The Best Cars to Come From Detroit’s Packard Plant
Last week, one of Motor City’s oldest landmarks, the Packard Plant, caught fire and burned to the ground. With it went any chance of revival to Detroit’s automotive industry. Closed in 1956 after Studebaker purchased the ailing Packard Auto Brand, the plant lay dormant for decades, used for occasional raves and drug deals. It’s status as a historical landmark came under fire (pun intended) many times, though hopes of an assembly line revival always loomed. But as Niel Young once said: “It’s better to burn out then to fade away.”
During the first half of the 20th Century Packard produced some of greatest automobiles in America. Here’s a look at just a few of them.
Packard 6
One of Packard’s first automobiles (well, the 6th, to be exact) was also one of the earliest cars to be widely distributed throughout North America. The 1913 model featured what was considered the most “modern steering wheel” to date and included Packard’s powerful engine. The company was responsible for making the fist mass-produced V12 engine. Prices started as low as $375 – around $800 less then many standard automobiles of the time.
Packard 180
Throughout the 1920′s and ’30′s Packard produced vehicles perceived as very competitive in the class of high-priced luxury American automobiles. Packard’s 100 series was one of the most profitable for the company during this time. The 180, a descendant of the 120, become known as a quality vehicle for under $1000. These cars also featured independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes.
Packard Convertible Coupe
During WWII many American companies suffered from a lack of raw materials, as items like steel and aluminum were rationed for military use. Packard was in dire need financial gain by this point. The auto maker was still able to revive design styles with their 1949 Convertible. The “bathtub” look was modeled after popular Lincolns and Cadillacs. Unfortunately the redesign failed to grab much attention.
Studebaker-Packard 1958
In 1956, Detroit’s Packard plan closed after the cash-strapped company was purchased by Studebaker. 1958′s Packard Coupe was one of the final vehicles to carry its name. 1958 models were launched with no series name, simply as “Packard.” They would mark the end of a world-famous Packard run.
Source: Packard Wiki
I can assure you the Packard plant did not burn to the ground. It’s been set on fire literally thousands of times over the years, no fire is going to take that place down easy because it’s built like a brick sh!thouse. Unfortunately, the building is damaged enough, and also so big, that repair or renovation of it is extremely unlikely. There’s not much it would ever serve well, between the high ceilings and vast amount of space and very industrial nature of the building, even if it weren’t severely damaged.
your wronge packard plant DID NOT BURN TO THE GROUND !!! SMALL PORTOIN CAUGHT FIRE WHERE THE OFFICES USE TO BE SO GET YOUR INFO RIGHT , ITS STILL STANDING IF U DONT BELIEVE GO LOOK ..ITS LIKE A MILE LONG DUDE HOW COULD IT ALL BURN ??????
OK WELL TELL THAT TO ALL THE NEWS SOURCES WHO FALSELY REPORTED IT DID BURN DOWN PS WHY ARE YOU WRITING IN ALL CAPS ARE YOU SCREAMING???
The entire Packard Motor Company factory complex is fireproof. The very first factory buildings built on the site, to the very last extensions of the 1950s were designed to not burn. As has been mentioned, a multitude of fires have been set within the factory, but it’s the tons of rubbish inside that burns, not the buildings, themselves. They factory will never burn to the ground because it’s impossible for concrete, brick and steel to burn.
It is also not the case that Studebaker bought an “ailing Packard.” The Packard Motor Car Company bought the Studebaker Corporation, not the other way around. And they did it with cash. Packard had the largest cash reserves of any American car company, and only they could have made such a staggering outright purchase. The problem was that Studebaker was ailing. In fact, it was failing, and that purchase, coupled with a number of other problems, combined to form a “perfect storm” that crippled the company.
Would love to visit the Packard plant one day, too bad Studebaker and Packard didn’t join Amc. We may have been able to see these two great companies survive awhile longer sure under the Amc brand but still surviving
bingo and anyone else, It’s nice to think that Packard bought Studebaker, but according to all the news reports and history I have seen, that was truly not the case. I have owned a 1960 Studebaker Hawk, a 1963 Studebaker Lark, as well as a 1953 Studebaker Loewy coupe and a 1954 Studebaker Loewy hardtop, which were all noted on the body as made by the Studebaker Corporation. They were not owned or built by the Packard Motor Car Company, and if you’ll note, there are no 1959 or later Packards that were built. If you’ll do some google searches and research this, you’ll see it truly did happen with Studebaker owning Packard in their last few years, with Studebaker being based in South Bend, Indiana. Studebaker also made STP, the oil additive, originally, and I believe the initials were for STudebakerPackard. Just do a little research and you’ll find out that Studebaker quit building cars in the U.S. in December, 1964, and then went on to build only Larks and Hawks in Canada until they shut the doors in 1966 for good. Packards were absolutely wonderful cars and, truly, it would probably have been a better company if Packard had owned Studebaker in the end. Alas, it was sadly not to be.
James Nance of Packard arranged the purchase of Studebaker that was over extended and actually pulled a somewhat healthy parent (Packard) to its grave. When sales dropped to 13,000 cars in the depressed market of 1956, James Nance bailed out. The Curtiss-Wright Corporation acquired Studebaker-Packard, primarily as a tax write-off, and quickly consolidated its facilities in South Bend and brought an end to the Packard Plant in Detroit. This information is from the Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. I hope this will clarify some of the misinformation that I have read.
To all the Packard owners out there, I say thank you for maintaining and preserving your wonderful cars. You are saving a part of America’s greatness and a part of Detroit that earlier generations were most proud! You keep this part of America alive for posterity, a most worthy and honorable effort.
My father owned two Packards, a 1941 and a 1955. I learned to drive in the 1955 and not only was it a beautiful car,it was my Dad’s favorite of all the cars he owned. At one time the Packard was considered to be America’s Rolls Royce and had the reputation of being the best built car in the world. Unfortunately, it was the victim of poor business management. There will probably never be another American car produced that had the same respect and quality of those wonderful Packards.
Thank you Freddie and Bingo for getting the facts correct. YES, Packard did indeed purchase Studebaker outright. Yes, a merger was absolutley in the works with AMC until the sudden death of AMC President George Mason in 54. The two remaining Presidents AMC’s George Romney and SPC’s James Nance detested each other and therefore signed both companies death certificates with time. They could have been a mirror to the then GM business plan, but then as we have seen even GM is not GM anymore. BTW, STP stands for Studebaker Test Products.