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I honestly believe it's the luck of the draw.

I have had 2 GM products, a 70 Pontiac GP and 80 Chev Impala. Both comfortable & good on the road. The Pontiac was no trouble mechanically but apparently built before days of rust control. Happened under the padded top (not unlike my Carib HT) but all sight unseen. No outward signs except the chrome around back window came off one day and this being a no salt state was totally unexpected. Guess that could happen so chalk it up.

The 80 Chev was a different story entirely. At 12000, the seal in transmission tail shaft failed. One morning I went out and found the fluid had run out the back and down my driveway. Towed to shop. At about 18K, first alternator and again at about 35K. Just about everything bolted to engine had to be replaced at some point, some more than once. Stayed overnight in Arizona (below freezing) and came out next AM to find a 1/4 split in dash cover where vinyl had contracted and broke apart. Transmission problems again, then it started leaking oil and fouling plugs on 1 cylinder-- apparently there was a head warping problem in that series engine. All in all, not GM's best effort.

Starting about 1960 My dad had Olds and Cadillacs and as far as I know, very little problems. His last Cad - a 74- was one of the nicest, most reliable cars I have ever driven and served Mom for the next 16 yrs.

The old Ford put downs I learned early on (Found On Road Dead, Fix Or Replace Daily) were probably well deserved at some point, but I've had good luck with them -- although there have been 3 recalls on my current Ranger PU, it hasn't let me down yet -- but others I know have not had the same experience. The Mazda PU before that had 80K with nothing more than an EGR valve before I gave it to my brother who put another 75K on it.

Like I said, luck of the draw.

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Well honestly, I have heard the myth of no P/R lockout before; that is totally false. The main issue I have run into with the pressure override unit is they externally leak transmission fluid.

I took a month vacation in my 58 Edsel station wagon through three states about 10 years ago, and had no trouble what so ever.

Honestly, I am not a 58 Edsel fan, I am much more partial to the 60 Edsel.

Jim

It's a combination of the luck of the draw, what suits a person individually and the alignment of the planets (!?).

I always had good luck with GM products, most of 'em Cadillacs and three Chevys. Pretty decent experiences with Chrysler products and, maybe, a little less satisfaction out of Fords, mechanically. Fit and finish on the Caddys went south in about 1978. All of them, including the rice burners, seem to have their peculiarities as far as maintenance and items requiring extra care are concerned but I've always driven all of my vehicles as long as I wanted to. Put 137,000 miles on a '93 Stealth ES with a heavy foot and sold it with the same clutch that came in it. I don't baby them and try to keep my driving habits within at least 110% of design parameters (mostly) but always maintain them as though I was going to have to drive them forever.

I knew a fellow once who drove a Renault Dauphine over 60,000 miles without any major repairs or anything falling off of it.

All things are possible.

Loyd, did you weather the all the rain from Fay ok?

Big Kev wrote: "Loyd, did you weather the all the rain from Fay ok?"

Metro Orlando area and most of Orange County faired much better than some surrounding areas. I live on a hill. St. Johns River is still rising and supposed to crest sometime in the next few days. All is well in my locale but thanks for asking. We've all been a bit antsy around here since the three hurricanes that got us in '04.

All this talk about modern day lemons aside I am curious about how Packard compared with the competition particularly in the immediate postwar and into the 1950's until closing operations in Detroit. It is pretty well documented that the 1955 models had some serious quality issues which were pretty much fixed in 1956 but how about the 1951-54 models? Compared to a Cadillac, Lincoln or Chrysler which car would you have chosen were you in the market for a new car in the 1951- 1956 and had the dollars set aside for a luxury American car. Assuming you had done your research by reading Tom McCahill in Mechanix Illustrated etc. what would have led you to choose Packard? I grew up on the poor side of twon and my dad owned mostly old Fords so I had little experience with Packards while growing up although the next door neighbour owned a 1951 200 during the mid 50's.

Dad bought a new 51 400 and a year later a used 300. We had both cars for several years and no major problems that I can recall. The 400 made several cross country trips. He traded the 300 in on a Mercury which was a dog and soon gotten rid of. I "inherited" the 400 going to HS, and never was a car treated so rudely, crudely or any other way-- but held up despite low oil, used oil, low grade gas, lead footed teenagers and just about any other indignity. All in all, a tremendously reliable car--even if it did have to stop at every other gas station.

My grandmother had a 51 Chrysler which also performed well although it did have some issues with the Fluid drive transmission caused when she aimed for low range and got reverse at about 20mph. It didn't destroy the trans and served her for several years but did have a tendency to slip out and grind gears. Wasn't frequent but required stepping on clutch, trans to neutral and back to drive, then all well until it happened again.

I really do think cars of that generation were not necessarily that much better but people were used to taking cars to the dealer for the more frequent service. Who knows how many problems were prevented by something being taken care of at no or low cost rather than breaking down one day.

In the latter part of 1900 one the first Packard dealers was Adams & McMurtry. They were located in New York City on Fifth Avenue.

John F. Shireman

In answer to your question about "lemon" Packards - the answer is NO - not before the mid 1950's. One of the Packard clubs repeats an old advertising page that Packard was so proud of - a couple of paragraphs about REPUTATION. Packard became a world icon (Packards were known all over the world for their quality and performance for any given price class).

The Packard Company of the 50's had a whole diferent management philosopy from the classic era. I personally like to call this the BUSINESS SCHOOL DISEASE - the phenomena where management really dosnt like the business, nor the processes connected with it - just wants to "milk" as much profit with as cheaply built a product as it THINKS can get away with, as fast as it can.

So - my answer to your question is a resounding "NO". Your '47 Clipper Super (pre-war in concept) is a typical example of what Packard USED to stand for - an HONEST car for the money, that was at least equal to ANYTHING else in its price range. I know of NO other production automobile of that year that could either accelerate as fast as yours, go as fast as yours, or provide its level of durability. THAT and so many other fantastic Packard products that preceded it is the answer to your question.

Clipper47: You certainly wouldn't have to do much home work as to what Uncle Tom would have told you to buy. Uncle Tom would have told you the best automobile to buy from 1951 through 1956 was the Chrysler Imperial.

Uncle Tom always had a great likeness for the Chrysler brand in his heart.

John F. Shireman