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| 1955 Packard Patrician |
The Packard above, from the dying years of the company, features a "Twin-Ultramatic" transmission, an improvement on the existing Ultramatic, designed by a young Packard engineer who had been lured away from his job at Chrysler by a $14,000-a-year salary offer. The engineer's name: John DeLorean.
Talk about a different era. You can tell the image the manufacturer wished to project with a vehicle name like "Patrician". Bunches of chrome gingerbread and a three-tone paint job. It even says "The Patrician" in script on the fenders behind the front wheel wells. If they still made 'em, they'd probably rate their own #OCCUPY movement. #OCCUPY_DOCTOR_SMITHS_CAR!
(Incidentally, the Wikipedia category "Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States" contains six hundred and eighty-eight entries.)
+1 for the wide whitewalls and the F-100 in the background is just icing on the cake.
ReplyDeleteNoticed the Wiki page doesn't list the American Bantam Car co.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember correctly, Ultradrive was the only automatic developed in-house by any of the independent automakers; everyone else either hooked up with an existing maker of gearboxes or swallowed their pride and bought GM Hydra-Matic.
ReplyDeleteBruce McCall, in a National Lampoon article referred to these as "cars that say 'Get out of my way!'"
ReplyDeleteI maintain there is still a crying need for such vehicles in America.
I honestly had not realized that Packard still existed after World War II.
ReplyDeleteTam, I must say I'm impressed; SoBro and vicinity seems to be a hotbed of vintage autos, stuff I haven't seen in years, and some I've never seen.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting the pics.
As a wise man once said, if you want to make a small fortune, take a large fortune and start your own car company.
ReplyDeleteI've been going through the boxed sets of "Crime Story" - a show I missed when it was on the air; my girlfriend at the time was a "Moonlighting" fan - and for '50s - early 60s cars it is pretty mindboggling. Damn good series as well, although the second season is going kinda slow after eating the first box like pretzels.
ReplyDeleteAlien,
ReplyDeleteNot all of these are in Broad Ripple. This Packard isn't, and I may have some other shots from various trips.
I just have a compulsion to snap pics of oddities still out and rolling around. :)
The defunct auto company list does not have American Bantam but does have the predecessor, American Austin Car Company:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Austin_Car_Company
My grandparents owned a funeral home and had a '52 Packard as the "family car" (vehicle for transporting the bereaved). They had to have the seats reupholstered twice in its first 35k miles (it also had two small jumper seats in the back which made it an 8 passenger car - though rarely operated at that capacity).
ReplyDeleteSo how much were they asking for it?
ReplyDeleteI miss Plymouth!
ReplyDeleteI saw a Maxwell at a Burbank gas station around 1992. Elegant cars! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell_automobile
Ulises from CA
My family had a '53 and '55 Packard when I was in high school (mid '60s). Obviously, Dad was a fan. Unfortunately, traded them both right before I got my license. Beautiful fit and finish. Plenty of power. And ride like a cloud. Hated to see them go under.
ReplyDelete