Packard

Packard was a brand of luxury cars from the United States that existed from 1899 to 1958. The Packard Motors Company was based in Detroit (Michigan, USA) and merged in 1954 with Studebaker to Studebaker-Packard. Packard used a very famous slogan that read: 'Ask The Man Who Owns One'. Today, Packards are highly sought after by collectors.

history of Packard

In 1898, engineer James Packard bought a Winton. It was one of the first cars built and sold in the US. Alexander Winton, who had built it, generally made good cars, but this one broke down on its very first drive. James Packard was not amused by this and went back to Alexander Winton, with whom he ended up in a heated argument. Eventually, Winton challenged Packard to build a better car himself. Packard set to work immediately.

Early Packard Model C from 1900

In 1899, James Packard founded the Ohio Automobile Company together with his brother William Packard in their hometown of Warren, Ohio. Their first model, a single-cylinder, was also launched that year. The brothers wanted to build reliable, high-quality vehicles. The brand gained increasing popularity, even abroad, where Packards were purchased by heads of state.

New capital was needed for the company's growth, and it was found with Henry Joy, a member of a wealthy Detroit family. Joy had purchased a Packard and had been impressed by its reliability. He had sought out the Packard brothers and now brought together a group of investors. On October 2, 1902, the company was renamed the Packard Motor Car Company with James Packard as president.

Moving to Detroit

Not long after, Packard moved to Detroit, and Henry Joy became first general manager and later chairman of the board. A new 325.000 m² factory was built. In 1904, the Grey Wolf was introduced, a racing car with a 4-cylinder engine that set several records. The most significant achievement was a fourth place finish in the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup. The Grey Wolf also became a production car, making Packard one of the first American racing car manufacturers. Meanwhile, Packard focused primarily on large, luxurious, and extremely expensive limousines. In those days, Packard was counted among the three P's of the US. The other two were Pierce Arrow en PeerlessPackard was successful and produced many more cars in the years between 1910 and 1920 than, for example, Cadillac.

In the 1930s, everything changed. Due to the Great Depression that followed the stock market crash of 1929, demand for luxury cars had collapsed, and competition in the segment became fiercer than ever before. At that time, Packard was building V12 engines in its top models. When Cadillac introduced its V16, it sold better than Packard's V12. Moreover, Packard had no parent company that could compensate for any potential losses. Cadillac had General Motors for that, and Lincoln had Ford.

To avoid problems, Packard introduced the Packard 120 in 1935. It was Packard's first car available for less than $1000. The 120 enabled less wealthy people to buy a car with Packard status and became a resounding success. The brand's sales tripled in a single year.

Packard in trouble

Despite this success, the company made a number of capital mistakes during that period. For instance, the Packard 115C was introduced in 1937 with a V6 engine. While that 6-cylinder was a short-term success, it did not do Packard’s reputation as a premium brand any good in the long run. Just before the US entered World War II, a brand-new model, the Packard Clipper, was launched. A few months later, production came to a standstill due to the war. Had they waited until after the war, the Clipper could have been the first post-war car. Packard also built a second assembly line. This increased labor costs and boosted the production of cheaper mid-range cars. As a result, the brand's reputation declined further.

The Second World War

In February 1942, all American automobile manufacturers received orders to cease car production and begin war production. During World War II, Packard built Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engines under license and engines for American PT boats. It was not until 1945 that the war ended and the company could switch back to cars. War production had yielded Packard a profit of 33 million dollars. The company was in an excellent financial position and invested another 2 million dollars in the modernization of its production site.

After the Second World War

When the war ended, Packard decided to resume production of only the Clipper. It was not until 1948, around the same time as the other brands, that the Packard Eight was introduced as the first new post-war model. However, sales remained low, partly because the expensive and cheaper models began to look increasingly alike. The models were redesigned for 1951, but the new style was poorly received by buyers.

The then-director James Nance wanted to reposition Packard as a luxury brand. To do so, he wanted to position the cheaper models separately from the more expensive ones. All cheaper models were given the model name Clipper. Nance's intention was to make Clipper a separate brand in 1956 that would compete with General Motors' Oldsmobile en Ford's MercuryIn 1956, this effectively happened, but the new brand did not catch on with the public because they were not Packards. At the request of the dealers, the cars eventually received the inscription Clipper, by Packard. Clipper did not make it to the end of the year and was discontinued.

In the late 1940s, Packard was first approached by George Mason. Mason was the director of the car manufacturer. NashHe was of the opinion that the era of independent car manufacturers was coming to an end and that these manufacturers could only survive if they merged into a large concern like General Motors and Ford. At Packard, however, they thought differently.

Meanwhile, Mason also approached other car manufacturers, and that led to the merger of Nash and in 1954. Hudson until American Motors. Packard changed its mind and also sought an acquisition partner. This was eventually found in Studebaker. On October 1, 1954, Packard merged with Studebaker to form Studebaker-Packard. Legally, Packard acquired Studebaker. Packard saw opportunities in the merger due to Studebaker's larger dealer network. Studebaker, which was in poor financial shape, saw salvation in Packard's better financial situation. Meanwhile, Packard's sales remained below par. A profit was posted in 1955 thanks to the introduction of Packard's first V8 engine, but 1956 was a disastrous year in which production dropped by 80%.

The two companies, Studebaker-Packard and American Motors, had already begun collaborating. In 1955 and 1956, SP supplied engines and transmissions to AM. The intention was for both companies to eventually merge to form the American Motors corporation. A contract dispute over the collaboration caused that plan to fall through, and both went their separate ways. American Motors continued to exist until 1987.

In June 1956, production of Packard was halted. In 1957 and 1958, a version of the Studebaker President was launched under the name Packard Clipper. Those from 1958 were not even given a model name and were simply sold under the brand name. The cars sold poorly and could not keep Packard afloat. They were given the nickname Packardbaker. Meanwhile, the end was in sight, and dealers also began to pull out.

In 1958, it was the end for Packard. In 1962, Packard was again dropped from the company name, which subsequently reverted to Studebaker Corporation. That company entered into an agreement with the German Daimler-Benz in 1958 to sell their vehicles side by side. Studebaker also wanted to conclude an agreement with the French Facel Vega to sell its Facel Vega Excellence in the US under the Packard brand name, but this was blocked by the Germans. In 1966, Studebaker went bankrupt, after having already relocated to Canada.