Packard 1958
The Packard automobiles of 1957 and 1958 were actually Studebakers , slightly revised, branded with Packard and better equipped. In late 1956, the Packard engine and transmission factory in Detroit was rented to Curtiss-Wright and the assembly hall on East Grand Boulevard was sold, ending production of the actual Packard automobiles. However, some Studebaker-Packard executives still viewed the Packard name as a value. These cars were designed in the hopes that enough would be sold that the company would have the opportunity to design and manufacture a completely new luxury car.
In 1958, in addition to the Packard Hawk, there was only one collector's model in three body styles that had been developed from the Packard Clipper of the previous year: the 4-door sedan and the 5-door station wagon, which was simply called "Packard", and a 2 -door hardtop coupe (sometimes referred to as Starlight , a Studebaker name). The taillights came from the 1956 model year Clipper , while the headlight bars, axle caps, dashboard and interior were from Packard. (Actually, all parts were built in such a way that they fit into the Studebaker despite the "Packard look", but some were really leftover Packard parts).
Duncan McRae reworked the models for the 1958 model year, and Studebaker-Packard finances allowed only the cheapest changes. Rectangular headlights were created with fiberglass covers on the front fenders of the previous year's models, which were designed for two headlights. McRae decided to follow the tail fin outgrowths of the 1957 Chrysler and opted for the existing fiberglass rear fender attachments. The Packards were also given a "fish-mouth" grill to make it easier to distinguish them from their Studebaker "cousins".
Auto journalist "Uncle" Tom McCahill noted that from the rear, the car looked as if it had been in the sun too long, the fiberglass tail fins had started to melt and were now running down the fenders.
Only 2,034 pieces of the three standard models (sedan, hardtop coupé and station wagon) were produced; there were also 588 Packard Hawk. The rarest of the 1958 Packards is the station wagon with only 159 copies. The last Packard left the South Bend, Indiana assembly line on July 13, 1958.
In 1962 the Studebaker-Packard Corporation officially dropped the name "Packard".
Movies
A purple-gold-colored Packard station wagon from 1958 can be seen in the 2001 film " Hearts in Atlantis ".
swell
- Gunnell, John (editor): The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975 , Kraus Publications (1987), ISBN 0-87341-096-3
- Langworth, Richard: 1957-58 "Packardbaker": America's First Replicar. ", Collectible Automobile Magazine (April 1985), Issue 5, Number 6, Pages 8-20