1956 packard Executive, too little too late, last great packard.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ต.ค. 2024
- Today back at classic auto mall in Morgantown Pennsylvania to take a closer look at the packard Executive. This was packards last crack at the Piñata.. sold well but couldn’t save packard, which is and was totally sad.. period ads take the tour buttons switches and knobs. Enjoy this episode =)
This car is for sale at classic auto Mall click the link below to see more pictures information and pricing
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Jay, it's the Supremes, "Where did our love go.....
You got it man I thought for sure that one was gonna be harder =) lots of cool stuff coming before Christmas did you like that ending I like that ending it was funny =)
@@What.its.like. oh funny? You did well, naming a bunch of different ways of about the same thing.
Yeah lol =)
@@What.its.like.qqqqqq
This is the car that started my old car addiction way back in 1984. I was 8 years old and I spotted a big peppermint green car parked in someone’s yard. My dad told me it was a Packard. I was totally in awe of its design. The fins the chrome the whole package! I’ve been a vintage car guy ever since. Thanks for sharing this. 😊
Awesome thank you so much for sharing those memories with us =)
My father worked at a Packard dealership when I was very young, (Mooers Motor Car Co. Richmond,VA.) I rode with him to deliver one of the very last Packards sold in central VA. I was only three years old, but I sensed from my father that it was an important event he wanted me to remember. Packards were wonderful cars. They seem ponderous today, but so do a lot of other cars from that era.
That’s awesome that he took you with him and made you part of that experience thank you so much for sharing that memory with us. =)
The many design details on these cars, and many other 50's cars is just astounding!
When cars were machines
@@What.its.like. And not appliances 😉
Many years ago, when I lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I went to Mac's auto museum. Mac guided the tour and I told him that Packard was one of my dream cars, if I was to ever get one the 56 were the last real ones. I can remember my father, who died just after my tenth birthday in 1974, looking at a Packard Caribbean that was for sale in the early 70's, but the owner was asking a high price for it. Later we would get a 63 Cadillac sedan, I don't know exact model. That was my dad's last car. My mother got a very good cash offer after my dad died and sold it. Now it is also one of my dream cars. Keep up the informative videos, I enjoy seeing the dashboards and view from inside, something you really can't see at auto show or museum display.
Thank you so much for sharing all of that information I really appreciate it as well as the story the story was great.. =)
I grew up in Southern California, born just after the Korean War. We lived not far from Los Angeles and in my grandparents neighborhood there were any number of two story homes built in the Spanish style with arched windows and doors with a carriage entrance at the side of the home. One older couple owned a ‘56 Packard Clipper. It spent a lot of time in the driveway under the arched entrance to the covered parking at the carriage entrance. It was a deep blue and white two tone. It never ceased to amaze me to see the car backed in the driveway. It must have been a Herculean effort to get it parked. I would walk around the neighborhood and stop and look at the car with that classy home.
Thank you so much for sharing those memories with us =)
Packard instrument panels were like fine jewelry 😊
Totally agree =)
The switch for the rear was the fan for the rear window defroster.
The rear view mirror was an aftermarket one. The mirror was to square and to large for the sun visor to flip down.
Beautiful cars. Shame you don’t see more at shows.
It’s a totally shame you don’t see these more.. i’m looking for a Packard Caribbean to do
I interned at Ford Body Engineering in the summer of ‘68. I was a clerk in the detail and design unit of the door and quarter panel unit. The lead checker was John Bunn ( I think, I’m 75 now, I was 20 then). He was Chief Body Engineer at Packard. He talked about trying to make all non class A surface parts ( stuff you see) be made by break form tooling. They could not afford to make metal stamping that involved wood die models, huge hard steel stamping tools made on giant Kellering machines. My dad worked at Packard until about 1950. I have his 10 year anniversary watch that says “Ask The Man That Owns One”. I didn’t get a cup of soup from Ford after 10 years. Packard was a class act. The guys in the tool and die shop made me a set of mahogany blocks when I was born in ‘47. I don’t know what happen to the blocks. I had them until I moved out when I was 21. If I would have known. Hind site site is perfect. I still have the watch and a son and a grandson. My son found my dad’s Packard ID badge with his picture on it in a box of stuff I kept after my dad died. Detroit was truly the Motor City.
Great story thank you so much for sharing that awesome story.. I would have loved to work for packard, that was cool they gave your dad a watch,they seemed like a company that cared =)
@@What.its.like. Speaking of Checkers perhaps you can video the Checker Marathon if you can find one. They were mostly taxi cabs but they were also available to buy as an ordinary car.
Even Motown Records moved to LA years ago.
I love Packards. The taillights on this model became the go-to for the iconic custom cars of the late '50s and early'60s.
Love these tail lights =)
Hi from Sydney, Australia. my grandad bought a New 1956 Packard Patrician 4door to be my mum's wedding car when she was married in late January 1956. It was black with a duo tone interior of mid grey and cream. It was fully built in USA as a RHD car. He was an industrial engineer and highly suspicious of automatic transmissions. So, he ordered his as a 3-speed column shift manual with overdrive. As his grandson, I learned to drive in it in the early 1970's, that manual gearbox set up gave good gas mileage for such a big car. One of nanna's brothers owned an1956 Executive automatic and when we took the 2 near identical cars on holidays I remember Uncle Len having to stop & fill his with petrol more frequently as he said it only does 13 (miles) to the gallon, ours did 50% more than this easily getting over 20 to the gallon with overdrive and in the longer heavier car too!! From my dad's side of the family my youngest great uncle gave me his recently deceased wife's car. Aunty Charlottee's car was a 1958 Aussie GM Holden Special (like a shrunken1956 Buick), with just a 2.3 litre , 136 ci engine the way smaller Holden gave only 10% better gas milage and was half the weight and near a third the engine size. Sadly Pa's well-maintained & loved car met its demise in1979 when struck in the rear by a bus as the stupid bus driver did not notice the big right-hand light was flashing to turn, he did not buy another new car , he just used his prior car , his 1934 CW Imperial Airflow that he bought new, my uncle in his 80's now owns it so nearly 90 years on and it's still in the same family. I had a few close calls for the same reason in my old Holden in the early 70's & 80's as 1958 model cars were the last to legally have red rear turn signals, for 1959 onwards all rear turn signals by law needed to be amber. The Packard was beautiful car to drive with good brakes good suspension & great seating position and once I had a license, I drove it at every opportunity I could & I'm glad I did, as who knew then that I would only have 5 years to drive it. As a top spec Patrician, it had air conditioning great for Sydney's summer heat and in the 1960's over here in Australia very few cars had air conditioning. I really really missed it after the bus smashed into it and wrecked it. I wanted to have something similar, so in September 1982 I bought an almost nine-year-old 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Talisman, in black paint & gold leather interior (mustard color) Now 40 years later, I still own the Talisman, it's a fantastic car, to me the VERY LAST Ultra Luxury, real American car. It's elderly first owner ordered it with all but 2 options deleting a door mirror thermometre and sunroof plus do not fit any exterior scripts (born in 1899 he thought manufacturers scripts all over the car was bad taste) the 83yr old only sold it due to having a stroke, all his right-side muscles were rendered useless. So mine is fitted with 2 most rare options Trackmaster (abs brakes & traction control combined in one system) and the ULTRA rare GM Air Cushion Restraint System, the early GM airbags. Best of all as an export spec CKD Kit car (completely knocked down) it has a full power 8.2 litre engine not a gutless detuned anti-pollution USA home market version. Having owned it for 10 years and having a near miss (incident not accident) one morning I thought , ??? if this was wrecked like Pa's Packard Patrician, what would I do , what could I buy & feel happy with, so I bought a "spare" 1972 Fleetwood Brougham in 1992 in white paint & with a "green-ice" interior (ultra pale green), also a GM-H Aust RHD CKD kit car (shipped as parts & built here at GMH Pagewood in Sydney) though not a 1974 Talisman it was the next best version & just one elderly owner. Sensational cars, beautifully made to last forever with just basic maintenance .
Great story thank you so much for taking the time to share these memories with all of us =) that packard sounded epic I wonder how many of those got imported to Australia also wonder how many of those were right hand drive? =)
How could you miss the stunning set of Dagmars in the front!!!
One of the prettiest mid 50s cars built. I might have to get me one of these someday!
Totally agree it has such presence
The beautiful swan song of a great automobile manufacturer!!!
Totally agree
This is art....whether original or restored...
There was a gent I knew who recently passed who absolutely loved Packards. He owned 3 of them. A local around here has a 56 Clipper. He told me a similar story to yours about the company. He was so concerned, he bought a crate 352 motor, and a spare transmission.
Awesome story, thank you so much for sharing that memory. This was a good design and it sold decent enough should have just ran with it for another year =)
When Packard stopped making cars they had a large number of V8 engines on hand, they sold them off over the next year or 2. Many ended up as marine engines, bought up by a marine engine company that converted them. Have seen ads in car magazines from the late fifties, I think you could buy a brand new Packard 352 V8 for $300. NHRA gave away some of them as prizes to winning drag racers.
I came back to see a car in the background for a viewer. I can’t believe how far this channel has come and such a short amount of time everything has improved and I’m blown away by it so only reason I’m leaving this comment… especially the video quality
Nice post, Jay! The 56 Packard tail lamps became a favorite of customizers for several years after Packard went out of business. The set of secondary climate controls were for a heating/ventilation unit mounted beneath the front seat that blew warm or fresh air onto the rear seat passengers. That knob was labeled "rear fan." A friend's 55 Buick Roadmaster had that set up too.
Awesome thank you so much for sharing that insight =)
Very glad you gave it the camera test, and that it passed so decisively. Its suspension is also a complete winner, and should still be licensed to other manufacturers.
=) glad you dig that aspect
I really think that these Packard’s were some of the most beautiful cars ever built. My personal favorite car is the 57’ Chevy Belair 4 door hardtop (black w/ red interior). But this is a close second, it’s so elegant, and a wonderfully engineered automobile! Shame they didn’t last longer! Thanks for continuing to upload these! You are fantastic and I hope you and your family have a happy holiday!
Apostrophe abuse!
Thank you so much for the positive vibes glad you dig this channel, lost of cool cars coming before this years end =)
@@gman3109 Travis didn't use many apostrophes! What he is guilty of overuse of the exclamation mark.!!! And most car buffs would rate the '57 Belair 2 door hardtop over the 4 door.
True true, my punctuation may of been slightly overkill. But I would have to agree and say the 2 doors are typically more sought after, but i’ve always had a love for the 4 doors after seeing Grace Braegers 57’ Chevy. It’s a classic!
Thank you for doing this car. A Packard was the first old car that I noticed as a youngster. In the mid to late sixties there was a four door parked in the woods near my house and I loved going to visit that car.
I’m a huge packard fan I just wish they would have survived the 50s
Packards have such class, my favorite era of packard 1936-1942 all the body styles are good even the sedans look good
I would imagine if both Studebaker and Packard merged together with Hudson and Nash along with Kaiser and Jeep to create AMC in 1954.
that's why AMC stand for
All
Makes
Combined😂😂😂
@ahoorakia Yep you got it brother.
Here at the AMC Divisions
Kaiser-The cheap budget brand (to compete with Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth).
Studebaker-The Mid-level/performance brand (to compete with Edsel, Pontiac, and Dodge).
Nash-The Mid-level luxury brand (to compete with Mercury, Oldsmobile, and Desoto).
Hudson-The Upscale Mid-level luxury brand (to compete with Lincoln, Buick, and Chrysler).
Packard-The High-end expensive luxury brand (to compete with Continental, Cadillac, and Imperial).
Jeep-The ultimate truck brand (to compete with GMC as well as the Mercury and Fargo trucks in Canada 🇨🇦).
That would have been awesome =)
@What.its.like. I'm sure it would have and not only AMC would've been around to this day but all the brands that joined AMC would've been around to this day as well.
I’ve always felt the same way. A terrible miscalculation.
Outstanding video!
My dad had.a 56 executive, yellow- white, with the cloth interior.
The dash was the most amazing thing to me, it was the machined gold that was drop dead beautiful.
The seats were more like big living room couches and I would often fall asleep in the car when dyar gazing.
It was a much better ride than his Oldsmobile or Cadillac.
It was a fast yet , dependable car that you serviced regularly,add premium gas and just drive it. No a/c in his car but it did have power everything.
Wish I had it now!
Glad you dig this video =) I love this packard looking for the Caribbean to do
Great video Jay. I just had a bunch of family movies transferred from 8mm to DVD. One of these was of the 1956 Sugar Cane Festival parade in New Iberia, Louisiana. My dad was on the parade committee, as was a close friend of his, who owned the local Studebaker-Packard dealership. All of the cars carrying dignitaries and festival princesses and queens are 1956 Packard convertibles. It could have been a commercial for Packard. What a cool time capsule. Merry Christmas Jay!
Awesome story thank you so much for sharing that memory with us =) this time of year is bittersweet just like this episode.. my dad pasted away dec 29 2016 and Christmas was the last memory (good memory I have of him) we were neighbors but everyone was getting the stomach flu and I didn’t want it might go more into that story reflect episode who knows christmas has always been bittersweet since this is 5th Christmas without him
@@What.its.like. my dad passed away Christmas week, 2008. It’s always a bittersweet time for me too. God bless you my car buddy!
Todd, you should post that video...
@@nsidor1234 I guess I could. Let me get some of my IT buddies to help me figure out how. Thanks
Packard's downfall was a "perfect storm" of events: some were internal (being among the last carmakers to update their models, and to offer a V8 engine); some were external (Ford and GM "stealing" dealerships, mergers going awry due to politics and untimely deaths).
As you so accurately mentioned, Packard's last two model years weren't even Packards; just rebadged Studebakers. (I'm not a fan of the design of the "Packardbakers".)
While it's lamentable that Packard ceased production, I believe that we can take some solace in that the last few years of the true Packards were beautiful, if not ahead of their time.
The end of Packard was truly sad, it sucks they could’ve merged with anybody instead they merged with Studebakers essentially got a catfish because Studebaker cookbooks and was in 100% truthful with how much money they were actually making. If I had a time machine I would go back in time and convince Packard president to buy pierce arrow and peerless then you could have the three Ps under one roof give Rolls-Royce and Bentley run for the money.
@@What.its.like. The (oversimplified, I'm sure) story goes that Packard accountants didn't audit the books prior to the merger and that when they did, they found that Studebaker's accounting practices indicated a break-even point of about a hundred thousand cars less than Packard's numbers indicated, and that the Packard auditors came out of the review "...ashen-faced..."
I love this channel s attention to detail, it's satisfying,
Thank you so much it means a lot =)
The most interesting thing about these Packards was the Torsion-Level self-leveling rear suspension, which used electrically adjustable torsion springs to maintain the rear ride height instead of the usual (and often leaky) air shocks. I wish someone would revive that feature for modern cars. Also, Packard's automatic transmissions had lockup torque converters, something which didn't make it into most other brands until the early 1980s.
I’m really intrigued about the torsion bars.. I’ve heard nothing rides a packard from this era rises better than anything
PC No:The Ultramatic Transmission is a 2 speed and in the right hand drive position the lockup torque converter would engage giving a false impression or feeling that it's going into a 3rd gear. The shift quadrant also gives the false impression of being a 3 speed Automatic having left and right hand drive positions in addition to the L low range.
I think Chrysler was the only.other one to have a torsion bar suspension during this time, or at least the only for more affordable prices
Cadillac used a compressor with air shocks.
My first job out of HS was as a gopher in a one-man shop. One of his customers had a ‘56 Packard with the load-leveling suspension and was a stunning car. What was also stunning was the number of grease fittings that needed attention, between the front and rear suspension, it would take close to an hour for a lub job and with a manual grease gun, my right forearm bulked up until I looked like Popeye on one side and Olive Oyl on the other.
You know, Packard would've made it if it merged with the right company. It's a shame when it was phased out in 1959 after only 2 years of declining sales. Same thing happened to DeSoto. Chrysler tried to hang on to DeSoto, but people didn't want to buy one.
Garrett Smith: I always considered Packard and Desoto to be misplaced cousins. I honestly think Packard would've been a better fit with Chrysler than the ill-fated Studebaker acquisition. It would've been interesting if Packard had been able to possibly get some of the same treatment as Desoto and the Imperial and survive into the '60s.
@@dennisdivine7448 But by the mid-fifties Chrysler was promoting Imperial as a separate brand marque (as in, "it isnt a Chrysler Imperial. It is an Imperial") thse same way you would refer to a Cadillac or a Lincoln.
Packard was competition for the new Imperial brand.
DeSoto found itself being eaten away by Dodge at the low end (Firesweep was nothing but a rebadged nicely trimmed Dodge Custom Royal) and Chrysler at the upper end (the Firedome was roughly equivalent to the Chrysler Windsor and the Fireflite was basically a rebadged Saratoga).
Then Dodge wanted a version of the Plymouth Savoy/Belvedere resulting in the'60 Dodge Dart that was (arguably) better looking and better selling than the Plymouth counterparts. Chrysler was competing with itself in almost every car lineand wouldn't have had a market segment open to take in Packard.
Studebaker-Packard had a lot more problems than two years of declining sales.
The original plan was for American Motors (Nash-Hudson) to merge with Studebaker-Packard to form a full-line car company that, based on sales volume in 1952-'53, would have taken over third place in US production and demoted Chrysler to number four.
George Mason, lead architect of this plan, died of pancreatitis during the merger process, Packard discovered too late that Studebaker wasn't as healthy as their books indicated, and everything came down to Studebaker-Packard selling retrimmed Studebakers to satisfy contracts with Packard agencies that couldn't sell Studebakers to Packard customers and AMC ditching the Nash and Hudson names and throwing the dice on handsomely redesigned and highly successful Rambler and Ambassador models.
Ask the person who owns one. They used to have that as their advertisement.
Ask the man who owns one =)
@@What.its.like. I was trying to be politically correct. 🫣😬. Didn’t want TH-cam to censor you. 😏
I love your videos watching you describe the detailed artistic value of the body sculpturing, most presenters tend to overlook. May I humbly offer a small suggestion? When describing the purpose of the cars instruments, would you mind substituting "Water Temperature" with "Coolant Temperature"? A lot of older vehicles used antifreeze cut with water. Antifreeze raises the boiling point of the coolant temperature and provides lubrication to moving parts immersed in it. Again, I am just offering an alternative and nothing more. Keep up with your outstanding and honest presentations! They seem to be improving all the time!
OK I will change that to coolant temperature, if I can I’m dyslexic so sometimes words are really hard for me I went to the Classic auto mall on Wednesday and I had a really bad day as in I could not get the words out to save my life no matter what I did until the last three hours I was there it was like my brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders and it really sucked and I got really depressed about it really because I’ve never had that happen before. Not to that point I have sometimes words are really hard for me and it sucks like I can talk to people and be OK but the moment that it’s for a public creation or something like that I have a really hard time it’s getting better I’ve never been diagnosed with dyslexia but I’m pretty sure I have it. Sorry that was a bit of a side tangent but yeah I will work on that I’m glad you think the channel =)
My dad had a 56 Clipper for a short time. As a kid I thought it was cool. It never replaced his 56 Vic hardtop that I never lost my love for.👍😎
I have to find a 56 Victoria hard top to do, your dad preferred the Y block over Packard V8
On of my favourite car of the 50’s ! Well done
I really dig this design can’t wait to cover the Caribbean hopefully next year =)
I guess you didn't notice, but the car has been converted to automatic transmission. No clutch pedal and the electronic gear indicator might be a clue?
The original automatic was a 2-speed Ultramatic, but it did have a lock-up torque converter. These could be driven like a 2-speed automatic or like a non-shifting Buick DynaFlow. The only other automatics with lock-up torque converters then was the Borg-Warner and Detroit Gear. Some converted their Packards to a modern Chrysler TorqueFlite. I'd bet that this car probably has a TorqueFlite.
Packards were originally in the same class as Rolls-Royce but started moving downhill to the Cadillac class and in the end, a re-badged Studebaker. In 1956, Packards used basically the same bodies and only the features differed. The Packard Clipper line was the basic entry level Packard, which since Cadillac had dropped it's LaSalle line, Cadillac had no comparable model.
Studebaker-Packard was responsible for making Mercedes-Benz a household name in the U.S. M-B wanted to expand in the U.S. and S-P was more than willing to take them on to expand it's own offerings. M-B also took advantage of an established dealership network. After the dust had settled, and there were no more Packards and Studebakers, many of the S-P dealers became stand-alone M-B dealerships.
I always loved Packard cars. I don't know why they don't get restored as much as the other makes of the era.
Totally agree
No parts.
Hey Jay, I think that it's sad that such a prestigious nameplate as Packard got duped by Studebaker!! The merger was ultimately the demise of one of the great automobiles of an era!!! I often wonder what would the auto industry would be like if Packard, Duesenberg, Studebaker & Nash had survived to modern times.
This Packard you are showcasing is a stunning car!!! Thanks for sharing another exciting video!!! 🎄⛄🤶
It was super sad, packard should have done their homework.. glad you liked this episode =)
Chris Kraft, if Packard, Duesenberg, Studebaker and Nash had survived into modern times, they would be the sterile SUV's, crossovers, 4-door sedans and possibly trucks everything else is now, just wearing those names. You wouldn't want that. The era of the great American automobile has been over for 50 years now, with only rare exceptions here and there. Sorry. I know you meant well.
@@bobpierce115 True enough!! 🙄
Another great review of a seldom seen car, Jay, Thank you for featuring it. (And yes, I do remember the Imperial Palace well. I used to go to Las Vegas a lot for work and always made a point to go check the cars out in the Museum there.
It sucks it’s not there anymore I was there in Las Vegas once I was 16.. we saw 58 heads off on that trip and got my picture next to it it was one of only a handful that I’ve ever saw up at that point.. edsel coming before Christmas =)
I started the channel (with subscribing) with the Lincoln Continental 1940. I hope there will be sometimes a great white Cadillac Eldorado Convertible 1971/72 or a Lincoln Continental Coupe from 1972. All the best for your channel in 2024🎉❤
Awesome =) Thank you so much for sharing when you started watching this channel definitely hoping to do some more Cadillacs this year
These are some beautiful elegant cars! 🤩 I've seen some in the past at the auto shows and it is true they do have great presence! Merry Christmas 🎄☃️ I'll have to start going back through the videos, I can't quite remember when I first became a member, but I know it's been one awesome video after another since, I'll have to start trying to pick a favorite one because they are all great cars !
Thanks Jay, Merry Christmas to you and your family. Cheers
Merry Christmas, to you and your family =)
Here's an interesting 1956 Clipper story. Because we all know a Rose by any other name.... Yeah it was a Clipper aka Packard.
This would have been around 1962 or 63 and my older brother at the time had a 51 Ford he was driving from his wife's parents house to our house. Right behind him was his wife in her 56 clipper. A policeman pulled her over for speeding. When my older brother who was in front of her saw her being pulled over he also pulled over by the side of the road and walked back to see what the officer was doing.
When he did that the officer promptly informed him that he was also speeding as well and since they were in a residential zone at the time he was going to cite both of them. He asked for each of them to present their licenses and registrations when he looked and saw that my brother and his wife had the same last name. He looked at them and said "what do we have here a whole family of speeders"? He then proceeded to ticket both of them. The only reason I remember this story is because I was an 11 or 12 year old boy at the time and was actually sitting in the backseat of that Clipper when this whole thing happened.
I vividly remember that car. I always thought that it was a great big huge car that was absolutely beautiful. It just seemed way more powerful and modern than my brothers 51 Ford did. Although nowadays I would love to have either one of them. I think in reality the clipper might be worth more money just because it was a one-off year and maybe one of the last things that packard did before they bit the dust forever. Again Jay thanks for this video brought back some good memories made me smile.
What a great story thank you so much for taking the time to share that =) what a great memory funny you should say 51 for that might be the next car that’s coming.. i’m going to try to make today at two for but I’m not making any promises.. if today is not a Toofer day tomorrow will be for sure =)
@@What.its.like.Jay, I also remember his wife blaming him because she was following him and she had to speed to keep up. LOL
Very appealing 2 door hardtop, and one of the last Packard's. Would have continued into 57 as an entry level Packard, but with a completely new and separate body from the Clipper line which was a totally separate car line by 56 in the Lincoln-Mecury business model. I've seen this car on eBay. The one way wrong thing about it is those awful aftermarket wires, and 60's skinny whitetails. Cheapens the car. And, those rear antenna look off. Those pop up vents on the dash are the AC. Packard was the first carmaker to offer AC in the 30's. They sold everyone of these they could make, too bad it wasn't introduced with the regular lineup in 56.
=)
At one point, Studebaker-Packard was considering buying the 1956-57 Lincoln body dies from Ford Motor Company to introduce a new Packard and a new Clipper, but financially they were already too far gone to afford it
@@gcfifthgear "Too far gone"? I'm afraid the situation was much more involved. When the Insurance Companies refused to finance SPC's too ambitious body sharing plan, they was no B plan. Instead of bringing out 3 completely new lines, they should have focused on the all new Packard, and carried over the 56 Studebaker, and a Studebaker based Clipper. Much as what actually transpired. Many escape plans were considered, including buying Ford bodies for the Studebaker lineup, and Lincoln bodies for Packard. Had Ford not been pushing their Lincoln and Continental lineup so hard, the smartest thing they could have done would have been to buy Packard. Henry Ford II wanted to, but the Board overruled. We can imagine what would have followed for the great Packard name. I'm sure it would have reclaimed the title, the American Rolls Royce.
Beautiful car and the dashboard is very nice.
I really like this Packard it was probably the last nice Packard
wow, if you go way back to the '20's and '30's, what a Packard used to be...... and to see how they ended up? What a shame. Good example of POOR MANAGEMENT
Yeah but management at Studebaker wasn’t any better.. it’s a shame both companies great companies just gone because I really bad decisions.
YOUR JOY AT DOING THE PROGRAM COMES THROUGH THE MIKE,SO I ENJOY ALL YOUR CONTENT.STEVE IN CLEARWATER!
Thank you so much =)
Really surprised a high end car like this didn't have a rear center armrest.
Was hoping you'd give us a look into the trunk.
I really really wanted to but I didn’t have access to the keys..
"Rear Fan " switch for probably a Heater underneath Driver Seat that blew Heat to rear Passenger Area.
I had this arranged on my 1955 Buick.
Was easier to buy 50ft box of Heater Hose to run new hose to that rear Heater plus other Heater.
Thank you so much for sharing that I totally forgot about the heaters underneath the seats =) I love this car would love to drive one, one day
It was ironic that Studebaker-Packard had introduced the Clipper as its own line to separate the less-expensive models from the "senior" Patrician, 400 and Caribbean, only to reintroduce the Executive as a gussied-up Clipper--yet another less-expensive model--and it's telling that the Executive, introduced in March 1956, made up nearly 10 percent of ALL Packard production before production stopped in June of 1956!
That’s crazy thank you so much fir sharing that insight =)
My dad worked at Packard till they closed down. Never got over it.
I was never around for Packard in my lifetime and I’m still not over it lol
@What.its.like. little bit of trivia, in 1955 there were 2 Caribbeans that were hand built, 1 for Marilyn Monroe, and 1 for king fisal of Saudi Arabia. Marilyn's was white with red side trim and years later fisal sold his to a collector, which was a fatal mistake because his nephew shot him to death for selling it
Stunning 😍
Those Packard taillights were used in many custom car builds over the years.
Totally agree they were really nice tight design
You didn't offer a "Would You Rather" segment here, but _The Executive_ four-door with overdrive (the Twin Ultramatic transmission proved quite troublesome and cost Studebaker-Packard dearly in warranty claims) and the four-barrel carb, Twin Traction, Torsion Level, factory air, and all the other bells and whistles pushes the right sequence of buttons for me.
This was before that segment =) older episodes
Great information
Loved this episode but how about one on the 1957 Studebaker based Packard Clipper whatever the reason ing of it not being a true Packard it was certainly an attractive car which as a model had it been produced against a different background & circumstances could have been a good seller
Glad you dig this episode I will look for one =)
Jay, you've certainly done your research on this car. Packard needed to make at least 85k units in '56 in order to remain afloat, obviously 28k didn't cut it. Dick Teague, Packard's chief of design did a masterful job with a body style that debuted in 1951. The 1957 - 58 "Packards" were rebadged Studebakers with bits and pieces of Packard hardware grafted on. The sold poorly, SP dropped Packards from their lineup for the 1959 model year.
Thank you so much.. I wasn’t 100% sure if it was a dick Teague design I knew he went to amc eventually and styled such cars at the Marlin =)
@@What.its.like. A fellow named Reinhart designed the original body style in 1951. He left shortly after and Teague followed on thru the close of the Detroit plant in 1956.
The 1958 Packards ended production in June 1958, with barely 2600 units sold all together, and S-P was already hard at work on the new Studebaker Lark.
Teaque was a genius with AMC.
That would have been in 1970
When you were describing the knobs, etc., you missed the two cool chrome ashtrays in the dashboard (one in each far corner).....driver's side and passenger's side.
Thank you so much for point that out
@@What.its.like. You're welcome.
It's a shame that Packard went the way they did....well, that goes for many other manufacturers as well!
Totally agree
Wow, that dash is awesome.
The dash was awesome in this car =)
My impression is that Packards cost considerably more than comparable models from other companies. They should have come out of WWII with lots of money being a prime defense contractor. They had lost the cachet of the 30s.
They should have built the Merlin v12 for engines in marine and other applications
Does it have the self leveling suspension? Some packards did. As kids walking home from school we couldn’t resist jumping on the rear bumper to watch it rise up, and then level out. We got in trouble because it ran the battery down.
That’s what the torsion bar suspension was it was an option on the executive $110 option.. hoping to do a Caribbean next year hopefully be able to show how that works
@@Jack_Russell_Brown easily amused when you’re 12.
'Jay Leno's Garage' has a TH-cam episode showing the Torsion-Level suspension on his Carribean. A car that Jay often drove to the studio when he hosted the Tonight Show. Interestingly he puts the car on his lift and shows the whole system underneath.
Keep up the good work Jay and Happy Holidays to you too. By you featuring the orphan cars you keep their memories alive.
Yeah thank you for adding that I forgot to mention leno shows how the system works he has two Packard Caribbean‘s now =)
Gorgeous vehicle
Totally agree
That Hornet parked beside the Packard looks like it has been customized with a reflective taillight running the full width of the car. Never seen one like it before.
That’s because it’s not a Hudson hornet that’s a shoebox Ford. I’m not entirely sure what year it looks like a 49 or a 50… directly in front of the Packard, I had to go back and watch. I can’t believe how polished everything has become just from doing it over and over and over again…, the channel has definitely come along way. The quality definitely has improved. Everything has improved. Definitely going to do this car again as well as some of the features that that’s for sure.
@@What.its.like. No I didn't mistake that shoebox Ford for being a Hudson Hornet. I was referring to the blue AMC Hornet parked right beside the Packard. This generation of Hornet replaced the Rambler American in 1970. The Gremlin which was introduced mid-model year, was a chopped Hornet. I actually mistook this video for being a new one which is why I watched it. Glad to have seen it.
And supposedly the Story going around Detroit in 1957, was that the bookkeepers didn't realize when they moved to the Studebaker plant and shut down the Detroit plant that a large Packard, if they could find some company to make their body's for them, but it wouldn't fit on the Studebaker antique assembly line and the merger between them with Studebaker with Nash- Hudson went down to drain when the CEO suddenly got sick and died and George Romney took over and had no interest in the merger with them
Thank you so much for sharing that information =)
Those headlights are very similar to the alien designs for the 50s version of "War of the Worlds".
Notice the tinted glass. Quite rare in 1956.
Jay, you forgot to wish a happy festivus for the rest of us.
Oh darn it =)
Jay can u do a episode on the Hornet SC 360 sitting to the left of the Packard, those are cool and rare.
I ran out of time I’ll try and do it next time if it’s there.. going back Wednesday =)
Happy Festivus...for the rest of us
Wow, what a wonderful car. I truly love 55 and 56 Packard's, both series. Seems they just got it going and then the merger, and then Packard was left holding the bag. I thought Packard bought Studebaker so why was Packard the one to meet it's demise. They had the V8 and wonderful styling as well as other attributes. It's a shame. Oh, and how about the dash in those Packard's, so elegant. I agree that after 1956 there were just Packard-baker's, no true Packard's. A couple of nice looking Studebaker's around 1956, like the President. It is also a shame Studebaker didn't make it either. Thanks Jay. It would seem to me that if Caribbean is spelled with two B's then it is Carib-bean. One B would be Caribean. Oh look, so I get a spelling error. Well I guess it's all a matter of how you want to say it. Either/or, what ever works for you. Anyway, a great car.
Oh...and happy holidays to you and yours.
I’m not a fan of early 50s packards but I’m a fan of this =), happy holidays to you and your family
*Packards
I have a 1956 Clipper Custom sedan which, as mentioned, was the ancestor of the gorgeous Packard Executive. The particular car shown has a ‘53-‘54 type hood ornament, aftermarket wire wheel covers, aftermarket outside mirrors and a factory A/C dash but no actual A/C installed.
At one time, Packard was the Rolls Royce of American cars!
Better than rolls Royce in my opinion
Merry Christmas Jay and to your family ! Ho , HO, HO !
Merry Christmas to you and your family =)
Your headlight trims are from a 1955 model Packard senior car!
The Executive was more "Clipper" then the more expensive "Packard". The tail lamp is clearly "Clipper" so is the rear bumper and front hood. The more expensive "Packard" had an actual Round hole (not a notch) that the exhaust came out of. Also the rear lamp was massive on the "Packard" and they were called "Cathedral" and not swept in as we see here. The front hood had air scoops (not functional) too. The Trans selector was push button but most were changed to lever as the push button was troublesome. There were differences in the ride too. Torsion air ride on Packard as opposed to coil springs on Clipper. At 3:02 on the Whit/Blue/Black Packard Caribbean you can see the hole in bumper and the tail lamp is "squared up", there was a chrome molding down the center too that we can't see. Wish they showed a more clear shot of what I mean but you can see what I mean on other videos.😝
Awesome information =)
It was senior Packard in front and Clipper in the rear. And, unlike the Clippers, actually said “Packard” on the car.
I’ve been to Morgantown. It’s an amazing place.
That place is epic the people were really nice and friendly there, Going back on Wednesday I can hardly wait
Executive later became a Pontiac name!
Yeah I was just thinking that as well =)
Pontiac's Star Chief was the top-line model from 1954 through 1957, and shared top billing with the Bonneville for 1958. When Bonneville expanded into a full-line series for 1959, Star Chief became, in effect, the Super Chief of '58 (longer wheelbase with Chieftain/Catalina engines). By 1965, Star Chief was available only as a four-door sedan or a four-door hardtop, so for 1966 they decided to give it a new name and a new two-door hardtop. For 1966 only, it became the Star Chief Executive (Star Chief on the dashboard and the three stars on the rear fenders, but Executive lettering on the front fenders!) The series dropped the "Star Chief" moniker for 1967 and added woodgrained Safari wagons and became just plain Executive. By 1971, it was renamed Catalina Brougham!
Interesting that John De Lorain was head of Pontiac at the time and he was an old Packard man.
In 1970
AC was a luxury in 1956
Yeah it was and expensive too
I'm buying one of these cars and saw this video. There were only 1030 2 doors made in 1956. They are rare, the engine is a 275 hp V-8, it's a high powered automobile.
Totally agree.. Packard V8 engine is super underrated.. and they wasted all that money only to use it for 2 years that was really sad..
Enjoy your packard these are really cool and worthy of the packard name
I saw, some time in the late ninties, in Illinois, if I remember correctly, a pale yellow executive with a three speed transmission.
It had a blank shift indicator where the "PRNDL" would be at the base of the steering column.
I was told Packard would build them any way you wanted the transmission.
They really did not rot all that badly as any one who could afford one could afford to take care of it.
I drove one other one in the 80's that was for sale, but the transmission leaked so bad I passed on the sale.
Packard made their own transmission, and lack of availability of parts ran me off.
I KNOW you did a video on the SC 360 next to this one.
Right?
Great information thank you so much for sharing all of that yes I did an episode on the SC 360 right next to it
th-cam.com/video/02tS0vT6MvA/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared
This particular Packard Executive has an unusual hood ornament which is not original to the car. The real hood ornament was an outstretched eagle. This one, which is that of the comorant with its beak tucked in, was originally used for the 1954 Packard (Pacific) convertible.
I also noticed that it had a Clipper design used on its steering wheel. That I believe is original because the Executive was in many respects little more than a suped-up Clipper. Too bad that more of them were not made as it is a very impressive looking automobile. Just four months after its introduction Packard production permanently came to a halt at its new Connor Street plant in Detroit.
I thought the same thing the hood ornament looked really out of place. Thank you so much for sharing all of that added information as well as insight I really appreciate it
Studebaker-Packard made the mistake of leaving the Packard factory for the former and smaller ex-Chrysler Conner Avenue factory, wasting precious money. The traditional Packard was doomed once the Detroit factory was shut as the Studebaker plant in South Bend was too narrow to manufacture the Wide Packard bodies, hence the 1957 and 1958 "Packards" being tarted up Studebakers. Maybe if Packard lovers had understood and supported these last cars anticipating a "true" Packard once finances were better, one may have been made.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing if only people had purchased lots of Microsoft, Google, and Apple Computer shares on their IPO's they'd be multi-millionaires, but, like the last years of Packard who knew what the future would bring.
Totally agree =)
My father bought a new "tarted up" Studebaker. It wasn't anywhere near the quality and workmanship. A die hard, he drove it until 1960 and traded it for a Lark. They seemed to be the same car.
My mother hated Studebaker, she drove a mid-fifties Buick with factory air conditioning, it was luxurious.
@nomebear the Lark was created by reducing the front and rear of the big sedans. Basically, the cars of the Lark series through to the end in 1966 had cabins dating from the 1950s as the company didn't have the money to replace it, nor sufficient sales volume to provide the necessary capital to do so. Your Mom was right. A Buick of the day was far more luxurious than anything Studebaker could hope to offer, but they did the best with what they had.
Packard Executive was a Clipper upgraded with Packard trim. I noticed that this car has a Clipper ship's wheel horn button, not a Packard crest. This could have been an assembly line error!
I saw that as well.. the executive was weird it was the bottom of the senior series but had clipper odds and ends.. packard still had a Junior and Senior series but I wasn’t sure what was junior series
I figured it was the clipper but wasn’t sure where the line was if the 400 was junior series
I know the patrician and Caribbean and executive were senior models
@@What.its.like. Packard marketed the Clippers as a separate and lower price brand in 55 and 56. The 56 400 was a senior car and a member of the Packard line. That is what makes the 56 Executive such an anomaly. It used the shorter wheel base and quarter panels of the Clipper and the smaller Clipper engine but had the Packard grille and dashboard and Packardesque side trim and was sold as a Packard!
The air conditioning vents are on the dash. It does not have a trunk air conditioner.
Gorgeous car!
Yeah it was =)
Happy, happy. 🇺🇸🍺
To little to late, to fall in love with you! Already broke, so sad to bad by, bye! Perfect car , to bad !!!
Driveable art
11.2 miles per gallon. Quite a few fill ups on the way from New York to Los Angeles.
Yeah gas was cheap back then, someone shared a story in comment section about their dad having this car right hand drive in Australia and it had overdrive he claimed it got close to 20 mpg
So my Grandfather was a Packard man. He owned many Packards over the years. Also he was president of the Buckeye Packard association. He owned a 56 Executive, which he purchased from the original owner in 1970. Also in his collection was a 53 Caribbean convertible.
I miss going to the car shows with him😢.
(Ask The Man Who Owns One)! Car Show trivia question.. what was the last car Henry Ford rode in.? Avarage awnser..hearse. Correct awnser: Packard , why? Lincoln didn't make a hearse, and Henry wouldn't be caught dead in a Cadillac!
That’s awesome I really like that trivia at the end. Thank you so much for sharing your grandpa’s memory with us it sounds like he was a pretty stellar guy =) if he was anything like my grandpa my grandpa was my best friend and he died back in 2005 and I’ve lived a whole lifetime without them but it almost seems like yesterday. I was 16 when he died he died two days before I got my drivers license and he gave me my first car.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you and your family. This is a great car for the occasion, what a shame they lost their heritage of luxury carriage manufacturers with tremendous innovations. (V-16, V-12, V-8, all hauling big cars with even bigger interiors.) Just imagine if Apple went into a terminal decline, because the customer base realised how overpriced their products are. You would remember them, but your kids would just think you were weird. Welcome to being an adult. Still, beautiful cars.
Great comparison with apple =) Merry Christmas to you and your family
I don't recall Packard ever building sixteens, Cadillac did, I think Marmon had one in the works, but not Packard.
@@5610winston I'm fairly certain they had one in the early 30s. A full array of big V engines, from 16 to 8. I just watch from the side, and try to educate myself, so I can make mistakes.🤔🤔🤔🤔
@@stevenhoman2253 Merry Christmas to you and your family.
I looked it up, and from what I found, it appears that Cadillac introduced the first production V16 passenger car in 1930, and Marmon was working on one when they went into receivership in 1934.
There was a typo in a photo caption referring to a V16 designed for Packard in 1915, but the rest of the caption described the Packard "Twin Six", the first V12 car in the world. The accompanying photo was a Twin Six, and the body of the article made no mention of a Packard sixteen.
You might find the history of Packard's wartime alliance with Rolls Royce for production of aircraft engines interesting.
Look up the Packard Merlin aircraft engine.
Cheers!
@@5610winston Cheers, thank you for that information. I have my fingers in so many pies due to curiosity that I sometimes find it remarkable I remember my phone number. Happy new year as well, mate.
I believe these cars (1955 and 1956) had terrible automatic transmission problems that contributed to the end of the marque?
Also did some of the "56 have the same problematic push button shifting that was present in the Edsal that came into being a couple of years later that became part of the reason for Edsal failure? ("Torque-lock in Park,wouldn't shift out of Park unless another vehicle pushed it uphill slightly to take pressure off the internal park lock in the transmission)(happened when the car was parked on an incline and the park lock was holding the car before the parking brake was set)
the desirable one would be the 3 speed with overdrive which allowed a shorter final drive ratio making the car quicker and without the mechanical problems from the "gear start" Ultramatic
surprising that the Straight 8 circa 1948-1950 models don't get more attention from old car enthusiasts as well as the 1951 through 1954 models
Thank you so much for sharing all of that insight and information =)
The Packard automatic transmission did not have an oil cooler, and that also caused problems.
@@nomebear Packard had introduced a new line of Packard V8 engines for the 1955 model year,it might have been too much for the automatic transmission to handle,kind of a tragedy that the engines were not built after "56 (Factory shut down?) (Tooling sent to Soviet Union for the Chaika?)
some people consider it to have been one of the best engines of the era although it would have been tough to beat the Chrysler Hemi and also the DeSoto "Firedome" of the era
I think there was supposed to have been an arrangement to sell the engines to other car brand companies,I think a few of them appeared in Hudson Hornet and Studebaker Hawk. (Not in the Packarbakers that followed the demise of Packard but in actual brand Studebakers)
The Packard Studebaker merger was a failure waiting to happen. Both company's had cooked the books and neither one was in good financial shape. The other part of the ill conceived plan was for Nash and Hudson to join the merger. However when the head of Nash died in the middle of the whole debacle his replacement George Romney said no way were they going to merge. If Studebaker Packard had been healthy and the four company's merged they would have rivaled General Motors and Ford and actually been bigger than Chrysler. Nash, Hudson did keep the purposed name for the new company, American Motors.
I wonder if things would have been different or if Chrysler would still have all the rights to amc.. it would be interesting
More power than a Cadillac OR a Corvette of the same year!
Better looking to
I think the compression ratio is 9.5 to 1 and I think it requires premium gasoline Leaded when first manufactured. Where do you get premium gasoline for this car?
I have a gas station if you mean premium as in 93 it's at most gas stations in the Pennsylvania New Jersey
@@TwoDollarGararge Will it work ok in this Packard V8!? A lead additive might also be necessary.
@@albertcarello619 well when you say premium i think 93 i'm not sure this car is out of my age wheel house
@@TwoDollarGararge It just may be. During the 1950s all gasolines back then contained lead an anti- knock compound.
My father owns a 1956 Packard Executive.
Sweet =) how did he like it
Nice car, and the last Real Packard. Ah, where to start with Packard's demise. Medium priced cars saved the company once, but after the war, when the public would buy anything on wheels, the medium priced market was no place for a prestige marque to be. But the problem started long before, and it was a management problem, not a product problem. Whatever capital Packard had in 1946 was squandered in the next ten years.
It sucks packard lost their way after wwII, in a way they died in the war
Hay Jay vinyl began to be used in the late '50s, 1957 or 58. So my guess is Lether.
It felt better then vinyl that’s for sure
it amazes me how much vinyl feels like leather! Leather takes a lot of care; it needs to be oiled & kept clean. Vinyl is easy to care of. Just use some window cleaner & paper towels!
My folks 56 Mercury had a nagahide (vinyl) interior.
At least one Executive was built with the 374 dual-quad Caribbean engine, overdrive manual, the highest ratio (lowest numerically) Twin Traction axle, and all the bells and whistles. The original owner kept constant contact with the dealership over the objections and questions about the compatibility of the specified running gear.
Apparently the original owner proved whatever point he intended, or found the car unsatisfactory for some other reason early on because when I read about it (about thirty years ago) the car had changed hands at about five hundred miles, again around 575, and had about seven hundred fifty at thge time of the article.
Thank you so much for adding all of that information I saw it was conflicting some sources said the 374 was available in the executive most sources said it was only the 352 v8 so I went by the book of collectible cars said it was only 352 v8 that is the hardest part about doing Classic Cars especially the orphan cars lots of conflicting information
Excellent Vidya 👍
Even the Russians were impressed with this Packard...take a look at a "Chaika" sedan or limousine
Too bad they couldn't have merged with the Mercury division at FOMOCO and been sold as a Patrician-Marquis with torsion ride, big V8 and a real choice between Lincoln and Mercury cars.
There’s a restaurant here that has a nice looking 55 Clipper in the parking lot, never driven. Sort of a waste as it will probably rot away. Granted it was the low end Packard but it’s the same basic car with different tailights, chrome, and less luxurious interior
That’s pretty cool I hope they drive it every now and then
It was too little too late. Still looking a bit stodgy, but quite similar to a 1955-1956 Mercury. It just didn't have the newer sleeker lines of the rest of the cars. The merger just slit it's throat.