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What was Packard's first red car and when was it issued?

as always
Garrett Meadows

Deep question, maybe deep red.

1901?

Though it wasn't too much of a distance, this Packard was driven to and from this meet, not trailered.

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Why don't you lay off me? I don't know you nor have I said or done anything to offend you.

Garrett (skateboardgumby), to behave in a pejorative sense is -> typical of Fred Kanter. It has nothing to do with you.

I didn't know if your question was serious or not, or just what you were asking. But I thought the photo of an early red Packard was potentially interesting, sorry you took exception to it.

I don't think that was directed at you , but more Fred.

Red paint was very unstable and tended to deteriorate/fade quickly. If you look at Packard paint chips on this site or in paint books I don't think you will find a real red until 53/54.

Fire engines/ambulances were almost always garaged except when in service. Garaged vehicles are not subject to fading from the sun

Yes, there are pinstripe colors in bright red, but few if any body colors red

Likewise with white which was really a cream white even in '56 (Dover White). There are no whites in the 20's, 30's, 40's early 50's in any make. As I recall it wasn't until '60 or '61 that GM had a real bright white when their use of very stable acrylic lacquer came into wide use.

In '56 Ford had Colonial White which was used in 2 tone combos with their bright pastels, turquoise, yellow, pink etc. It was a cream, not bright refrigerator white.

Deep question/ deep red explanation Cars in those shades were deep red/maroon. IN MY OPINION most early cars in bright red are that color due to a restorers choice or an unusual custom order. Thus I felt the question might better have been posed as to the first DEEP RED PACKARD.
Factory literature would reveal the answer

The relevance of when Packard/Essex/Velie/Maxwell etc first built a red car is lost on me

I now recall an earlier offering of factory red cars. I believe the 21st series offered a red and a yellow for taxi vehicles, the cars were either all yellow or two tone yellow/red as required in some large cities.

The durability of the red paint was not an issue as taxis usually had a short rough and tumble existence.

Hi Garrett

Indeed, bright reds were reserved for emergency vehicles, consider gauche for private cars except perhaps rakish roadsters. Those who would order a red car then were extroverted personalities who wished to draw attention to themselves. As Fred notes, the durability of red range paints was the poorest of all colors. When the occasional red car was encountered is a junkyard years ago, it's paint was all chalky and oxidized by the ultraviolet in sunlight.

White back then was the color of milk delivery trucks and some ambulances too in addition to red for the latter. Another less known use of white was on children's hearses, which were rare but kept by larger city funeral homes.

Yellow was for buses and other commercial vehicle, or as accent in combination with black. Mercer raceabouts and Kissel Gold Bug speedsters were famously yellow, again the car of extroverts.

On the other hand, no one a century ago saw as many metallic silver cars as we have now.

Steve