Gerald Perschbacher
The name “Packard” stood tall among luxury car makers thanks to well-organized efforts of company leaders cheered on—and often approved by—Alvan Macauley as early as 1910. What augmented Macauley’s rise was Old World charm and energy coupled with hard work, plus gentlemanly depth of outstanding mechanical insights and ability. Of course, buyers of new Packards were among the vanguard of fans who perpetuated the honored phrase, “Ask the Man Who Owns One.”
From its inception late in 1899, the Packard automobile was intended to send a message of assured reliability on roads and streets through towns, across states and even in far-off lands overseas. James Ward Packard and brother William Doud Packard hatched their own version of four-wheeled reliable dependence and nurtured it into 1903 when the operation moved from its fledgling site in Warren, Ohio, to its dream site in Detroit. Succeeding early years were helmed by the energetic Henry B. Joy.
The story of the automobile is also a story about people. It includes those who dreamed of motor vehicles, those who designed them, those who made and sold them, and those who led the effort of production and delivery. Among leaders was Alvan Macauley who, beginning in 1900 as general manager, rose through the ranks of an early calculator company. Twas Macauley who had the gumption to move the very profitable American Arithmometer business from St. Louis, where a local competitor hindered expansion. A secretive plan saw Macauley’s work force and equipment moved to Detroit one weekend in 1904 on two trains. By 1910, Macauley joined the leadership of Packard.
Good things were in the offing. Gone from Packard were the single- and two-cylinder Packards, both supplanted by fours and sixes by the 1910s. What followed was a potentially risky jump to twelve cylinders to claim high ground in the luxury field from 1916 through 1923. The very next year, Packard selected the more economical Single Six before the logical progression to straight-eights.
A bold step upward set Packard on its classic course with special custom designs and superb fit and finish as the 1920s progressed. Large drum headlamps were common traits for luxury cars, bigger being better in those days. In 1927, wheelbases for mainline Packards stretched 136 and 143 inches. For 1929 to 1930, models ranged from 126-1/2- to 145-1/2-inch-wheelbase spans, the topmost being fit for royalty in society or business. Engine displacement jumped to 384.8 cubic inches with bore and stroke of 3-1/2 by 5. Prices matched the expanded sizes—bigger was not only better, but more costly. That was the era of regal splendor that was to stretch into the 1930s, even amid the worldwide downturn of personal fortunes, and a very bitterly soured economy that saw formerly wealthy folks asking, “Brother, can you spare a dime?”
Still, Packards of the late 1920s—the “Roaring Years” of society—were akin to crowns on princely heads of business and culture. L. Morgan Yost, a noted collector, architect and Packard researcher, put that pre-Depression era into perspective with notes obtained by this writer. “The Packard Eight Club Sedan listed at $ 4,950, the Six Club Sedan at $ 2,685 when introduced in July 1927. Some difference! But then, a Model A Ford cost only $ 600. The Packard Eight Runabout (rumble seat roadster) listed at $ 3,975 while the Model 533 Six runabout listed at $ 2,385 and the shorter 526 Six runabout listed at $ 2,275.”
Yost asked, “Why two runabouts with the six engine? Strangely, quite a few more of the shorter ones sold. Many who bought the Six were striving, even over-reaching, to get a Packard, and the $ 110 made the difference.” According to present standards, a dollar in 1927 had the buying power of $ 17.13 today! Thus, that $ 600 Ford was the same as $ 10,380 while Packards mentioned ranged from $ 46,450 to $ 85,635!
Yost also pointed out that the Six and Eight of that era were much alike in bore, stroke and main bearings (either seven or nine). “Full pressure lubrication was supplied to the main bearings, thence through the crankshaft to the connecting rod bearings, thence through drilled connecting rods to the piston pins,” just to mention a few factors. Pistons were of aluminum alloy “as was the crankcase. Many think the transmission housing was aluminum but it was cast iron painted aluminum.”
Yost added, “On the Eight… a piston pump was mounted on the rear of the transmission, engaged by turning a slitted end rod which entered a hole in the floor board.” Not a bad idea in that era of rough roads and old-style tires.
In this period of Packard history, 1899 to the late 1920s, standards of high quality, reliability, good design and bang-for-the-buck in prestige were paramount. In several ways, Packard set new standards which other car makers watched carefully.
Love Packard history? Here are a few more articles for your reading enjoyment.
Related: Packard’s ‘Ask the Man Who Owns One’ origins
Related: Prepping Packards for the War
Related: Imagining a world without Packard
If you like stories like these and other classic car features, check out Old Cars magazine. CLICK HERE to subscribe.
Want a taste of Old Cars magazine first? Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter and get a FREE complimentary digital issue download of our print magazine.
