Packard Transition Year From Traditional Styling
Once upon a time, Packard was America's leading luxury brand. But the Great Depression of the 1930s was cruel to that market segment. Famous names such as Pierce-Arrow, Duesenberg, Peerless and Marmon disappeared. Cadillac and Lincoln held on mostly because they were parts of General Motors and Ford Motor Company, respectively.
Packard was an independent carmaker, choosing to weather the storm by introducing mid-price cars beginning in 1935. This was good because it preserved the brand for another 23 years, but bad because it cheapened the marque's luxury image. Controversy over this move continues amongst Packard fans to this day.
So far as styling is concerned, Packard began to experience strain in the late '30s due to grille design fashions changing from vertical orientation to horizontal. Packards had vertical grilles with distinctive trim and sculpting that carried over onto hoods. That was an important recognition and selling point, yet defying fashion can lead to the buying public to regard the brand as being out-of-date.
Today's post deals with the 1941 model year where Packard made serious (within a limited budget) changes to the car's front ends as well as window and trunk profiles.
Context is added by showing comparable General Motors cars. GM was the market and styling leader in those days, having a substantially larger production tooling and metal stamping budget than Packard. That was what Packard was up against and somehow had to deal with.
Unless noted, photos are of for-sale cars.
Gallery
1941 Packard 120
An example of 1941 Packard styling. The general impression is that it's old-fashioned. Yet Packard made a serious effort to modernize its details while at the same time readying a new body design.
1939 Buick Special
Buick's passenger compartment greenhouse has a flatter roof and airy windows, a crisper appearance than Packard, whose body was more rounded, more 1936 or 1937. Note the Buick's detached headlight housings. This was old-fashioned in 1939 compared to Ford and Chrysler Corporation designs that had headlights integrated into the front fenders. (That probably helped Packard: see the '39 Packard below.) But the grille here is more horizontal than vertical, in keeping with the industry trend.
1940 LaSalle
LaSalle, like Packard, had a vertical grille theme that GM elected to retain. Air intakes on with side to the vertical element provided a horizontal touch. GM cars' headlights are now mostly faired into the fenders.
1941 Buick Century
Headlights are now part of an integrated fender ensemble. General Motors' 1941 stying was outstanding for its time.
1939 Packard Eight - Mecum Auctions photo
Now for Packard, 1939 through 1941. Packards got new bodies for 1938. Unfortunately, the rounded greenhouse style was about to be abandoned by GM and Chrysler, giving Packard a dated feeling in 1939. Note the traditional Packard grille-hood theme. At least the headlight assemblies are similar to what was found on 1939 GM cars.
1940 Packard 160
Very little change for 1940, making Packards old-fashioned compared to competing brands. Dedicated Packard buyers still liked the Packard appearance, fortunately.
1941 Packard 120 - Auctions America photo
For 1941, Packard created a facelift that partly modernized the design. Front fenders were restyled so as to blend into the hood. Headlights were buried in the fenders, in line with 1941 fashion.
1940 Packard 160
Other changes had to do with window and trunk profiles. Compare to the car in the following image.
1941 Packard 110
The front fender profile was also changed to the GM "suitcase" style. The trunk is less bulged, better integrated, but likely having less carrying capacity. Window profiles have tighter-radius curves, giving the greenhouse a crisper, more modern appearance. 1941 Hudsons looked similar.
1941 Packard Clipper
The most important event for Packard was the mid- model year introduction of a completely new design: the classic Packard Clipper. Packards were no longer old-fashioned.
#MobilListrik #MobilKonsep #SUVdanCrossover #MobilBerperformaTinggi #OtomotifRamahLingkungan #TeknologiOtomotif #TipsPerawatanMobil #OtomotifKlasik #MobilBekas #UlasanMobilMobil #Industri Otomotif #Otomotif
Post a Comment