Funny part is, they were still valve in block at the time! It was really more like a roller rocker, but the roller rode on the cam lobe and then lifted the valve. Easy enough to service on the eight cylinder but a real pain on the twelve.
Until it didn’t. Packard’s were beautiful and reliable, as you say, until the 1950s happened when they suddenly couldn’t design their way out of a paper bag.
I wish that they would be built to exactly the same specs as the original cars, using the same dated materials and technology, anytime you upgrade, or update to modern standards you immediately ruin the cars, people want the original cars with all their flaws and shortcomings, no power windows, no Sirius radio, heated seats, etc.etc.
Fairly accurate reproduction of the original car. Except for the trunk (original had a rumble seat) and it's missing the golf club door- (except, if the new car is a 4 seater) Even the "real" car was expensive for the time and was known as a doctors or lawyers car, primarily available to the elites of that era.
My Dad sold Studebakers and then Packards at the end of their production. New cars were hard to get and the car business was a lot different in the 50s after the big war. One day in 1956 or 1957 Packard was delivering a two door hardtop Caribbean that was the last car on top of the transport and about twenty miles from town it had to go under a railroad bridge. When the transport made the turn to our little dealership we watched as the beautiful car approached with the top flattened down about six inches like it was in a scrapyard compactor. The guy started to unload the car when my dad told him to forget about unloading it and the car was brought back to the factory. You could see how beautiful the car was even smashed .
Wow! That takes alotta chutzpah on the part of the driver to deliver that car knowing full well that the roof was crushed! Great story. Thanks for posting.
Rolls Royce & Cadillac were striving to keep up with Packard in the late 20's & early 30's. I'm putting together a 29 Packard Super 8 Speedster with all original components like central chassis lubrication, electrically adjustable hydraulic shocks & a 384 inch straight 8.
The original shocks were adjustable but it was all mechanical. I forget, does 29 still have the manual Bijur pump or was it automatic by then? My 32 902 was automatic, ran off of engine vacuum.
@@lyonsson6480The Bijur on my 640 has a manual pump but it's beyond repair & the shocks are electric control. It was a roadster before being cut down to a farm truck in Utah & the body parts are long gone. I also have a 745 chassis that has the same electric shocks.
Packard made beautiful cars. Growing up in Detroit you’re around automotive history and take it for granted but the Packard plant was massive and really a great part of American history.
Ask the man who owns one. That was their tag line, how this came about is a great story in itself. People would come into the Packard shop, remember they were hand built. Not having the time to talk to people the brothers would tell them, ask the man who owns one.
When I was 7-8yrs old in the early 60’s, my grandfather own a 30’ Packard Roadster he was a Packard encyclopedia, no detail was too small about the car.It had 13 coast of red paint, he kept it in mint condition, many Friday nites I got to ride in the rumble seat, he would park it on the main drag of the small town of Maquoketa, Iowa, and just hang out and watch the people walk by, very fond memories.
The Packards of the early to mid 50s were very compelling cars too. The fact they used an advanced torsion tube suspension was so cutting edge for the time. I’m amazed that most have been forgotten.
@@anastassiosperakis2869 The 51 - 52 cars were a huge comedown, but I wouldn't call them terrible. The 53s, with their available long wheelbase models, were a step in the right direction, and the 54s with their 359 engine and much nicer dash board were better yet. The 55 and 56 cars were luxury Packards in every sense of the name, but it was too late by then.
My Maternal grandfather drove Packard's exclusively in the 1920's and 30's and wouldn't have it any other way. I really hope that this new company takes off!
In the early 1970's "Road& Track "printed a reader's letter about his father, who always bought cheap transportation. His parents were retiring and his dad was looking to buy a new car they could travel in. After a period of time the son asked if his dad decided what car to buy. The father responded, "A new Packard ",the son had to tell his dad Packard quit building cars 20 years ago. His dads dad's response, "I wish someone would have told me ". Some things just seem like they should live forever....RF
That’s so cool! I always wondered about the “what ifs” if Packard were still around. Too bad they can use the old Packard plant in Detroit as their factory. Maybe they can also built a replica factory and assemble cars there. I’m all in!
It constantly amazes me how reliable it is. The only real downside is the incredibly poor fuel economy. I have an original magazine add that says the 1948 22 series will get 17.5 mpg. This thing wouldn't get 17mpg if you shut it off and pushed it. If I try really hard, I can get 10.
@@bgibson6082 We had a '52 Caribbean and I don't recall my family complaining about poor fuel economy. Maybe they just expected it. Have you adjusted/fixed all the things that affect fuel use?
I rebuilt the carburetor and fuel pump. I also did a complete tune-up. The only other thing I can think of that I haven't done is replace the muffler on the chance that it could be clogged.
I came across this story about a week or two ago, and checked out their website, and instantly signed up for their newsletter. I think Packard made Beautiful Automobiles, and would love to see them succeed, and would probably purchase one too. I'm already looking at a Classic Packard from the past as an addition to a classic car collection, and a future investment!
Honestly, I think the car is just a gimmick to get people interested in the watch and data security. Sure, they might actually build a small number during the year to generate the interest, but yeah, it is most just a marketing ploy to sell watches (huge profits in watches) and data security (another high profit item that uses an updater program that every other data security company uses). It is still a fun story though.
I thought the 1955 Packard Carribean convertible I saw in an Automobile Magazine article years ago was about the prettiest car ever made. From top to bottom, the 3 colors used was an off-white, pink, and black scheme that you really had to see to appreciate. (I don't remember a picture in that story with the top raised, so I can't say what color the top was.) I'd love to just go for a ride in one as I am certain I can't afford the price for admission.
I often think about which of America's lost car brands should be brought back, and Packard is always at the top of the list. They had a reputation for excellence in engineering before they fell behind in product development in the 50's and had an ill-advised merger with Studebaker, who was on even more shaky financial footing than Packard.
I’d say Duesenberg before Packard. Simply for the saying, “it’s a duesy”. And not, “it’s a packy”. There were several brands or style houses in the 20s and 30s that made amazing looking cars. Being the first to develop this or that technology means very little in this day and age. What have you done for me lately? Which has me imagining what if Tesla had chosen either one of these storied brands for their name instead…
@@KC9UDX Mercedes did a decent job with Maybach tho. and WW did good with Bugatti but one could argue its kinda cheesy and strange, the company doing the Resurrections often has nothing to do with the original company and it might alter the perception of the original brand.
@@KC9UDX I'm willing to reserve judgment until I see what they come out with. (I'm also a ham radio operator, who cut my teeth on Hallicrafters and Drake equipment; if someone brought back one of those brands--or another long-gone brand--I'd do the same thing; see what they've got before passing judgment.) That being said...an updated fuel-injected straight-eight sounds pretty dang appealing...if they could pull that off. 73
This is amazing news! I've owned a couple of '50s Packard cars, both were V8 Clippers; absolutely fabulous vehicles. I'm currently negotiating to buy a 1951 Packard 200 Club Sedan, the last of the straight 8 cars with a floor starter and automatic transmission. It's an almost all original car, it's been converted to 12 volt electrics and had electric wipers and fuel pump fitted. Everything else is original, even the beautiful black paint, now patina-ed of course, but oh, what a car! It's also the only one of its kind here in the UK.
Packards came standard with a double-action fuel pump, so electric wipers are not needed, and there is no need to convert to 12 volts. Packards ALWAYS start. You just need thick enough battery cables, and you can't use a little Group 1 battery in a Packard.
Would just be amazing if this could work. Packard had it figured out, I was always most interested in their V-12 marine engines just absolute beasts during WWII.
Ive always been fascinated with the Packard automobiles. As a young boy of 10, I was able to identify the make and model of almost any car on the street. One day, on a trip to the hardware store with my Dad, I spotted a rusty mid 50s car that stumped me. My Dad exclaimed " That my boy is a Packard, at one time, back in the day it was called the American Rolls Royce..." He went on to explain how the rusty heap before us (which I later realized was a '56 Clipper 2 door hardtop) was once one of the most reliable and innovative automobile brands on the road. It would be great to see the company re-enter the market. After all they brought back Bugatti didnt they? 👍🏁
Shay Replicas built the 1929 Ford Model A roadsters and had a deal with with Ford to build and market the vehicles. They were sold at Ford dealerships. They were done in low numbers to avoid having to meet all the standards for new vehicle builds. I owned one of these for a little over three years and enjoyed driving it. Someone could build the Packard in a limited number like Shy did and make it work. It would be a very expensive vehicle but probably worth buying if they did the build like Packard did in the the 30's. My Great Grandmother had a 1937 Packard she drove into the early 1960's. I used to love riding in it. I couldn't afford to purchase a new Packard but would love to see this happen.
The heart of a Packard is the laser-percision engine, made long before the laser existed. The Packard Merlins had interchangeable parts, while Rolls Royce never made two exactly the same. This car may look exactly the same, it may be fun, but it will never be a Packard.
Don’t discount rolls Royce’s engineering though, a famous event happened in the early 20th century where 3 rolls Royce cars where fully disassembled, parts scrambled , all 3 put back together, then sent to racing. All 3 finished well and reliably. This was unheard of at the time having interchangeable engine parts. There was also hispanio suiza and they where known for their engineering. A famous test was during the peeking to Paris rally where one was driven (an h6) at an average of 90mph and as soon as it arrived in Paris, driven into a large sheep of white paper. Not a single drop of oil, fluid, water, or grease fell onto it after 24hours.
We have a Packard in our house, a piano. It has the unmistakable logo over the keyboard. And i seem to recall that several watches from Packard's collection were on display at the Smithsonian back in the sixties.
Upon learning what a Packard was (a gorgeous, stately vehicle), and then learning of its dissolution (after that disastrous link-up with Studebaker)... well, I've always been consumed with "what ifs". Would they be as non-descript as today's vehicles? I wish to not believe that (regardless of gas mileage and safety concerns). Anyway, I'd gladly buy one of the 1934 replicars, if i had the money. Got my fingers crossed for those guys.
If they modernised and cut down on the late '50s / early '60's Studebakers body weight and re-intoduced the phenomenal bulletproof V8's with the overdrive gearbox we would have a WINNER of note.
@@godfreyberry1599 The Studebakers were light-weight cars, much much lighter than a Packard, but yes, bring back the 55 - 56 V8. The only thing wrong with that engine was the double-action oil pump. Replace that with a conventional oil pump and you have a life-time engine.
This is truly exciting! I love this brand even though it went defunct before I was born. This would be truly unique and special. Keep the production low enough so they don't have to meet government regulations. Even if you're at 300K per vehicle, they would all sell. Maybe they can be classified like the Superformance Cobras. As long as it doesn't have a damn flat screen tv in the middle of the instrument panel!!
My grandfather was a big time Packer car buyer. When I was a kid he had two of them in his yard. I would love to buy one because of him. He always said you can't buy a better car. Looking forward to seeing a new one out there. I won't be able to buy one but just to see one back will be very cool. Go Packer
My grandfather had an old 1930 something Packard 4 door sedan. They had suicide doors for the backseat passengers. He drove that car until the day he passed away in the '60's except during WWII when he garaged it. My grandmother sold it unfortunately. It really was a beautiful car. Very smooth. Very reliable.
There was a time in the past when Packard was the top name in a luxury built car. Packard company had the motto "Ask the man who owns one". However it is very difficult to start any automobile manufacturing company. Also today there are all the safety rules and emissions regulations. A new Packard company would have to make a car on the level of Rolls-Royce cars and compete successfully to succeed.
And if they wanted to make a cheaper car in order to have a volume product, they would have to NOT call it a Packard, in order to avoid cheapening their image.
When I was a young boy, my uncle had a 1956 Caribbean hardtop. Very few were made. We would summer at Russian River. One year I got ride in the Packard, I don't know it my uncle was a great drive, or the Packard handled that good, but we beat everyone by 20 minutes. Mom and dad made my ride home in the Ford.
My Dad had a 1951 200 that he bought new and drove it for 8 years. He said it was the best car he had ever owned. Growing up and hearing all of the stories about this car influenced me so much that in 2017 I was able to purchase a 1953 Cavalier that I will be returning to the road one day. I even had a 1952 Clipper that I just sold after 4 years of ownership. I wish these guys all of the luck in bringing this great automotive legend.
I learned about Packard from an obscure letter written in to Bicycling Magazine in the 80's....the writer was complaining about a comparison test the magazine had done, thinking that the two products weren't comparable. I guess he assumed that the name "Packard" wasn't that fancy sounding so his comment was, "that's like comparing a Packard to a Cadillac." The reply schooled the letter writer on vintage luxury cars because, comparing a Packard to a Cadillac is indeed a fair comparison, and it's the Cadillac that would be at a disadvantage.
This sounds like a very interesting proposition to revive a old name plate that goes back to 1892 and that ended in 1958 I'm definitely a car enthusiastically towards American classic I have 1/18 scale models of Packards from a 1930 Packard Brewster ,A 1941 Packard 180 limo to a 1953 Packard Caribbean.. Packers have always been extremely beautiful cars in the same league as say Duesenberg Lincoln, Cadillac Early Chryslers / Imperials and Auburns & , and Classic Cords they aee amongst the greatest classic American Luxury cars ever made in my humble opinion. I sincerely hope that it comes back as classic niche model with modern mechanics and safety features. Such a sight would be a welcome one especially at any car show !!!! P hopefully it will happen!!!.
Packard really ended in 56. The 57 and 58 "Packards" were just tarted-up Studebakers. They were even built in South Bend, Indiana, not Detroit. That's why we call them Packardbakers.
I love Packards! I have a '55 Caribbean that needs restoration. A friend recently told me about the showroom in Medina - That's not far my home - maybe 40 miles. BTW - here in Ohio the city of Medina is pronounced Mah-Dyna. 🙂 I met Mr. Nance at a Packard show in Perrysburg, Ohio, I think it was 1982. At that time he was living at his estate in Hunting Valley, Ohio. Interesting man, he said he grew up in Jefferson, Ohio. I remember this cleary from his address - and that when he was Packard President and his wife was driving a '55 Caribbean convertible in (White/Pink/Black) in Detroit and winter was setting in - Mr. Nance said, "Honey, you'll catch your death of cold in that car, let me take it back to the factory and get you a hardtop". But his wife wanted to continue driving the Caribbean and responded to Mr. Nance with this statement - "My pride will keep me warm".
Once they start taking them orders, They are soon gonna make some modernized versions of the most iconic ones, Just can't wait for that and i'm gonna be JUMPING for joy any minute now!
This is based on a law passed a few years ago which allows the limited production of a modernized vintage car. One guy wanted to make a run of DMC Deloreans while someone else wanted to make a run of classic VW Beetles. There was also a company that wanted to make a limited run of Checkers under this law. I don’t know if any of these ventures ever got off the ground. This sounds like the same thing. Even if some cars were made it would be a very small run if at all.
If this gets off the ground, they should also build a modern ultra-luxury sedan to compete the the Rolls Royce Phantom. That's what they tried to do last time it was revived.
Sooee off with your modern luxury cars, we already have too many of those around. We need modernized pre-war cars, so we can get actual beauty back on the road..
I sure hope these two succeed in their mission. Even if I can't personally afford a brand new factory reproduction Packard myself it sure would be great to see them back making beautiful cars. Packard's are from an era when quality, beauty, reliability and design were the focus and not just aerodynamics & fuel efficiency like modern cars. Everything nearly looks the same now no matter the maker because they all have to follow aerodynamics requirements. Though it would be nice to see if it were possible to combine some efficiency with classic car design. There's too many comments to know if anyone has mentioned them already. But another car brand from the past that I think would be neat to see back again would be Hudson. The Hudson Hornet with the big inline 8 cylinder would be cool to see in modern spec with original classic design and build. There's too much plastic in everything now no matter how small of a fortune you're putting down on a vehicle.
@@AllCarswithJon I don't blame you for not getting through all the comments. There's a lot of them. But I will say yay for me if I'm the first to mention Hudson. :)
We hope they can pull it off. Hopefully the other ptojects will help to fund the Packard cars. Of course I will not be able to afford, but it will still be good to see the project come to fruition.
One design approach that was talked about years ago was to design a passenger compartment that could be adapted to more than one application and a chassis that could have bolt-on different fenders etc. to handle style changes over a number of years. Keep the same drive train, whatever it might be and over time make only modest changes to engine or transmission to improve performance, economy or reliability. It would be so nice to see the Packard name appear on today's roads and highways in a current production vehicle.
If you get the chance stop by the Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard California. The Museum was originally a place that Dr. Daniel Murphy could store his large collection of Packard cars and memorabilia. It has grown as others asked to be a part of it and keep their cars at the location, that ended up becoming a museum.
I expect it will indeed be expensive but a work of art like their demo Packard is worth saving my pennies. I hope they are successful and that I will one day be one of their customers.
There was a guy in Berea Ohio on Depot St that built 1931 packards from the ground up. They had modern engines and transmissions and the frames and all the body parts were interchangeable with the 1931 and his.
I've been saying for about 10 years now that if I won the lottery I'd setup a factory producing fully electric cars based on the Packard design. There is so much room for batteries etc. that range and horsepower shouldn't be much of a problem.
I'd love to see Packard come back. I would love to see the 1930 designs with updated safty features. Three others car companies I'd love to see back: Plymouth (independent from Chrysler), American Motors (with an updated Javelin) and Avanti (with a SUV model, along with the classic Avanti).
Nice video. I hope they will be able to make some replicas. Packard automobiles is indeed one of the greatest car brands the world has ever seen. and a bygone era of no cost cutting when making cars. I was lucky enough to see 3 Packards all lines up in Trondheim in 2020 all of them late 1920`s to mid 1930`s Club sedan, Roadster and 1 open top 6 seater.
Parkard techniques are not lost. After WWII, McArthur brought Packard Engineers to Japan to instruct the Japanese car manufacturers on Packard engineering and manufacturing techniques. Packard was instrumental in the building of the Packard Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine. ROLLS-ROYCE had a problem, they couldn't build the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines fast enough. The Rolls-Royce Merlin Engines were the best in WWII, but Rolls-Royce could make them fast enough. So they sent the blueprints and an Engine to Packard. Packard standardized the parts on the engine, then made the parts to higher tolerances. Also used assembly line procedures to manufacturer the Merlin. The Packard Rolls-Royce Marlins were more powerful with less flaws then the original Merlin. So my point in this long winded explanation is that Japanese car manufacturers used Packard excellence to manufacture the best car in the world the Toyota. Packard lives on in the Toyota.
@@LeeLarson-rk6cj During the Battle of Britain, the Merlin engine was important. The Mustang was powered by a Merlin engine was a V12, rather than a radial engine. The V12 was preferred over a radial engine. The Merlin V12 were in 3 of the best fighters Spit Fire, Mosquito, and the Mustang. The Thunderbolt P47 had a radial engine, but didn't have the range of a Mustang. Mustangs could stay with the Bombers from England to Berlin and back. The Mosquito was so fast that they took off after the Bombers left England caught up, and went ahead of the Bombers. The P47 was called the Jug. It was heavy, and well protected. It was the forerunner of the A10 Warthog. The P47 could destroy Railroad Locomotives, and Tanks. Patton used the P47 to clear the way for his 3rd Army. The problem with the radial engine was that it was too large for in front of a Fighter. The radial engine needs to be large for cooling the engine. Towards the end of the war, this problem was solved.
@@jamesmooney8933 Thanks for the lesson on aircraft types☝️ Again the Merlin was a fine Engine, was it the best ?, No!, it was one of the best, and filled the role of bomber escort well, the R-2800 Wasp one the war in the pacific as a fighter power plant, durability and survivability in combat were stellar, was it the best engine of the war, No!…. Detroit Engineering was the Best of the war, and their ability to produce 👍🏽 that we can both agree on ☝️
Jon, it sounds incredible because I started to look lovingly toward Packard & I can be a partner ( or FAN ) to ensure they have RND to be successful, great video review bro.
We Dutch had the Dutch mark/brand Spyker (nail) and as you might know it was started up again. But they made a new car with a twink to the past. That is what Packard should do.
That is definitely a Classic Marque . Packard used to produce Licensed Merlin Engines . There is a Great Start for Engines . A 1/2 or 1/3 or even 1/4 scale reproduction , No Supercharger but Higher Compression and Modern Engine Management . Something around 6.5 - 8 liters would be more than adequate I reckon .
Hopefully they read this, if they're not going to have their own engine, they should look into adapting Mercury Marine's 7.6 liter , 600 horsepower V12! Backed up by a Ford 10R140 transmission.
Ferrari's Colombo V-12 was modeled after Packard's V-12. Packard was handpicked by Rolls-Royce to build the Merlin V-12 aviation engines for USA's war planes.
The first presidential car of Iceland was a Packard and, while it might be out of our budget, it sure would be great to see it return in a modern fashion.
it could be the isp and watch ventures are to help provide some insulation financially from the common pitfalls of start-up auto manufacturing. as long as they honor the brand i wish them well.
This has been tried before... building replica's of a Duesenberg...using Ford engineering.....too few sales... it wend South... The neo Packard looks amazing & as you said : please more details....
There was a company that would build you a 1934 Packard Victoria or Town Car. It was a fiberglass affair- but it was completely accurate, with Trim Pieces being fully interchangeable with the Originals. Maybe Mr. Andrews purchased the tooling?
I love old Packards and applaud the ambition and efforts of these entreprenuers. Unfortunately, the odds of them satisfying the environmental and safety regulations of the modern day are slim to none. Good luck guys.
I hope they can find ways to get exceptions by this being limited amount luxury car. I mean you can still drive actual 1930 Packards on the road if you want today. And since there are so few, and people are careful with them, their impact on the environment, and safety are negligible... I mean there are a lot of modern muscle and super cars produced with horrible fuel mileage, and weird shapes... They are still allowed to be driven on the road... If a guillotine shaped cybertruck is allowed to drive on the road... why not this?
As much as I liked Packards, if I were going to resurrect a car company from the early 20th century to reproduce in the old 1930's style it defintely would have been Duesenberg. The glamour of owning a Duesy like Gable or other stars, would be a great selling point for today's stars.
The Duesy was the Finest Thing On Wheels, and the fastest as well, but their market, even then, was just too tiny for an automaker to be able to sell enough cars to stay in business. They would have to have a separate division that made Ford/Chevy/Plymouth type cars to generate enough revenue to support their luxury make, as in many years it would be losing huge amounts of money.
I remember reading when Packard and Studebaker merged, the two auto makers were in such dire need of financing an automobile writer at the time quipped, "It was like watching two drunks helping each other cross the street" So sad, both Packard and Studebaker made some great high quality cars. Studebaker celebrated 100 years in business in the 1952 since they started manufacturing wagons, buggies, carriages and harnesses in 1952.
Fun fact: Packard used roller lifters 90 years ago. The "big 3" came out with roller lifters on OEM cars, too, but almost a half century later
Funny part is, they were still valve in block at the time! It was really more like a roller rocker, but the roller rode on the cam lobe and then lifted the valve. Easy enough to service on the eight cylinder but a real pain on the twelve.
Harley-Davidson Motor Co. has been using roller lifters since the 1930's
Roller lifters were actually fairly common until the 30s - crappy motor oil was the reason.
One of the few high end manufacturers that got it right. Beautiful style, quality, luxury and extremely reliable.
Packard got peckered by Studabaker.
Until it didn’t. Packard’s were beautiful and reliable, as you say, until the 1950s happened when they suddenly couldn’t design their way out of a paper bag.
I wish that they would be built to exactly the same specs as the original cars, using the same dated materials and technology, anytime you upgrade, or update to modern standards you immediately ruin the cars, people want the original cars with all their flaws and shortcomings, no power windows, no Sirius radio, heated seats, etc.etc.
Packard failed due to terrible management. Would love to see a modern version of many of the Packard and Studebaker models .
Fairly accurate reproduction of the original car. Except for the trunk (original had a rumble seat) and it's missing the golf club door- (except, if the new car is a 4 seater) Even the "real" car was expensive for the time and was known as a doctors or lawyers car, primarily available to the elites of that era.
My Dad sold Studebakers and then Packards at the end of their production. New cars were hard to get and the car business was a lot different in the 50s after the big war. One day in 1956 or 1957 Packard was delivering a two door hardtop Caribbean that was the last car on top of the transport and about twenty miles from town it had to go under a railroad bridge. When the transport made the turn to our little dealership we watched as the beautiful car approached with the top flattened down about six inches like it was in a scrapyard compactor. The guy started to unload the car when my dad told him to forget about unloading it and the car was brought back to the factory. You could see how beautiful the car was even smashed .
Wow! That takes alotta chutzpah on the part of the driver to deliver that car knowing full well that the roof was crushed! Great story. Thanks for posting.
I guess that was the last delivery for that truckdriver ever.
That kind of thing still happens today!
Was working in Lincoln, Ca. In 1955, identical event happened to a brand new Ford pickup being delivered to the dealer.
Rolls Royce & Cadillac were striving to keep up with Packard in the late 20's & early 30's. I'm putting together a 29 Packard Super 8 Speedster with all original components like central chassis lubrication, electrically adjustable hydraulic shocks & a 384 inch straight 8.
The original shocks were adjustable but it was all mechanical. I forget, does 29 still have the manual Bijur pump or was it automatic by then? My 32 902 was automatic, ran off of engine vacuum.
@@lyonsson6480The Bijur on my 640 has a manual pump but it's beyond repair & the shocks are electric control. It was a roadster before being cut down to a farm truck in Utah & the body parts are long gone. I also have a 745 chassis that has the same electric shocks.
Packard made beautiful cars. Growing up in Detroit you’re around automotive history and take it for granted but the Packard plant was massive and really a great part of American history.
Ask the man who owns one. That was their tag line, how this came about is a great story in itself. People would come into the Packard shop, remember they were hand built. Not having the time to talk to people the brothers would tell them, ask the man who owns one.
When I was 7-8yrs old in the early 60’s, my grandfather own a 30’ Packard Roadster he was a Packard encyclopedia, no detail was too small about the car.It had 13 coast of red paint, he kept it in mint condition, many Friday nites I got to ride in the rumble seat, he would park it on the main drag of the small town of Maquoketa, Iowa, and just hang out and watch the people walk by, very fond memories.
The Packards of the early to mid 50s were very compelling cars too. The fact they used an advanced torsion tube suspension was so cutting edge for the time. I’m amazed that most have been forgotten.
We had a '53 Caribbean. It was magnificent.
NO. They looked TERRIBLE inside and out. NO comparison with thew WORKS OF ART Rolls Royce Level Beautiful Packards of the 20s and 30s.
Some truth to both above posts.....
@@anastassiosperakis2869 The 51 - 52 cars were a huge comedown, but I wouldn't call them terrible. The 53s, with their available long wheelbase models, were a step in the right direction, and the 54s with their 359 engine and much nicer dash board were better yet. The 55 and 56 cars were luxury Packards in every sense of the name, but it was too late by then.
@@wholeNwon That car was an instant classic, even more so that the 53 Cadillac Eldorado/Buick Skylark/Oldsmobile Fiesta cars!
My Maternal grandfather drove Packard's exclusively in the 1920's and 30's and wouldn't have it any other way. I really hope that this new company takes off!
In the early 1970's "Road& Track "printed a reader's letter about his father, who always bought cheap transportation. His parents were retiring and his dad was looking to buy a new car they could travel in. After a period of time the son asked if his dad decided what car to buy. The father responded, "A new Packard ",the son had to tell his dad Packard quit building cars 20 years ago. His dads dad's response, "I wish someone would have told me ". Some things just seem like they should live forever....RF
Obviously his Father never read newspapers or listened to the radio. How could he miss news on that scale? Oh well.
That’s so cool! I always wondered about the “what ifs” if Packard were still around. Too bad they can use the old Packard plant in Detroit as their factory. Maybe they can also built a replica factory and assemble cars there. I’m all in!
I like the idea of a brand new packard car being built. Hopefully they are successful.
I own a 48 packard. It's a fantastic car. I would love to see the company make a comeback. Even though I couldn't afford 1.
When I was in college, one of my teachers had one and said he would never part with it.
It constantly amazes me how reliable it is. The only real downside is the incredibly poor fuel economy. I have an original magazine add that says the 1948 22 series will get 17.5 mpg. This thing wouldn't get 17mpg if you shut it off and pushed it. If I try really hard, I can get 10.
@@bgibson6082 We had a '52 Caribbean and I don't recall my family complaining about poor fuel economy. Maybe they just expected it. Have you adjusted/fixed all the things that affect fuel use?
I rebuilt the carburetor and fuel pump. I also did a complete tune-up. The only other thing I can think of that I haven't done is replace the muffler on the chance that it could be clogged.
@@bgibson6082 It was a rich man's car. The rich don't care about fuel economy.
I came across this story about a week or two ago, and checked out their website, and instantly signed up for their newsletter. I think Packard made Beautiful Automobiles, and would love to see them succeed, and would probably purchase one too. I'm already looking at a Classic Packard from the past as an addition to a classic car collection, and a future investment!
Honestly, I think the car is just a gimmick to get people interested in the watch and data security.
Sure, they might actually build a small number during the year to generate the interest, but yeah, it is most just a marketing ploy to sell watches (huge profits in watches) and data security (another high profit item that uses an updater program that every other data security company uses).
It is still a fun story though.
I thought the 1955 Packard Carribean convertible I saw in an Automobile Magazine article years ago was about the prettiest car ever made. From top to bottom, the 3 colors used was an off-white, pink, and black scheme that you really had to see to appreciate. (I don't remember a picture in that story with the top raised, so I can't say what color the top was.) I'd love to just go for a ride in one as I am certain I can't afford the price for admission.
Great idea! I would love to see beautiful car designs like Packards make a come back
I often think about which of America's lost car brands should be brought back, and Packard is always at the top of the list. They had a reputation for excellence in engineering before they fell behind in product development in the 50's and had an ill-advised merger with Studebaker, who was on even more shaky financial footing than Packard.
I’d say Duesenberg before Packard. Simply for the saying, “it’s a duesy”. And not, “it’s a packy”. There were several brands or style houses in the 20s and 30s that made amazing looking cars. Being the first to develop this or that technology means very little in this day and age. What have you done for me lately? Which has me imagining what if Tesla had chosen either one of these storied brands for their name instead…
I say none. All these dumb "reboots" are an insult to the originals and anyone who owns one.
@@KC9UDX There is no greater admiration for something than copying it!
@@KC9UDX Mercedes did a decent job with Maybach tho. and WW did good with Bugatti but one could argue its kinda cheesy and strange, the company doing the Resurrections often has nothing to do with the original company and it might alter the perception of the original brand.
@@KC9UDX I'm willing to reserve judgment until I see what they come out with. (I'm also a ham radio operator, who cut my teeth on Hallicrafters and Drake equipment; if someone brought back one of those brands--or another long-gone brand--I'd do the same thing; see what they've got before passing judgment.)
That being said...an updated fuel-injected straight-eight sounds pretty dang appealing...if they could pull that off.
73
This is amazing news! I've owned a couple of '50s Packard cars, both were V8 Clippers; absolutely fabulous vehicles. I'm currently negotiating to buy a 1951 Packard 200 Club Sedan, the last of the straight 8 cars with a floor starter and automatic transmission. It's an almost all original car, it's been converted to 12 volt electrics and had electric wipers and fuel pump fitted. Everything else is original, even the beautiful black paint, now patina-ed of course, but oh, what a car! It's also the only one of its kind here in the UK.
Packards came standard with a double-action fuel pump, so electric wipers are not needed, and there is no need to convert to 12 volts. Packards ALWAYS start. You just need thick enough battery cables, and you can't use a little Group 1 battery in a Packard.
"Ah, the new Packard we've been hearing so much about." - Mr. Burns
"Re-energize my pneumatics post haste!!"
EXXXXXXCELLLLENT!!!
Would just be amazing if this could work. Packard had it figured out, I was always most interested in their V-12 marine engines just absolute beasts during WWII.
I would love to see a return of the Tucker.
EV Upstart brand revivals is a trend I can get behind, but glad they didn’t forget about the 1-1 replica’s.
Ive always been fascinated with the Packard automobiles.
As a young boy of 10, I was able to identify the make and model of almost any car on the street.
One day, on a trip to the hardware store with my Dad, I spotted a rusty mid 50s car that stumped me. My Dad exclaimed
" That my boy is a Packard,
at one time, back in the day it was called the American Rolls Royce..." He went on to explain how the rusty heap before us (which I later realized was a '56 Clipper 2 door hardtop) was once one of the most reliable and innovative automobile brands on the road.
It would be great to see the company re-enter the market.
After all they brought back Bugatti didnt they? 👍🏁
The difference is Bugatti (and that was the first brand I thought of) came back as a fully-new car.
This will be a low volume replica.
@@AllCarswithJon
Too bad we can't drive the watch. 😆
Shay Replicas built the 1929 Ford Model A roadsters and had a deal with with Ford to build and market the vehicles. They were sold at Ford dealerships. They were done in low numbers to avoid having to meet all the standards for new vehicle builds. I owned one of these for a little over three years and enjoyed driving it. Someone could build the Packard in a limited number like Shy did and make it work. It would be a very expensive vehicle but probably worth buying if they did the build like Packard did in the the 30's. My Great Grandmother had a 1937 Packard she drove into the early 1960's. I used to love riding in it. I couldn't afford to purchase a new Packard but would love to see this happen.
Packard has always been a top favorite of mine since the early 1970's and I'd still buy a original one today without thinking twice 😉😏👍🇺🇲
The heart of a Packard is the laser-percision engine, made long before the laser existed. The Packard Merlins had interchangeable parts, while Rolls Royce never made two exactly the same. This car may look exactly the same, it may be fun, but it will never be a Packard.
Don’t discount rolls Royce’s engineering though, a famous event happened in the early 20th century where 3 rolls Royce cars where fully disassembled, parts scrambled , all 3 put back together, then sent to racing. All 3 finished well and reliably. This was unheard of at the time having interchangeable engine parts. There was also hispanio suiza and they where known for their engineering. A famous test was during the peeking to Paris rally where one was driven (an h6) at an average of 90mph and as soon as it arrived in Paris, driven into a large sheep of white paper. Not a single drop of oil, fluid, water, or grease fell onto it after 24hours.
@@12pagani of course not. This comparison demonstrates how good Packard really was.
@@12pagani Cadillac came up with fully interchangeable engine parts in about 1908 or so.
We have a Packard in our house, a piano. It has the unmistakable logo over the keyboard. And i seem to recall that several watches from Packard's collection were on display at the Smithsonian back in the sixties.
Upon learning what a Packard was (a gorgeous, stately vehicle), and then learning of its dissolution (after that disastrous link-up with Studebaker)... well, I've always been consumed with "what ifs". Would they be as non-descript as today's vehicles? I wish to not believe that (regardless of gas mileage and safety concerns). Anyway, I'd gladly buy one of the 1934 replicars, if i had the money. Got my fingers crossed for those guys.
Yeah, I suspect I'd need a Wells Fargo plane to lose bags of cash in my backyard to afford one of these. :)
If they modernised and cut down on the late '50s / early '60's Studebakers body weight and re-intoduced the phenomenal bulletproof V8's with the overdrive gearbox we would have a WINNER of note.
@@godfreyberry1599 I agree!
@@godfreyberry1599 The Studebakers were light-weight cars, much much lighter than a Packard, but yes, bring back the 55 - 56 V8. The only thing wrong with that engine was the double-action oil pump. Replace that with a conventional oil pump and you have a life-time engine.
I can't wait to see one. I have a pre-war 1942 Packard Clipper.
My grandfather had a Packard in British Burma 🇲🇲.
This is truly exciting! I love this brand even though it went defunct before I was born. This would be truly unique and special. Keep the production low enough so they don't have to meet government regulations. Even if you're at 300K per vehicle, they would all sell. Maybe they can be classified like the Superformance Cobras. As long as it doesn't have a damn flat screen tv in the middle of the instrument panel!!
Cool Piece !! Sounds Interesting years ago had two 1928 526 Sedans with Dual Sidemounts
My grandfather was a big time Packer car buyer. When I was a kid he had two of them in his yard. I would love to buy one because of him. He always said you can't buy a better car. Looking forward to seeing a new one out there. I won't be able to buy one but just to see one back will be very cool. Go Packer
Wow - cool. Hope I can afford one....
My grandfather had an old 1930 something Packard 4 door sedan. They had suicide doors for the backseat passengers. He drove that car until the day he passed away in the '60's except during WWII when he garaged it. My grandmother sold it unfortunately. It really was a beautiful car. Very smooth. Very reliable.
There was a time in the past when Packard was the top name in a luxury built car. Packard company had the motto "Ask the man who owns one". However it is very difficult to start any automobile manufacturing company. Also today there are all the safety rules and emissions regulations. A new Packard company would have to make a car on the level of Rolls-Royce cars and compete successfully to succeed.
And if they wanted to make a cheaper car in order to have a volume product, they would have to NOT call it a Packard, in order to avoid cheapening their image.
When I was a young boy, my uncle had a 1956 Caribbean hardtop. Very few were made. We would summer at Russian River. One year I got ride in the Packard, I don't know it my uncle was a great drive, or the Packard handled that good, but we beat everyone by 20 minutes. Mom and dad made my ride home in the Ford.
My Dad had a 1951 200 that he bought new and drove it for 8 years. He said it was the best car he had ever owned. Growing up and hearing all of the stories about this car influenced me so much that in 2017 I was able to purchase a 1953 Cavalier that I will be returning to the road one day. I even had a 1952 Clipper that I just sold after 4 years of ownership. I wish these guys all of the luck in bringing this great automotive legend.
I learned about Packard from an obscure letter written in to Bicycling Magazine in the 80's....the writer was complaining about a comparison test the magazine had done, thinking that the two products weren't comparable. I guess he assumed that the name "Packard" wasn't that fancy sounding so his comment was, "that's like comparing a Packard to a Cadillac." The reply schooled the letter writer on vintage luxury cars because, comparing a Packard to a Cadillac is indeed a fair comparison, and it's the Cadillac that would be at a disadvantage.
It was a quality world class car and should be remembered.
It was a superb car, but it was all-American in every way, not "World Class", which usually means German or Japanese.
This sounds like a very interesting proposition to revive a old name plate that goes back to 1892 and that ended in 1958
I'm definitely a car enthusiastically towards American classic I have 1/18 scale models of Packards from a 1930 Packard Brewster ,A 1941 Packard 180 limo to a 1953 Packard Caribbean..
Packers have always been extremely beautiful cars in the same league as say Duesenberg Lincoln, Cadillac Early Chryslers / Imperials and Auburns & , and Classic Cords they aee amongst the greatest classic American Luxury cars ever made in my humble opinion.
I sincerely hope that it comes back as classic niche model with modern mechanics and safety features. Such a sight would be a welcome one especially at any car show !!!! P hopefully it will happen!!!.
Packard really ended in 56. The 57 and 58 "Packards" were just tarted-up Studebakers. They were even built in South Bend, Indiana, not Detroit. That's why we call them Packardbakers.
I hope one option is a hard top. I have always liked Packards.
I hope to see a work of art again.
Funny that an internet consultant calls his father to ask what a Packard is, instead of simply looking it up online.
I'm actually looking forward to it
Check out the popular mechanics edition of the late sixties that covered the return of the duesenburg !
I'll have to dig that out! Thanks!
I remember that one. That revived Duesenberg never became a reality, sadly.
My mom had five kids and a 1953 Packard. There was room for three more kids.
Anyone who asks, "Hey Dad, What's a Packard?" has no business being in the car business. Prediction: FAIL.
My prediction is that this could be a scam..
@@Tadfafty Check out Stuart Garner, Norton Motorcycles. You could be right, but we hope not.
Super impressive that they managed to construct that watch
I live only 15 miles from Medina and never knew of this story. Should be intresting.
Rhymes with Carolina, right?
I love Packards! I have a '55 Caribbean that needs restoration. A friend recently told me about the showroom in Medina - That's not far my home - maybe 40 miles. BTW - here in Ohio the city of Medina is pronounced Mah-Dyna. 🙂 I met Mr. Nance at a Packard show in Perrysburg, Ohio, I think it was 1982. At that time he was living at his estate in Hunting Valley, Ohio. Interesting man, he said he grew up in Jefferson, Ohio. I remember this cleary from his address - and that when he was Packard President and his wife was driving a '55 Caribbean convertible in (White/Pink/Black) in Detroit and winter was setting in - Mr. Nance said, "Honey, you'll catch your death of cold in that car, let me take it back to the factory and get you a hardtop". But his wife wanted to continue driving the Caribbean and responded to Mr. Nance with this statement - "My pride will keep me warm".
Once they start taking them orders, They are soon gonna make some modernized versions of the most iconic ones, Just can't wait for that and i'm gonna be JUMPING for joy any minute now!
I'm sure I could not afford one however I would love to see the company come back.
This is based on a law passed a few years ago which allows the limited production of a modernized vintage car. One guy wanted to make a run of DMC Deloreans while someone else wanted to make a run of classic VW Beetles. There was also a company that wanted to make a limited run of Checkers under this law. I don’t know if any of these ventures ever got off the ground. This sounds like the same thing. Even if some cars were made it would be a very small run if at all.
I've read either low 300's or up to 2500 sales. I haven't 'dug in' to research further.
If this gets off the ground, they should also build a modern ultra-luxury sedan to compete the the Rolls Royce Phantom. That's what they tried to do last time it was revived.
Sooee off with your modern luxury cars, we already have too many of those around. We need modernized pre-war cars, so we can get actual beauty back on the road..
My father used to own a Packard in the late 1930's.
I sure hope these two succeed in their mission. Even if I can't personally afford a brand new factory reproduction Packard myself it sure would be great to see them back making beautiful cars. Packard's are from an era when quality, beauty, reliability and design were the focus and not just aerodynamics & fuel efficiency like modern cars. Everything nearly looks the same now no matter the maker because they all have to follow aerodynamics requirements. Though it would be nice to see if it were possible to combine some efficiency with classic car design.
There's too many comments to know if anyone has mentioned them already. But another car brand from the past that I think would be neat to see back again would be Hudson. The Hudson Hornet with the big inline 8 cylinder would be cool to see in modern spec with original classic design and build. There's too much plastic in everything now no matter how small of a fortune you're putting down on a vehicle.
I haven't seen anyone mention Hudson yet, so you may be the first!
(I also haven't gotten through all the comments yet. :) )
@@AllCarswithJon I don't blame you for not getting through all the comments. There's a lot of them. But I will say yay for me if I'm the first to mention Hudson. :)
EXCELLENT
We hope they can pull it off. Hopefully the other ptojects will help to fund the Packard cars. Of course I will not be able to afford, but it will still be good to see the project come to fruition.
One design approach that was talked about years ago was to design a passenger compartment that could be adapted to more than one application and a chassis that could have bolt-on different fenders etc. to handle style changes over a number of years. Keep the same drive train, whatever it might be and over time make only modest changes to engine or transmission to improve performance, economy or reliability. It would be so nice to see the Packard name appear on today's roads and highways in a current production vehicle.
sounds like what's been promised for EV 'skateboards'.
I'll believe it when I see it.
If you get the chance stop by the Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard California. The Museum was originally a place that Dr. Daniel Murphy could store his large collection of Packard cars and memorabilia. It has grown as others asked to be a part of it and keep their cars at the location, that ended up becoming a museum.
I expect it will indeed be expensive but a work of art like their demo Packard is worth saving my pennies.
I hope they are successful and that I will one day be one of their customers.
There was a guy in Berea Ohio on Depot St that built 1931 packards from the ground up. They had modern engines and transmissions and the frames and all the body parts were interchangeable with the 1931 and his.
I've been saying for about 10 years now that if I won the lottery I'd setup a factory producing fully electric cars based on the Packard design. There is so much room for batteries etc. that range and horsepower shouldn't be much of a problem.
I'd love to see Packard come back. I would love to see the 1930 designs with updated safty features. Three others car companies I'd love to see back: Plymouth (independent from Chrysler), American Motors (with an updated Javelin) and Avanti (with a SUV model, along with the classic Avanti).
Nice video. I hope they will be able to make some replicas. Packard automobiles is indeed one of the greatest car brands the world has ever seen. and a bygone era of no cost cutting when making cars. I was lucky enough to see 3 Packards all lines up in Trondheim in 2020 all of them late 1920`s to mid 1930`s Club sedan, Roadster and 1 open top 6 seater.
Beautiful, love 30's cars.
Interesting. Next up for revival: Duesenberg.
Good lord, no.
If that blue Packard was their example they can hire me right now. I would tell them to drop the Earl Schieb Blue and J.C. Whitney seat covers.
My grandfather ran whiskey in a 12 cylinder Pakered Clipper.
Parkard techniques are not lost. After WWII, McArthur brought Packard Engineers to Japan to instruct the Japanese car manufacturers on Packard engineering and manufacturing techniques.
Packard was instrumental in the building of the Packard Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine.
ROLLS-ROYCE had a problem, they couldn't build the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines fast enough.
The Rolls-Royce Merlin Engines were the best in WWII, but Rolls-Royce could make them fast enough.
So they sent the blueprints and an Engine to Packard.
Packard standardized the parts on the engine, then made the parts to higher tolerances. Also used assembly line procedures to manufacturer the Merlin. The Packard Rolls-Royce Marlins were more powerful with less flaws then the original Merlin.
So my point in this long winded explanation is that Japanese car manufacturers used Packard excellence to manufacture the best car in the world the Toyota.
Packard lives on in the Toyota.
awesome! Thanks for the history lesson
The Merlin no doubt made a huge impact on WW2 but to say it was the “Best” is a bold statement 😬 Pratt & Whitney also made a fine aircraft engine☝️
@@LeeLarson-rk6cj During the Battle of Britain, the Merlin engine was important. The Mustang was powered by a Merlin engine was a V12, rather than a radial engine.
The V12 was preferred over a radial engine. The Merlin V12 were in 3 of the best fighters Spit Fire, Mosquito, and the Mustang.
The Thunderbolt P47 had a radial engine, but didn't have the range of a Mustang.
Mustangs could stay with the Bombers from England to Berlin and back. The Mosquito was so fast that they took off after the Bombers left England caught up, and went ahead of the Bombers.
The P47 was called the Jug. It was heavy, and well protected. It was the forerunner of the A10 Warthog. The P47 could destroy Railroad Locomotives, and Tanks.
Patton used the P47 to clear the way for his 3rd Army.
The problem with the radial engine was that it was too large for in front of a Fighter. The radial engine needs to be large for cooling the engine.
Towards the end of the war, this problem was solved.
@@jamesmooney8933 Thanks for the lesson on aircraft types☝️ Again the Merlin was a fine Engine, was it the best ?, No!, it was one of the best, and filled the role of bomber escort well, the R-2800 Wasp one the war in the pacific as a fighter power plant, durability and survivability in combat were stellar, was it the best engine of the war, No!…. Detroit Engineering was the Best of the war, and their ability to produce 👍🏽 that we can both agree on ☝️
The American name that was most instructive to Japan was Deming, not Packard.
Call me skeptical, but I'll believe this once I see it.
Thank you so much.
My mother said that her father, a business owner in the area, bought a new Packard every other year.
They could build em in the old Packard Plant in Detroit. It's a nice facility, just needs a coat of paint.
Even in 1955 I dated a girl whose father owned a new 55 Packard convertible. It more fun driving than my mothers Cadillac
I love it.. Please keep me updated.
Jon, it sounds incredible because I started to look lovingly toward Packard & I can be a partner ( or FAN ) to ensure they have RND to be successful, great video review bro.
If they're bringing back Packard they better also bring back the straight eight engine.
We Dutch had the Dutch mark/brand Spyker (nail) and as you might know it was started up again. But they made a new car with a twink to the past. That is what Packard should do.
I own 3 Packards. 1940 super 8 touring limo, 41 Henny hearse/ambulance combo and a 52 sedan that my grandfather bought new
Very nice!
1:43 A Packard dealer in Hewlett.😂
That is definitely a Classic Marque . Packard used to produce Licensed Merlin Engines . There is a Great Start for Engines .
A 1/2 or 1/3 or even 1/4 scale reproduction , No Supercharger but Higher Compression and Modern Engine Management .
Something around 6.5 - 8 liters would be more than adequate I reckon .
Hopefully they read this, if they're not going to have their own engine, they should look into adapting Mercury Marine's 7.6 liter , 600 horsepower V12! Backed up by a Ford 10R140 transmission.
I have always loved Packards. In my teenage years you could still buy used ones, mostly in bad condition.
Ferrari's Colombo V-12 was modeled after Packard's V-12. Packard was handpicked by Rolls-Royce to build the Merlin V-12 aviation engines for USA's war planes.
The first presidential car of Iceland was a Packard and, while it might be out of our budget, it sure would be great to see it return in a modern fashion.
Well if they succeed more to them.
it could be the isp and watch ventures are to help provide some insulation financially from the common pitfalls of start-up auto manufacturing. as long as they honor the brand i wish them well.
Have always thought the Packards of the 1930'3 and 40's were the most beautiful cars ever. I would sell my children to own one!
This has been tried before... building replica's of a Duesenberg...using Ford engineering.....too few sales... it wend South...
The neo Packard looks amazing & as you said : please more details....
Are they going to go back into the old Packard plant in Detroit? That’d be icing on the cake!
(Yeah, I know,but what the hey?!😂)
I like the 1921 Packard touring sedan convertible
I drove it over the years from 1974
And 20 22
Owen Bradford here
American forever
Same here. I REFUSE to buy a Japanese car.
Sadly history will teach that these boutique companies rarely go far or long. I don't see them surviving.
A real American car that wont look like its from Europe.
Sounds like a singer for Packards
There was a company that would build you a 1934 Packard Victoria or Town Car. It was a fiberglass affair- but it was completely accurate, with Trim Pieces being fully interchangeable with the Originals. Maybe Mr. Andrews purchased the tooling?
Merry Christmas
I love old Packards and applaud the ambition and efforts of these entreprenuers. Unfortunately, the odds of them satisfying the environmental and safety regulations of the modern day are slim to none. Good luck guys.
I hope they can find ways to get exceptions by this being limited amount luxury car. I mean you can still drive actual 1930 Packards on the road if you want today. And since there are so few, and people are careful with them, their impact on the environment, and safety are negligible...
I mean there are a lot of modern muscle and super cars produced with horrible fuel mileage, and weird shapes... They are still allowed to be driven on the road...
If a guillotine shaped cybertruck is allowed to drive on the road... why not this?
As much as I liked Packards, if I were going to resurrect a car company from the early 20th century to reproduce in the old 1930's style it defintely would have been Duesenberg. The glamour of owning a Duesy like Gable or other stars, would be a great selling point for today's stars.
Oh no…. The thought that they’ll do this with the Packard name is bad enough…
There were some Duesenburg replicas built about 30 years ago. They were based on Ford truck frames and engines.
The Duesy was the Finest Thing On Wheels, and the fastest as well, but their market, even then, was just too tiny for an automaker to be able to sell enough cars to stay in business. They would have to have a separate division that made Ford/Chevy/Plymouth type cars to generate enough revenue to support their luxury make, as in many years it would be losing huge amounts of money.
I remember reading when Packard and Studebaker merged, the two auto makers were in such dire need of financing an automobile writer at the time quipped, "It was like watching two drunks helping each other cross the street" So sad, both Packard and Studebaker made some great high quality cars. Studebaker celebrated 100 years in business in the 1952 since they started manufacturing wagons, buggies, carriages and harnesses in 1952.