Packard (formerly the Packard Motor Car Company) was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana, in 1958.
One of the "Three Ps" – alongside Peerless Motor Company and Pierce-Arrow – the company was known for building high-quality luxury automobiles before World War II. A Packard was a prestigious vehicle, and surviving examples are often found in museums and automobile collections.
Packard vehicles featured innovations, including the modern steering wheel, air-conditioning in a passenger car, and one of the first production 12-cylinder engines, adapted from developing the Liberty L-12 engine during to power World War I warplanes.
During World War II, Packard produced 55,523 units of the two-stage/two-speed supercharger equipped Merlin V-12s engines under contract with Rolls-Royce. Packard also made the updated version of the Liberty V-12 engine used to power United States Navy PT boats.
After the Second World War, Packard struggled to survive as an independent automaker against the domestic Big Three of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. As a stopgap until planned consolidation with American Motors Company (AMC) could occur, Packard merged with Studebaker in 1953 and formed the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. Disagreements among the firms' executives thwarted the AMC plans, so Studebaker-Packard remained a separate company. The Packard brand was phased out in 1959 after two years of declining sales of the Studebaker-built 1957 and 1958 model year Packards.
History
+ Packard Automobiles Produced Year Vehicles Confirmed trucks 1903 ? 1 1904 192 1905 503 1906 803 1907 1,188 1908 1,484 8 1909 2,726 37 1910 4,318 > 331 ; (33) 1911 4,745 (~ 1,618 from 1903-1911) 1912 4,559 ~ 1,068 (fiscal year) 1913 5,242 5,257 1914 4,415 2,000 1915 7,923 4,296 1916 18,572 4,744 1917 19,745 7,638 1918 21,280 6,013 1919 12,937 7,292 (15,000 war trucks) 1920 21,650 5,634 1921 11,153 1,130 1922 16,632 ~ 1,250 1923 22,930 ~ 1,250 1924 16,153 End of truck production 1925 24,246 0 1926 34,000 0 0 1948 2,000 0 1949 116,000 0 1950 42,000 0 1951 101,000 0 1954 89,796 0 1955 55,000 0 1956 0 1957 0 1958 Last Packard 0 July 16, 1958 0
1899–1905 Packard was founded by James Ward Packard, his brother William, and their partner, George Lewis Weiss, in Warren, Ohio, where 400 Packard automobiles were built at their factory on 408 Dana Street Northeast, from 1899 until 1903. A mechanical engineer, James Packard believed they could build a better horseless carriage than the Winton cars owned by Weiss, an important Winton stockholder, after Packard complained to Alexander Winton and offered suggestions for improvement, which were ignored. Winton replied to the suggestions by essentially telling Packard to "go build your own car". Packard's first car was built in Warren, Ohio, on November 6, 1899.
Henry Bourne Joy, a member of one of Detroit's oldest and wealthiest families, bought a Packard. Impressed by its reliability, he visited the Packards and soon enlisted a group of investors, including Truman Handy Newberry and Russell A. Alger Jr. On October 2, 1902, this group refinanced and renamed the New York and Ohio Automobile Company as the Packard Motor Car Company, with James Packard as president. Alger later served as vice president. Packard moved operations to Detroit soon after, and Joy became general manager (later chairman of the board). An original Packard, reputedly the first manufactured, was donated by a grateful James Packard to his alma mater, Lehigh University, and is preserved there in the Packard Laboratory. Another is on display at the Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio.
While the Black Motor Company's Black went as low as $375,Clymer, p. 61. Western Tool Works' Gale Model A roadster was $500,Clymer, p. 51. the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout went for $650,Clymer, p. 32. and the Cole 30 and Cole Runabout were $1,500,Clymer, p. 63. Packard concentrated on cars with prices starting at $2,600. The marque developed a following among wealthy purchasers in the United States and abroad, competing with European marques like Rolls-Royce, Renault, Isotta Fraschini, and Mercedes-Benz.
The Packard plant on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit was located on over of land. Designed by Albert Kahn Associates, it included an early use of reinforced concrete for an automotive factory when building #10 opened in 1906. Its craftsmen practised over 80 trades. The dilapidated plant stood until demolition commenced in September 2022, despite repeated fires. The factory is in close proximity to the current General Motors Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly, which was the former site of the Dodge Vehicle factory from 1910 until 1980. Architect Kahn also designed the Packard Proving Grounds in Shelby Township, Michigan.
1906–1930 From this beginning, through and beyond the 1930s, Packard-built vehicles were perceived as highly competitive among high-priced luxury American automobiles. The company was commonly referred to as being one of the "Three Ps" of American motordom royalty, along with Pierce-Arrow of Buffalo, New York, and Peerless of Cleveland, Ohio. For most of its history, Packard was guided by its president and General Manager James Alvan Macauley, who served as President of the National Automobile Manufacturers Association. Inducted into the Automobile Hall of Fame, Macauley made Packard the number one designer and producer of luxury automobiles in the United States. The marque was also competitive abroad, with markets in 61 countries. Gross income for the company was $21,889,000 in 1928 (equivalent to $ million in ). Macauley was also responsible for the iconic Packard slogan, "Ask the Man Who Owns One".
The Packard Six was initially introduced as a senior-level luxury platform for three years starting in 1913, then upgraded to the Packard Twin Six starting in 1916. The first appearance of the Packard "Goddess of Speed" hood ornament was in 1925 on the Packard Eight and soon adorned all models, while the Cormorant or Swan appeared in the 1930s. The Adonis hood ornament was briefly used in the late 1920s.
In the 1920s, Packard exported more cars than any other in its price class, and in 1930, sold almost twice as many abroad as any other marque priced over .Old Car Advertising . Retrieved September 16, 2013. In 1931, 10 Packards were owned by the Imperial House of Japan.The Literary Digest November 14, 1931; Old Car Advertising . Retrieved September 16, 2013. Between 1924 and 1930, Packard was also the top-selling luxury brand.Old Car Advertising . Retrieved September 16, 2013.
In addition to luxury cars, Packard built trucks. A Packard truck carrying a three-ton load drove from New York City to San Francisco between July 8 and August 24, 1912. In the same year, Packard had service depots in 104 cities.Clymer, p. 112.
The Packard Motor Corporation Building at Philadelphia, also designed by Albert Kahn, was built in 1910–1911. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
By 1931, Packards were also being produced in Canada.The Literary Digest December 12, 1931; Old Car Advertising . Retrieved September 16, 2013.
Production figures Packard trucks Year Production figures Model Load capacity Serial number 1909 to 1910 to 1911 to 1912 to 1913 1,605 A 3-4.5 to31640 to 33244 2,974A 5-6 to45026 to 47999 678B 2-2.5 to30360 to 31037 Sum5,257 1914 2,000 B 2-2.5 to48000 to 50000 1915 195 D 2-1.5 to72026 to 72220 8 D 1.5-2to73026 to 73033 1,200 D 2-2.5 to73576 to 74775 2,319 D 3-3.5 to70026 to 71025; 78451 to 79500; 90001 to 90269 574 D 4-4.5 to71026 to 71600 Sum 4,296 1916 335 D 2-1.5 to72201 to 72535 1,170 D 1.5-2to73034 to 73575; 75701 to 75999; 95301 to 95629 669 D 2-2.5 to74776 to 75444 2,248 D 3-3.5 to90270 to 92518 322 D 4-4.5 to71601 to 71922 Sum 4,744 1917 2,007 E 1-2.5 to105051 to 107057 4,515 E 3-3.5 to113001 to 117515 1,116 E 5-6 to124001 to 125116 Sum 7,638 1918 1,215 E 1-2.5 to107058 to 108272 4,296 E 3-3.5 to117516 to 121811 502 E 5-6 to123001 to 123502 Sum6,013 1919 2,115 E 1-2.5 to175051 to 177165 4,283 E 4-4.5 to121812 to 122965; 126000 to 126504; 178001 to 180625 894 E 5-6 to183001 to 183894 Sum7,292 1920 835 EB 1.5-2 to177166 to 178000 1,338 EC 2-2.5 to185001 to 186283; EC1 to EC55 2,035 E 3-4.5 to180626 to 182344; ED1 to ED316 1,426 E 5-6 to183895 to 184921; EF1 to EF399 Sum5,634 1921 715 E 2-2.5 toEC56 to EC770 276 E 3.5-4 to ED317 to ED592 139 E 5-6 to EF400 to EF538 ↑ E 3-3.5 to180626 to 182344; EF1 to EF399 Sum1,130 1922 ↓ E 2-2.5 toEC771 to ↓ E 3.5-4 to ED593 to ↓ E 5-6 to EF539 to ↑ E 3-3.5 to180626 to 182344; EF1 to EF399 Sum 1923 1,258 EC toEC771 to EC2028 686 ED toED593 to ED1278 593 EF toEF539 to EF1131 ↑ EX toEC771 to 2028 ↑EY toEF539 to EF1131 Sum 2,537incl. 1922 Sum
1931–1936 Entering the 1930s, Packard attempted to beat the stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression by manufacturing ever more opulent and expensive cars than it had prior to October 1929, and began offering different platforms that focused on different price points allowing the company to offer more products and remain competitive. While the Eight five-seater sedan had been the company's top-seller for years,Old Car Advertising Retrieved September 14, 2013 the Twin Six, designed by Chief engineer Jesse G. Vincent, was introduced for 1932, with prices starting at ;Old Car Advertising . Retrieved September 16, 2013. in 1933,Old Car Advertising . Retrieved September 16, 2013. it would be renamed the Packard Twelve, a name it retained for the remainder of its run (through 1939). Also in 1931, Packard pioneered a system it called Ride Control, which made the hydraulic shock absorbers adjustable from within the car.The Literary Digest November 14, 1931, reproduced at Old Car Advertising . Retrieved September 16, 2013. For one year only, 1932, Packard fielded an upper-medium-priced car, the Light Eight, at a base price of $1,750 (), or $735 () less than the Standard Eight.
Packard rivals Cadillac and Lincoln benefited from the huge support structure of GM and Ford. Packard could not match the two new automotive giants for resources. The 1920s had proven extremely profitable for the company and it had assets of approximately $20 million in 1932 ($ million in dollars) while many luxury car manufacturers were almost broke. Peerless ceased production in 1932, converting the Cleveland manufacturing plant automobile production to brewing for Carling Black Label Beer. By 1938, Franklin, Marmon, Ruxton, Stearns-Knight, Stutz, Duesenberg, and Pierce-Arrow had all closed.
Packard had one advantage that some other luxury automakers did not: a single production line. By maintaining a single line and interchangeability between models, Packard was able to maintain low costs. Packard did not change models as often as other manufacturers. Rather than introducing new models annually, Packard began using its own "Series" formula for differentiating its model changeovers in 1923 borrowing a strategy from GM called planned obsolescence. The new model series did not debut on a strictly annual basis, with some series lasting nearly two years, and others lasting as brief as seven months. In the long run, Packard averaged approximately one new series per year. By 1930, Packard automobiles were considered part of its Seventh Series. By 1942, Packard was in its Twentieth Series. The "Thirteenth Series" was omitted due to the western superstition about the number 13.