At one point in time it was considered one of the most exclusive brands in the United States. A person seen driving one had an immediate appearance of success, a high class air that rolled along on 20 inch wheels. This luxury brand actually came about only on a dare.
Just before the turn of the 20th century, a young engineer was somewhat displeased with the new automobile he had recently purchased. He decided to write a letter to the manufacturer and politely explain his ideas for improving the car. A bit put off by the suggestions of a youngster, the manufacture not only didn’t take any of the ideas into consideration but dared the young man to build a better car.
It was with this that James Packard, along with his brother and their partner George Weiss set out to do just that. Setting up shop they went to work building what they considered to be a much better car. By 1899 they rolled the first Packard automobile out of their Warren, OH shop.
The car was an immediate success, sited as being one of the most reliable and well-built machines on the road at the time. The Packard introduced many innovations that today we take as second nature. For example, they developed the modern steering wheel and, along with it, steering mechanism. Over the years many other innovations came, including the first production 12 cylinder engine and the first passenger cars with air conditioning.
With high quality cars and an endearing reputation among the high end automobile market, Packard pushed through the early years of the 20th century in a very strong financial situation.
The Packard pictured here is a 1930 409 Convertible Coupe. It was powered by a 320 cubic inch flathead straight eight engine and rolled complete with rumble seat.
With the next post I’ll take up the Packard story, bringing it out of WW II and detailing what happened to this once highly popular and excellent car line.
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