2023-05-29 05:24:00
Sometimes, as happens with artists, vehicle brands die without real success and it comes many years later thanks to nostalgia. That is the case of Packard and their luxury cars. Bolides especially quoted today.
DeSoto, Chrysler’s luxury car brand named after a Spanish explorer
The American company was born in 1899 in Warren, Ohio. It was founded by James Ward Packard together with his brother William Doud and some associates. An innovative company that promoted technologies such as modern steering wheel and the first production 12-cylinder engine in history.
Also, if you are an aviation lover, the name will sound familiar to you. North American P-51 Mustang. One of the fighter jets most successful in history that took to the skies during World War II with a motor Packard V-1650 under license built Rolls-Royce fuselage.
Packard and his luxury cars
At the beginning of the 20th century the packard automobiles They earned a place among the luxury manufacturers and shared market segment with Pierce-Arrow y Peerless. On the other hand, it also positioned itself as a benchmark abroad with many units sold outside of USA. In fact, the Japanese imperial family had 10 Packards in its collection.
However the Crack the 1929 It affected everyone. While Cadillac and Lincoln They weathered the storm under the shelter of General Motors and Ford, Packard dedicated itself to continuing to produce high-quality, high-cost models while other iconic companies disappeared. Peerless, Franklin, Duesenberg o Pierce-Arrow didn’t get over the bump.
Despite the economic situation, those from Ohio went ahead and left for posterity technologies such as adaptive suspension via manual adjustment in the passenger compartment or the famous Torsion-Level invented by Bill Allison. A kind of electronic suspension that modified the height of the car by means of electric motors in the torsion bars.
In addition, Packard was the only North American car manufacturer other than General Motors to equip a automatic gearbox internally developed. An investment that slightly weighed down the company in its fight with its rivals and during its subsequent developments.
Packard was ahead of Cadillac in sales until 1950but the new ones designs of the rival inspired by aviation stood out above all else. On the other hand, the big manufacturers began to mass-produce good-quality vehicles that could handle all kinds of levels of demand.
Something that forced the small brands to merge. Kaiser-Willys (currently Jeep) and American Motors Corporation (AMC) appeared, and Packard decided to acquire Studebaker, who was bankrupt. A decision that was in opposition to the possible merger with AMC, which might have saved the company up to the present time.
Decisions such as subcontracting a company of bodies for their manufacture (Briggs Manufacturing Company) were fatal, since in this case, it was acquired by Chrysler and they decided not to continue the contract with Packard. A change that left the Ohioans alone and with a small production and quality problems.
Those quality problemselectrical and transmissions eroded the image of the manufacturer, which gave way in the luxury segment to Cadillac, Lincoln e Imperial. In 1958 the brand was dissolved, which would never resurface again.
Packard classics today
Now, it’s not uncommon to see videos on TikTok of astonished lovers of the motor world before the style of the antique packards. True classic cars that have come to sell for over $500,000 how is the clear Packard 745 Deluxe Eight Convertible Victoria.
Even some special units, especially from the legendary Packard Twelve Individual Custom de Dietrich have been auctioned exceeding €3.7 million. In fact, only five models of this vehicle are preserved currently with a motor V12.
Vehicles that are now exciting thousands of fans in the United States and buyers around the world in a wave of success that has come 60 years late, as it happens with many of these old glories. Although the footprint in the history of the engine is still intact.
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