Re: 1941 LeBaron Sports Brougham
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
![]() ![]() ![]() |
You should have your own 'This Old Car' show on TV, Steve! I'd sure tune in... Chris
Posted on: 2019/11/3 15:27
|
|||
'If you think you can, or you think you can't - you're right!' Henry Ford.
1939 Packard Six, Model 1700 |
||||
|
Re: 1941 LeBaron Sports Brougham
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
![]() ![]() ![]() |
Excellent and well-written! The 1940 Cadillac 60 Special is especially attractive even over the 1939 and 1941 versions. In fact, 1940 seemed a good year as a whole for stylish design on many makes and models! While the styling similarities between the 60 Special and the Sports Brougham are obvious, if I had to choose one it would be the Packard without question.
The 1940 60 Special is a far cry from my huge and gadget-filled 1965 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special but my 1965 Imperial LeBaron is more in keeping with the earlier cars as far as quality and style
Posted on: 2019/11/3 16:02
|
|||
|
Re: 1941 LeBaron Sports Brougham
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
![]() ![]() ![]() |
Steve, PackardInfo is incredibly fortunate to have had you for so long on its "playroll" offering your knowledge and insights. You are the best automotive historian I have ever had the pleasure of learning from. That we are also personal friends makes it that much more special. Keep offering your thoughts as well as your well-wishes to folks new to the site. Thank you on behalf of the entire club, you are a true gentleman.
The '41 LeBaron seems to have been a desperately needed brochure stuffer at a time when EGB was feeling the luxury market literally quake beneath its feet. Cadillac was running the table and even Lincoln had its Continental. The Darrin Victoria was fine but not enough. A sedan was needed. Must have been quite the scene in the planning department, Clipper program moving ahead at breakneck speed, set to arrive as a mid-1941 response to Cadillac. That Packard felt the need to attack the first 6 months of the model year with the LeBaron speaks volumes about the tough situation it had found itself in. The car could have probably been continued as a 1942 model but alas, it served its primary purpose. Now it was Clipper's turn including in One Eighty form.
Posted on: 2019/11/3 21:22
|
|||
|
Re: 1941 LeBaron Sports Brougham
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
![]() ![]() ![]() |
If you go back and look at the historical recordings of Packard employees, it was not the high priced LeBaron but the Clipper that was a response to Cadillac.
In the words of one Packard Exec "They were scared to death of Cadillac".
Posted on: 2019/11/4 6:08
|
|||
|
Re: 1941 LeBaron Sports Brougham
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
![]() ![]() ![]() |
agreed. The LeBaron was a halo car to assert their position in the luxury market. The Clipper was going to pay the bills and determine the stock price.
Posted on: 2019/11/4 6:26
|
|||
|
Re: 1941 LeBaron Sports Brougham
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
![]() ![]() ![]() |
My first project car after retiring was a 39 Cadillac 60 Special. It had been about 40 years since I had anything other than a daily driver. I enjoyed getting back into working on cars and the Cadillac rewarded me for my efforts, time and expense. The most challenging job was doing a valve job. It was a bit tricky to do, but not beyond my skills. In my opinion, very well engineered, and the styling and design were most attractive.
Posted on: 2019/11/4 11:52
|
|||
We move toward
And make happen What occupies our mind... (W. Scherer) |
||||
|
Re: 1941 LeBaron Sports Brougham
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
![]() ![]() ![]() |
There were a number of those LeBarons around the New York area. Two separate cars were used in the Godfather movie.
Ted Kavenagh bought a pair on Long Island for something like a grand. When he was driving one of them home he got caught in a rainstorm and pulled off the highway under a bridge. The power windows were beyond him and he sold both of them, forever holding a grudge against 1941 Packards in any form. The production cars can be converted to electric motors by installing manual regulators with motors. The one LeBaron I worked had regulators with nothing in common with production cars and I didn't see an easy path in that direction. Without a better pump that system is pretty rotten. The pistons were big enough to generate lots of force, but the pumps didn't hold up worth a darn.
Posted on: 2019/11/4 17:04
|
|||
|
Re: 1941 LeBaron Sports Brougham
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
![]() ![]() ![]() |
Hi
Thanks for all your kind endorsements and insights. Each in turn: Chris: TV? I have a face for radio... Anyway, Just imagine my response when the producers tell me I have to do another show about the'57 Chevy...! It wouldn't be fit for broadcast... Don: Cadillac had never carried design hallmarks forward through each new series to identify its cars prior to 1941. Three completely different 'face' themes were presented from 1938 through 1941. The '38 considered the most chaste and business-like, '39-'40 aggressively streamlined moderne, the latter the boldest; '41, elegantly imposing, smartly tailored, what Packard had presented. Finally a face for the ages or at least on which to capitalize upon. There is preference for each. The original 60 Special concept was a nimble owner-driven luxury sedan, later iteration evolved under Misterl and Mitchell to something that fit the tenor of their times, far from the original concept. Paul; Thanks for your kind words, I'm happy to share what knowledge and insights I can bring to the discussion, especially for models of particular interest such as the LeBaron Sport Brougham. In our increasingly coarsening culture, words of welcoming and civility are sorely needed. Purchase of a collector car to please one's interest should be met with welcoming, encouragement and most of all civility. I'm thankful to have this island of such where the free exchange of information can take place among gentlemen without meanness or rancor. As you've enlarged and Tim Cole and bkazmer have noted, the Sport Brougham arrival bolstered a luxury sedan selection somewhat lacking, though contributed very little to the bottom line. It was key to continually reinforcing the luxury car reputation on which they still depended to promote as a reason to select their popular-priced lines in preference to others. Whither the Clipper: Utter, running-around-with-their-hair-on-fire panic (but only in the most dignified way) probably best describes the mahogany row situation throughout 1940 when the Clipper was in development. After significant investments in the new all-steel bodies, it had produced only lackluster sales for 1938 and 1939. They could explain away 1938 being caused by the severe recession but while their major competitors bounced back, their 1939 Six and 120 sales were even worse. Clearly something had to be done and fast. 1940 was shaping up to be a much better year but war preparation spending and general nervousness of restricted availability were the primary motivation. Please stand by for a closer assessment relative to Packards of the motivating driver: The all-new 1940 GM 3-box Torpedo C-Bodies. Steve Added 11-9-2019 We're back: More than any other GM models that engendering "They were scared to death of Cadillac" were the new 3-box Torpedo C-Bodies spread throughout their nameplates. For the first and only time, every one except Chevrolet fielded an upper or top-line series with this smart new style. And they were popular! Whether by happenstance or design, here's how each instances matched or bracketed important Packard touring sedans in every series for 1940: Packard 110: $996 Pontiac Torpedo Eight Series 29: $1,072 Buick Super Series 50: $1,109 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser 90 Series: $1,131 Packard 120: $1,166 Packard 120 Deluxe: $1,245 Buick Roadmaster Series 70: $1,359 LaSalle Series 52 Special: $1,440 Packard 160 1803: $1,632 Cadillac Series 62: $1,745 Packard 160 1804: $1,895 Cadillac 60 Special: $2,090 Cadillac 60 Special Imperial: $2,230 Packard 180 1806 club sedan: $2,243 While our first choice now would be the Packards, these are what the public had to choose from. GM had more widespread dealership coverage and GMAC financing available. Many were dual franchises, typically Pontiac-Buick or Oldsmobile-Cadillac-LaSalle. For a major portion of the public, their local dealers were trusted community members. The general outlook was to seek the perceived best value in the latest modern development. Debates about which car was the best value notwithstanding, there are inflection points when the public is primed for something new. The 1940 GM Torpedo C-Bodies were that something new compared to the old 2 ?-box touring sedan. It took it's inspiration and configuration from the high-image luxury Cadillac 60 Special and that was enough to make them a major success. It was also what put Packard management into panic to crash program the development that became the 1941 Clipper. And it's a good thing it did! Your comments and perspectives welcomed. Steve
Posted on: 2019/11/6 12:43
|
|||
.....epigram time.....
Proud 1953 Clipper Deluxe owner. Thinking about my next Packard, want a Clipper Deluxe Eight, manual shift with overdrive. |
||||
|
Re: 1941 LeBaron Sports Brougham
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
![]() ![]() ![]() |
The 1941 Sport Brougham by LeBaron is again offered for sale:
https://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/d/midway-1941-packard-180-brougham/7554442635.html Certainly, an ambitious and expensive restoration project but one of the most worthwhile. Preserve the most elegantly proportioned late pre-war era closed Packards and final LeBaron coachbuilt bodies a laudable objective in itself. Steve
Posted on: 2022/11/9 13:27
|
|||
.....epigram time.....
Proud 1953 Clipper Deluxe owner. Thinking about my next Packard, want a Clipper Deluxe Eight, manual shift with overdrive. |
||||
|