Once again, we’re dealing with Packard’s last days. This time, courtesy of some images of Wendell Hawkins Packard Inc. in Houston, TX. Those who know the marque’s history can probably tell from the image above that the dealer was a favored one in those closing days. After all, in that showroom appears none other than Packard’s 1956 Predictor concept car (at center). A one-of-a-kind proposal that hinted at future models from the marque.
Want a better look?
There it is, on the left of the image and occupying a privileged spot in the showroom near Mr. Hawkins (staring at the camera).
Regardless of the company’s difficulties, Hawkins owned a prominent Houston advertising agency and his dealer got full attention from Packard. At his request, the one-of-a-kind Predictor concept car reached his facilities.
One can assume that Mr. Hawkins’s interest in the brand had been not only a business matter, but a personal one. Here he appears in front of his 1919 Packard Twin Six, a vehicle also showcased in the dealer’s showroom.
Packard’s days may have been numbered, but Hawkins and his guests look rather joyful around the showroom’s goods. No idea if by the time this photo was taken, he was aware his Packard relationship was to be a short one.
Thanks to hindsight we all know Packard was heading into rough times by 1955; even before then. Yet, the automotive market was expanding in the 1950s and Packard was still a storied marque. As such, Mr. Hawkins took over Packard’s Houston dealer operation with eagerness once the opportunity showed up, and opened for business in late ’54.
The short-lived Packard dealer was located on the corner of Milam and Headly, on facilities that dated to the 1920s and previously occupied by a Buick seller.
Wendell Hawkins may have been a Packard believer in ’54, but the interactions during his brief Packard dealer tenure quickly got him up to date with the entity’s sagging fortunes. When offered to turn into a “Studebaker-Packard” dealer, he quickly turned down the notion and moved on to sell other makes such as Chrysler, Volvo, Rolls Royce, and Jaguar.
Not that his love for Packard had faded. Business decisions aside, the man remained a faithful devotee of the brand actively participating in Packard Club gatherings well into the 1990s.
Notice how “proper” everyone dressed back then? My, how times have changed!
Those in the photo weren’t wearing their daily clothes. They knew there was going to be photographs at the new Packard dealership.
I agree, but many of them wouldn’t even walk out their front door without being “dressed”.
Apparently few prospective buyers heeded Packards ASK the MAN who Owns One. As the storied Marque began its slide from its glory days, LAST DAYS IN THE BUNKER tells of the frantic efforts to save Packard. Unfortunately the PREDICTOR was never given a chance. Had George Mason’s plan to combine Nash, Hudson, Packard and Studebaker been successful, There might have been stiff competition for the BIG THREE. But of course it’s probably a mute point as so few grand old names ( Pontiac, Oldsmobile, DeSoto, Mercury, et al) have vanished. Even the remainder now focus on SUVS, crossovers and a few melted jelly beans. CHECK OUT the Packard REQUEST, a one off based on the 55 Caribbean.
I imagine my mother wore dresses like shown here, not a good look at all .
Sad to hear Mr. Hawkins got in too late .
-Nate
I noticed in the last image the words “BUY A PACKARD AT COST” at the top of the windows facing the street. There is also a Volvo 544 parked at the curb. Does this image not herald a transition?
I’m a Houston native. Packard was only a memory by the time I was born so I never saw an active Packard dealership in the city. I don’t remember Mr. Hawkins’ association with any other automobile dealerships either but I was young.
I do remember one of the earliest Volvo dealers in Houston, if not THE earliest, was Nils Sefeldt who moved his dealership to the city after a less than successful attempt at selling Volvos in Fort Worth, Texas.
Great story. No wonder the company favored him. An advertising man AND a real fan of the brand.
The “Volvo” outside the showroom looks brand new.
CC Effect: Here’s a ’56 Clipper having work done at a local shop not far from me:
Very cheerful two-toning on that one.
The ’55-56 Packards look much better to me as two-door hardtops than as four-door sedans (as seen in one of the showroom shots). Packard didn’t have a four-door hardtop like Cadillac did, and the thick, exposed B pillar and smallish side windows looked a bit dated by 1956.
Notice the narrow whitewall tires on the show car? I didn’t know these were made that early. Usually they start showing up around 1960-61 in the pics I’ve seen
Didn’t notice that at first. Went back and looked and yeah, that seems too early. But, there they are.
The PREDICTOR looks like a cross between a Pontiac and a Lincoln.
Comments – well, whatever he lost, it didn’t force him out of the car business, so it must not have been a complete tragedy. He bought the brand when it was low, but when it had a new car that competed in the industry. Had Packard succeeded, he probably would have made a lot of money. He knew the risk.
I am a big fan of Packards, but by this time, folks had been through the 1953 recession and the manic Ford/GM car wars, which forced Studebaker into the ditch only to be rescued by Packard’s money. The market changed from 1946-1953 and by 1955, we are seeing a lot of dealers talking to the Feds about how they got stiffed with cars they didn’t order, and couldn’t sell. Buyers were talking to the Feds too. There were a lot of complaints that forced DC into making some transparency changes regarding dealerships and the birth of the Moroney stickers.
It was no longer a seller’s market and a car like the Packard/Clipper in that environment looked iffy, even with the nifty looking new Packards. So, Packard was probably pretty thrilled to get a new dealership in a main market and most likely showed him a lot of deference to keep him happy. I think he got a good deal for that Packard dealership.
Like I mentioned, a good enough deal not to get out of the business after Studebaker-Packard stopped selling Packards.
The Predictor, sadly, didn’t predict the 1957 or 58 Packards at all. It didn’t even resemble the redesigned real Packards they hoped to field in ’57 very much.
The Predictor concept car still exists and is often on display at the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, IN. The prototype ’57 Packard doesn’t, having been chopped up shortly after Packard shut down their Detroit operations.
The picture taken in the shop shows a rare Packard Executive in the center right, with the parallel trim strips on the sides. Introduced later in the ’56 model year, it combined “Sr.” Packard front styling with a Clipper rear. In addition to the ’56 Clipper Deluxe and ’56 Patrician I owned, I also briefly owned a red & white ’56 Exec but before taking delivery flipped it to a guy who wanted it more than I did. It’s my favorite ’56 and sometimes wish I’d kept and restored it.
I think I recall reading that the Predictor made the rounds to many dealers across the country, as kind of a “We’re not dead” tour. Unfortunately, they kind of were.
The Predictor is stunning in person.
If Edsel had adopted the front end of the Predictor design model, it might of survived in the long run.
Looks like Pontiac was peaking over the fence for its mid-sixties Grand Prix.
Looks like some of the higher-ups there received the word that the 1957 models would be tarted up Studebakers , they don’t look like happy campers!
People dressed their best at all times then.
Thus wasn’t because of being photographed .
Employees of goods, services, srorss had dress codes, and EVERYONE wanted to be their best , or appropriate at all times
Why does good clinths trigger some people today ?
Restoring a 57 Packard wagon.
First station wagon with a supercharger as standard. 865 total units
These photos were included in a five-page article written by Wendall Hawkings, and originally published in the April 1998 issue of The Cormorant News Bulletin of The Packard Club (I was the editor at the time). A few months later, Wendall held a seminar at the 1998 Packard Club convention in Houston, and it was standing-room only.
Milam and Hadley? That’s in Midtown Houston, and of course it doesn’t look anything like this now. Northeast corner of this intersection is a Randall’s grocery store, which has been there for a little bit over 20 years. Across Hadley from it, is condos, and across Louisiana (the next street westbound) is a Chevron station and a shopping center with a couple of fast food places. SW corner of that intersection is a few nightclubs. Across Milam eastward is a closed bank, and condos on the south side of the street.
Milam is a southbound (out from downtown) street, so looking at the pictures and seeing how the cars are parked, makes me think the bank property is where the dealership was. The Randall’s address is 2225 Milam.
My brother works a few blocks from here, on Wednesday evenings, and I hang out at the Randall’s and do some shopping while I’m waiting for him. This store has a couple of rows of surface parking, and a single level, very tight, parking garage underneath. My truck is too long to fit there (Suburban barely does!) so I park upstairs or on the side of Hadley. With the clubs, parking anywhere is at a premium!