Gerald Perschbacher LL.D
Between the time merger talks between Packard and Studebaker began in 1953 and when the actual merger was realized in October 1954, the Detroit-based Packard Motor Car Co. cleaned up its act. The intent was to strengthen the luxury-car company that had a long history of wise moves in the auto industry, à la the pre-World War II launch of the Packard Twin Six and the 1920s introduction of the then-dashing (plus more easily affordable) Single Six.
Beyond a decade later, Packard proved it was wildly wise and profitable when it introduced the Packard One-Twenty in the mid 1930s, then became more daring with its bow of the greater-bargain Packard Six in 1937. With those giant steps, Packard repositioned its sales targets in price ranges competitive with Chrysler, Buick—even Oldsmobile and Mercury—plus a tad of upper-range Pontiac. Granted, the top Packard models were still aimed at the wallets of the ultra-rich and those wealthy hopefuls who wished to enter their social rank. That aura was worth emulating even in slight degrees with the new ranges.
Gerald Perschbacher LL.D
Where was Packard’s Postwar Share?
The car sales market had weathered and waned through want and war, and by 1950, the entire Packard sales force again sensed there was significant slippage in sales. The rakishly innovative 1941 Clipper body design, with its fading front fenders and aerodynamic eye appeal, had reached its limit in updates. Those updates were mild for 1946 and 1947 as car makers rushed prewar designs into production in order to meet pent-up postwar demand. But as the need lightened, the redesigned Clipper lines were smoothed out and rounded for 1948 through 1950 (even though Packard avoided use of the word Clipper for those latter models). It was during that final year of the reformed base design that sales wars were brewing in the entire car industry.
Annual sales for Packard were hard pressed to surpass the 100,000-car mark, albeit Packard “number crunchers” in the Detroit head office seemingly sidestepped that reality by tabulating sales for as much as an 18-month run for the 22nd Series, ending midyear of 1949, and then the 23rd Series that picked up from there and ran well into 1950. “SERIES” production numbers looked good at nearly 146,500 for the 22nd run and a slight dash above 106,000 for the 23rd. Yet in reality, the difference was almost a 28 percent drop. Packard’s elderly leadership had little anticipation of that decline. They felt loyal Packard owners would almost always buy a new model. But owners aged, some stopped driving and younger car buyers with wandering eyes were tempted by other brands as the sales war of the 1950s engaged in earnest.
Gerald Perschbacher LL.D
This is not your father’s… Packard?
Well before Oldsmobile came up with its 1980s slogan that the brand “is not your father’s Oldsmobile, ” Packard made a bold move to re-think its model appearances with high fenders that set the design apart from other brands and gave a bold posture with headlamps being raised and visibility being increased. When the 1951 Series 24 model run tabulated 100,312 cars, Packard still had hope. But as the “car wars” of that decade became very strenuous, Packard and other brands such as Studebaker, Nash and Hudson—even newcomer Kaiser—saw sales substantially slip. Merger seemed a plausible option.
Reality hit hard. Packard—under younger leadership—explored, brainstormed, hired fresh blood, dreamed dreams and saw visions of “what could be.” For a time, there was a brightening hope.
That glimmer beamed from a national conference of the service and parts segment of Packard prior to its merger with Studebaker. The dates of Packard’s national conference were April 26-28, 1954. The place: St. Clair Inn in St. Clair, Mich. The need was to bring higher income into Packard coffers through new-car sales, servicing, repairs and accessory sales. While the motive was good, it was not the only fix to be made. But it made Packard a more attractive candidate in the eyes of Studebaker’s band of leaders, who were even in greater need by a haunting debt that Packard had not yet investigated.
The conference song was the then-known tune of “Just One More Line:” “Just one more line/Is all we need to build absorption/Is all we need to make our Fortune/Just one more line/Just one more wash/Or just a Packard lubrication/We’ll go to Florida for vacation/Just one more line/Just one more sale/Backed up by Packard’s great tradition/Has put the hex on competition/Just one more sale.”
The need was growing dire. Company statistics showed that 70 percent of reporting dealers in February 1954 were below industry average… “two of these three zones are the only zones whose operating profit is in the black insofar as their dealer operations are concerned. An official added, “Within our power lies the ability to improve Packard’s dealer profit picture to a point of prosperity and growth, the likes of which this industry has never experienced, and as easily as adding one and one…by writing JUST ONE MORE LINE per repair order, we could increase our profit per repair order by 50 percent.”
Packard Vice President C. E. Briggs also addressed the assembly via a tape recording: “We have been able to demonstrate how the plans of your management are being keyed to today’s and tomorrow’s competitive market and, frankly, the reception has been excellent. Old man competition has brought us the greatest challenge, and along with it, the greatest opportunity of our business lives. We mean to capitalize on every one of Packard’s treasury assets in securing growth and prosperity….”
1954 was a watershed year of high hopes. 1955 built on those hopes. But 1956 would bring added challenges and a debt whose wall seemed too high to climb. Packard is long gone as a manufacturing force. But its greatness, its will to survive, and its grand accomplishments still stir the heart of “…the Man Who Owns One.”
Love Packards? Here are a few more Packard articles for your reading enjoyment.
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