It is 1953. Let’s say that you’re an older, rather conservative person with above average income, and you and your family are Packard loyalists. You value quiet elegance, fine craftsmanship, and the prestige of the Packard name. You remember owning and driving one or more of the great pre-war Packard motorcars of the past, and you’re looking to buy a new car. So you stop in to your local Packard dealer’s to look at and test drive the latest models. You want “the best”. What will you buy? Probably this.
1953 Packard Patrician sedan in black. (photo from filmcars.com)
I bring all this up because a few months back, I was driving home from somewhere and I saw parked at a local tavern a black ’53 Patrician in mint condition that looked almost exactly like the car above. Unfortunately, it was one of those cases where I didn’t have time to stop and photograph. So I’m using internet search photos I selected to use as stand-ins to tell my story.
Upon first seeing it, you get the impression, “This is one stately automobile!” Especially in black, which shows off the chrome really well. It’s big, heavy, but with a certain dash and flamboyance. Its style is not avant-garde or leading edge, but certainly respectable for 1953.
1953 Cadillac Series 62 sedan in black.
It’s interesting to compare the side profile of competitor Cadillac with the Packard. The Caddy is somehow sleeker, more voluptuous, more “organic” than the Packard. It’s also distinctive–it won’t be confused with any other make of car.
Cadillac started the “tailfin craze” in 1948, with a pair of rather innocent-looking taillight excrescences that would later evolve into the lethal, terrifying blades of 1958-62 (which we are now all familiar with). Packard called their version a “stabilizing fin”, and it is well integrated into the overall design.
Packard interiors are sumptuous yet conservative, with an emphasis on roomy comfort. But a formal-looking black car with a dove gray interior will not “wow” you like some of the flashy two- and three- toned competitors’ “dreamboat” cars! But a lot of people didn’t want “flashy”.
Everything is so finely made, luxurious; with an emphasis on mature, good taste. The instrument panel, steering wheel, and other interior details are precisely crafted, with comfort and convenience being the foremost concern.
(photo from classiccars.com)
Under the hood, the venerable 9-main bearing, 327 cid flathead straight-8 engine, known for its smoothness and good low-end torque. A fine engine, but the public wanted high compression, powerful overhead valve V-8s. Packard would introduce one in 1955, but it only lasted two years, when Packard production in Detroit ended.
I took this pic of the television screen with my phone camera. I have this filmstrip on DVD.
When our Packard prospect went to the dealership, he or she may have been shown this glorious sales filmstrip showing the various Packard models available–there were so many stunning and artistic color schemes, inside and out.
This filmstrip, “The Magic of Color” is actually a work of art in itself! I’ve never seen or heard anything quite like it. Whoever wrote the copy was a true poet and literary genius, in my opinion. We see staged shots of all the Packard models in a variety of color choices, each one described in grandiloquent poetry and flowery prose designed to take your breath away! Simultaneously, this dreamy orchestral music (the kind with the big string section) sets the mood. I wish I could better transcribe it for you, but here are clips I remember (excerpted):
There is the blue of the sky
And the blue of the deep, deep sea.
But the kind of blue that gladdens a sailor’s heart
Is a wonderful sight to see!
Rich, verdant green
Like that of cool forests;
The pungency of sassafras, the aroma of freshly mowed mint.
The air is crisp and clear!
Warm, sunny yellow, like the sand of the seashore,
Brings to mind images of pirate adventure:
Doubloons . . . pieces-of-eight.
The facets of each golden grain of sand, sculpted by time;
Sparkle in the midday sun!
Fiery red, crimson glory!
The color for seeing–and being seen!
It defers to no one!
On and on this goes, and the schmaltzy music plays on.
Glossy black (like our subject car) is not neglected. Black is described as:
Silky smooth and deep;
It is at once a color and yet is not.
On its surface boldly stands each iridescent hue of a brilliant rainbow,
Subdued and intermixed by proximate relation.
In its depth lies mystery, intrigue, enchantment.
Timeless sable black splendor;
It accepts only the highest esteem.
It is suggested that black be complemented by soft gray, “the diminutive counterpart” of glossy black.
As a matter of fact, I have to congratulate the Packard marketing department for coming up with such brilliant art and literature to promote the 1953 line. I mean, these illustrations from the brochure make the cars look so elegant, colorful, and beautiful! The presumed owners of these Packards have a certain “Great Gatsby” look:
The superb marketing materials might have actually worked–Packard sales rose from 69,921 in 1952, to 89,730 for ’53.
Perhaps our prospect went home and took a look at what Consumer Reports magazine had to say about the new Packards and their competition:
CR can be kind of cynical sometimes. I realize $551 is a lot of money, but some people want nice things, you know? I don’t know why having a nine-bearing crankshaft is of “negligible importance.”
Yes, according to CR, Packard is the smoothest!
Cadillac is a “middle-of-the-road” design. It has high quality and does most things well. However, it does not excel in certain aspects like Packard, Lincoln, Buick, and Chrysler.
Everything I have showed you is from a lost world. 99% of the cars are gone; the Packard Motor Car Company is gone; the people and the way they felt about things are, sadly, now mostly gone. I realize, change must come. But there are certain good things I wish we could hold on to, hence “nostalgia”.
Looks to be some ’49 – ’53 Ford ‘shoebox’ influence in the Packard’s styling.
The interior isn’t nearly as sumptuous as the ’53 Hudson with its wide rear armrest.
Why do I only see 6 spark plugs?
There are two more concealed by the air cleaner assembly at that angle. The plugs are spaced like:
I II II II I
For a moment, I forgot this car was from a different age and I mistoke the radio as being a dual zone HVAC. It’s a piece of art, along with the steering wheel. And the seat upholstery reminds me of the same in a Toyota Century.
What’s sad is this car was obsolete by the early sixties.