, state-of-the-art facility, and shipped to the Conner plant for assembly into the cars.
ACD at their peak was operating plants in Auburn IN, Connersville IN, Indianapolis, and the Lycoming engine plant in Pennsylvania. The combined size of all those facilities may well have excceded the size of Packard's East Grand Boulevard plant(s)

Nick: Here is a nut shell history of the empire that E.L. Cord built, its was wide in range and in some abigger operation than Packard.

When Cord was in its heyday it may have operated three plants. However closer the to the truth is that the plant at Indy production wasn't that great in number, being that Duesenberg was produced there.

Cord became vice-president and general manager of Auburn in July 1924. By 1926 he became the major stock holder in Auburn. That same year Cord bought Duesenberg. from 1927 through 1928 he bought vacant industrial buildings that had been used in car production. largest of the buildings was Central Manufacturing Company, which earlier built some bodies for Auburn.

In 1928 Cord bought Lycoming Motors along with its subsidiary Spencer Heater both located in Williamsport, Penna, which is my home town. Lycoming Motors became a subisdiary of Auburn.

In 1929 Cord bought Stinson Aircraft and Columbia Axle. Cord in 1930 founded Century Airlines to prodvide passenger airline service and to bid on govermanet air mail contracts. 1933 Cord bought New York Ship Building, he also took control of Checker Cab, and with it the Parmelee System which operated cabs in New York City and Chicago. To those he added the Yellow Cab Companies of New York, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.


John F. Shireman

PS: I do have some productions numbers on Auburn, I will psot them on Saturday night

John, Loyd, Mr Pushbutton - thank you very much for your insights.

Is there a good general history of the Packard firm in print? Something that details the financial ups and downs of the company as well as the story of the design and development of vehicles?

There are two books I would recommend, the first being "the bible", "Packard, a History of the motor car and company", edited by Beverley Rae Kimes, published by Automotive quarterly. sometimes referred to as "the Kimes book" or "the Automotive quarterly Packard book". three inches thick, chock full of pictures, great writing, the whole story. A few factoids in that book have not withstood the test of time and additional research, such as the business of the senior car dies (falsely reported as) being sold to the USSR for the production of ZIS cars, but whatever small quantity of such errors there are more than made up by the wealth of accurate information and pictures, as well as a unified text that gives the reader a sense of the company, the men who ran it and the customers who were its patrons.
It was originally to be produced in limited numbers then the plates destroyed, I have a first edition copy, but they thought better of that idea and it is still available, you may find a copy on Amazon or Alibiris.com
The second book is "the fall of the Packard motor car company" by James Ward. A straight foreword examination of how a company like Packard failed, told without rose colored glasses, but with an honest admiration for the company and its products.
Here's an Amazon link for a two-fer special they are running for both books, at considerably less than I paid for each (especially if you adjust for inflation!)

amazon.com/Fall-Packard-Motor-Car-Company/dp/0804724571

Thank you MrPushbutton, I shall try and get the Kimes book on interlibrary loan - I am a renowned cheapskate and have my reputation to consider.

Interestingly the book is going for $44 Canadian on amazon.ca, so if ILL fails me I shall just swallow the financial pain and buy it!