Packard 400
The Packard 400 (pronounced: Packard Four-Hundred ) was a car model that the Studebaker-Packard Corporation in Detroit produced in the model years 1955 and 1956. During its two years of production, the Packard Four-Hundred with the Patrician was one of the brand's top models, only surpassed in luxury by the Caribbean, which was built in small series .
Between 1951 and the end of the Detroit-built Packards in 1956, Packard's marketing strategy and model names changed constantly, as the automaker wanted to re-establish itself as a manufacturer of luxury cars and therefore wanted to differentiate itself from the high-volume models known as Packard Clipper . As a result, Packard launched many models during this period that disappeared after a single year of production.
In 1951 and 1952, the company tried a numerical nomenclature that identified the small models as Packard 200 and Packard 250 and the large ones as Packard 300 and - with the best equipment - Packard Patrician 400 . The Patrician 400 replaced the Custom 8 model series from the previous year.
The designation 400 was dropped from the Patrician model series at the beginning of 1953, but the name Patrician continued to denote the best equipment from Packard from 1953 to 1956.
Model series
1955
In 1955 the name Four-Hundred was introduced - without any further addition - for the 2-door hardtop model of the completely revised Packard model series. The Four Hundred was the first hardtop to be built on the longer chassis with a 127 inch wheelbase. It was technically and optically the sister model to the Patrician, which was only available as a four-door Touring Sedan. There were new panoramic windscreens for all models - an interesting contrast to the trunk lid of the previous year's models (since 1951) with a shape rounded to the rear. The big guys got angular tail lights. Together they formed the model series 5580, the Four Hundred was given the model number 5587. Both were given their own color scheme, which they did not share with any other model. The main feature was a wide chrome trim that began at the very front of the fender and ended abruptly in the middle of the vehicle in a side position light. From then on only a thin chrome strip led to the stern. Two-tone versions had one color at the bottom along the entire length of the flank to the belt line and on the roof, the other on the rest of the body. The 5580 series was only available with the revolutionary "Torsion Level Ride" torsion bar suspension , which had a system of 6 torsion bars (one for each wheel plus two auxiliary bars for the rear axle, which were coupled with an electric motor and a relay control). The battery-dependent system provided a surprisingly good road holding for such a large car, more comfort and worked like a level control that kept the car level, regardless of the load. The only available engine was a newly developed ohv V8 with 352 cubic inches of displacement (5801 cm³), which made 260 SAE-PS. The standard transmission was the new Twin Ultramatic with two driving ranges, a forerunner of the automatic transmission with comfort and sport range. The desired gear was selected using a lever on the steering wheel. Bendix power brakes , Saginaw power steering and many other options including tinted windows, power windows and seat adjustment, radios (also with automatic station search), air conditioning or a two-tone paint finish completed the luxurious equipment, although some at an additional cost. Eighteen exterior colors and 19 interior fittings were available, mostly a combination of synthetic leather and bouclé fabrics. Of course, the Four-Hundred also bore the new Packard logo, a "V" in a circle, only in 1955 with the company's traditional coat of arms.
Between the start of the 1955 model year on January 17 (delayed due to the short-term move to a new body shop on Conner Avenue in Detroit) and its end on November 2, 1955, 7,206 Four-Hundreds were produced. The unit price (excluding options) was an impressive $ 3,930.
1956
Like all Packard models, the Four-Hundred underwent a minor facelift in 1956. Externally, an even greater visual difference from the solid models of Clipper (now and only for 1956 an independent brand was Clipper ) discontinued. The big Packard got a new grille. At the beginning, as in the previous year, there was a "grille" (actually a perforated sheet) made of colorless anodized aluminum sheet behind a combination of standing and lying chrome bars. Such "grids" now also covered the air inlets below the bumper. Early in the model year, these perforated sheets were anodized in gold, which resulted in a much more impressive appearance. They were also equipped with other headlight rings that protruded further forward beyond the headlights. On the side, the chrome trim from the previous year was extended to the end of the car. The position light remained as well as the color separation of the two-tone models. A new feature of this 5680 model series was a revised trunk lid. Technically, there was a suspension with improved details, a version of the new V8 with 290 SAE-PS drilled out to 374 cubic inches (6132 cm³), a limited-slip differential (from Dana-Spicer ) as an option for the first time in series production - and as a gimmick for $ 55 Surcharge a "touch button" called actuation of the also revised automatic transmission using buttons on a console to the right of the steering column. A new option was double electrical antennas on the rearmost part of the tail fins, which the Caribbean had as standard.
In the last model year of Packard as a standalone brand, 3,224 Four-Hundred were produced at $ 4,190 each. There were only minor changes to the colors and interior.
Although Packard was in the black until the end, the financial situation of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation deteriorated so much that only a takeover by the armaments company Curtiss-Wright could save the company. This was interested in the armaments departments of the two subsidiary brands Studebaker and Packard and without further ado closed the relatively small Packard production facilities in Detroit. With this, the luxurious models like the Four-Hundred also disappeared from the market. In late 1958, Packard disappeared as a brand name in the United States.
swell
- Gunnell, John (editor): The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975 , Kraus Publications (1987), ISBN 0-87341-096-3
