Had Packard just merged with Nash and Hudson the three might have potentially grown into a three tiered lineup with Nash as the entry line, Hudson as the performance/upscale lineup and Packard returning to its former stand as a builder of luxury cars within a decade of the formation of the merger.

@seththomas9105

3 жыл бұрын

Actually the 3 along with Studebaker made good cars, Packard esp. The 4 together could have made a AMC that would be alive today.

@edarcuri182

3 жыл бұрын

@@seththomas9105 True in large part. Studebaker's problems were fiscal - they were well underwater financially. Studebaker is the only one with an OHV 8 cylinder engine which could have helped in other lines. Nash had the only line that was selling better over the years leading up to the 1953/54 merger/buyout rush. Hudson was moribund. Packard had lost its sales lead among the premium cars but, with careful stewardship, it might have proved able to enjoy prosperity in the high priced segment again. Sad to say, we will never know. We do know that American Motors (nee Nash-Kelvinator) survived independently for 33 years. I like to think that the addition of Packard would have made it far longer.

@brianp6965

3 жыл бұрын

It all went kaput when George Mason died. Mason brokered the Nash-Hudson merger and was wooing Packard execs when he died. James Nance (head of Studebaker-Packard) and George Romney (yes, Mitt's papa) hated each other. Both wanted to be in charge of the new AMC and there wasn't enough room for two roosters in the henhouse.

@LlyleHunter

3 жыл бұрын

@@brianp6965 I agree. Unfortunately Studebaker was the company most deeply in debt and most unsustainable. Had the other three merged AMC would have eventually made better profits and been able to build their own components grow into a larger and stronger company than it ever did and Packard, Hudson and Nash might possibly still be around.

@jannadrielcervo7753

3 жыл бұрын

Isn't Mercedes-Benz involved with Packard? If ever Mercedes-Benz bought Packard, surely it would still exists today.

The use of L.A. Noire music in the background was a fantastic idea. One of your best episodes for sure.

@im2noob4bronze

Жыл бұрын

Brought me back so many memories, a game i remember extremely fondly

@hellcat7116

8 ай бұрын

That first shot is from a game called Mafia II

This is Ed's most clever work yet. Very original, witty, and funny. And my family owned 2 Packards, a '49 and a '56. Why? Because my dad loved the brand and always wanted one before WWII. But by the time he could afford one, as Ed showed us, they clearly weren't the same.

I like the L.A. Noire music with the Mafia 2 opening

@iloveindianationalhockeyte4621

2 жыл бұрын

So much nostalgia lmao

@EduardoSalamanca1960

2 жыл бұрын

They both in the same time period so I guess it makes sense

@dimthecat9418

2 жыл бұрын

@@EduardoSalamanca1960 they feel like they’re a few decades apart but actually they’re just 4 years apart

@michaelbeahn5977

2 жыл бұрын

Loved the Mafia2 game! I would swear there was a Packard model to drive a lot in this game.

Before WWII, Packard wasn't on the same table with Cadillac, Chrysler and Lincoln. It was one of the "Three P's": Packard, Pierce-Arrow and Peerless.

@wintersbattleofbands1144

3 жыл бұрын

...not to mention Dusenburg and Auburn/Cord.

@redram5150

2 жыл бұрын

@@wintersbattleofbands1144 Duesenberg essentially stopped after 1928. They existed for another decade, but everything they had was built ending in 28. The Chrysler Imperial was the most expensive car on the planet at the time. I'd rather a Packard, but they were sweet.

@edgarbeat275

2 жыл бұрын

I think when Pakard made the 6 in the 30s the snobs rebelled and it was down hill from there. Repeat similar cheaper models in the 40s 50s. Big V12s and straight Eights. Enzo Ferrari was influenced by the Indianapolis Packard V12 racers 1912 Ralph DePalmer. Dusenberg was 1928 into 1929 The other comment.

@Arltratlo

2 жыл бұрын

and now, its VW, Mercedes, BMW and Porsche, the factories bombed with Packards engines...

Thanks for making the story of Packard so entertaining.

Soon youll be a mega star on youtube I hope you remember us who were here from the begining

@EdsAutoReviews

3 жыл бұрын

I haven't replied much to people, but your name just sticks. I don't know who you are, but I will find you, and I will eat one of your pizza's!

@vitothepizzaguy7475

3 жыл бұрын

@@EdsAutoReviews I cant run...but I can hide...or something like that

My great grandfather was a loyal and long-time Pierce-Arrow owner. After the company folded he hung on to his beloved car until lightning struck the carriage house and it burned to the ground in 1944. With no new cars available, he purchased a 1941 Packard 180 which he drove until his passing in 1957.

@cvermette

Жыл бұрын

The 41 Packard-the car i really want.

@prins_af_danmark

5 ай бұрын

THEN I WAS BORN!

I love Packard. They have a fascinating history, and it deserved better than the ending it got

@budlewis721

2 жыл бұрын

In 1971 a friend had a '55 Clipper Custom. It was one of the coolest cars I've ever been in, but its significance was completely lost on two know-it-all 18-year-olds.

@redram5150

2 жыл бұрын

@@budlewis721 the museum near me had a loaded '55 Caribbean a handful of years ago. Aside of being so nice to look at, appreciating the engineering and design ideas were great

@budlewis721

2 жыл бұрын

@@redram5150 I wish we (he) had possessed that same appreciation. He (we) beat the shit out of that poor, irreplaceable classic. 18-year-old boys are idiots.

@joedavidpeacock5300

Жыл бұрын

Taking on Studebaker characteristics was the last thing Packard needed. Studebaker never had the class to loan Packard any styling tricks or advice , it was more like putting white boots on a whore,she still smells like cheap beer.

@john1703

Жыл бұрын

No good deed goes unpunished. Thanks Packard for making so many Merlin Engines.

Ive always wondered what happened to Packard. Ive always loved their 1920s and 1930s cars.

My parents owned a 56 Packard Clipper. They loved that car, they always talked about how great it was to drive with self-adjusting torsion bar suspension and how fast it was. My mom often told stories about outrunning such popular cars as Rocket 88s.

RIP Packard, it was a sad way to go, but still better than becoming a zombie brand.

@richardbhagan8949

Жыл бұрын

Does 'zombie brand' referr to mitsubishi

Very entertaining. And largely correct. What happened basically was that times changed, and Packard didn't (well, not enough, anyway.) The point about the 1951 Packard 200 was just a replay of the Packard 120 affair of 1935. Basically, Packard needed the economies of scale that the huge output of their mass market cars gave to GM, Ford and Chrysler. It is fun now to speculate what "might have been" if Packard and Studebaker (and what the hell, let's throw in Kaiser/Jeep) had managed to join the AMC combine.

@nicholascortez728

3 жыл бұрын

Honestly it seems like packard needed a low cost companion brand to cover costs. Honestly if they had gone with Nash and Hudson and been part of AMC it may have helped AMC survive past the 80s. AMC was an economy brand and no matter how hard they tried their cars where always seen that way. Having a marque Like Packard could have changed that. I mean who was gonna pick an AMC Ambassador over a Buick or and Olds let's alone a Cadillac, hell even A Plymouth Belvedere could be spec's nicer.

@jakekaywell5972

3 жыл бұрын

@@nicholascortez728 I agree with much of what you said except for the AMC Ambassador bit. AMC priced the Ambassador as much as a mid-tier Oldsmobile or Dodge and targeted that same market. It was a solid car whose real calling card was being the first American car to have A/C as standard equipment.

@neildickson5394

3 жыл бұрын

Kaiser was never considered for AMC. It was already a dead brand by 1954. Hudson was also dead weight. It could have been successful with Studebaker Nash and Packard. Sort of predicting today's GM, Chevrolet Buick Cadillac.

@EdsAutoReviews

3 жыл бұрын

Just tuning in to say I highly appreciate these discussions! This is one of the reasons I make these video's, to let people discuss automotive history in the comment section.

@williambodine4105

3 жыл бұрын

@@neildickson5394 You will notice that I said "Kaiser-Jeep." What if the bigger AMC (with Jeep) had mainstreamed all wheel drive way ahead of the big three?

Packard's inline-8 was no slouch. They knew they were late to the party and so every year took steps to keep their old 8 competitive with the best V8's the competition offered. In 1954, *the last year Packard sold an inline-8,* the most powerful Cadillac V8 was 230hp & 332ft-lb@2800rpm with an 8.25:1 compression ratio. Packard's inline-8 was 212hp & 330ft-lb@2200rpm with an 8.70:1 compression ratio. In 1954 ALONE Packard bored & stroked it, made the head out of aluminum instead of cast iron, and canted the valves toward the cylinders allowing for better breathing and valve cooling (a trick gleaned from their wartime aircraft engine manufacturing). Basically Packard engineers threw everything they could at the old L-head (flathead) straight-eight before introducing their new overhead-valve V-8 the following year. In so doing it became the ultimate straight-eight manifestation.

Well done! I’ve always had a soft spot for Packards since my mother and father both drove Packards back in the 40s and 50s. I remember those straight 8s as being smooth and quiet running but lacked the power of the V-8s offered by the then “big 3”. After the joint venture with Studebaker, Packard’s identity and reputation was destroyed. A sad ending to a once great marque.

@davidpowell3347

5 ай бұрын

There was an executive from General Electric who was hired by Packard around 1951 who might have been responsible for some of the Packard bad decisions (I think that exec came from the marketing/advertising side,not the engineering/science side of GE).

As a Detroiter, I commend you for this. Informative and amusing; well done!

Hilarious video! It was said when Packard & Studebaker merged, it was like two drunks walking together trying to help each other cross the street!

Loving this channel and the mafia 2 la noire intro was gold lol.

It was several years before my time, but I had two uncles (brothers) who used to argue constantly about which was better -- Hudson or Packard. Naturally, one of them owned a Hudson and the other owned a Packard. By the time I came along, both of them drove Cadillacs.

At the end of my street there is a beautiful building which was designed by the great architect Albert Kahn. It was built in 1926 as a Packard showroom, and for the last 60 years it was a parking garage. It is currently being prepared for demolition.

I'd love to see one of these cases on Rambler/AMC, I think it would be interesting!

Honesty the effort you put in the videos amazing your channel will get big keep it up !

You're production values are outstanding!

Your channel is going huge. I know for sure! 👌🏼

@EdsAutoReviews

3 жыл бұрын

One can dream.. one can dream...

This was really well done, Ed!! You got a good amount of the history in, whilst twisting everything into a engaging and interesting story. Bravo!

Ed, you have me balling my eyes out here. Poor Mr. Packrat.

Best video so far from this series. Love your story telling style. Before this I only knew the name Packard. Thank you so much for the enlightenment.

Your channel has really grown on me since you started this and I think this Packard film noir version is the best yet.. I don’t know if it’s because I love noir or if it’s because I love you. Either way, keep up the work. You have a real talent, kid.

Around 1968, I bought a 53 Caribbean 2 door hardtop for $40. Every option except air conditioning. Straight 8, 6 volt, all power accessories were hydraulic. I gave it to a friend when I got drafted.

Fun Fact: John Z. DeLorean started his automotive career at Packard, later moving to Pontiac where as President he brought out the GTO. Later he went on to run Chevy but by then had made enough enemies among the GM Board to make the situation untenable, so he then went on to build his dream car- and to get busted doing cocaine deals trying to finance it.

@theq4602

Жыл бұрын

the coke deals were typical CIA bullshit, Thatcher, the prime minister of the UK at the time, didn't like how Mr. Delorean was bringing peace and stability to northern Ireland's are with his factory. So she went to daddy regan and got him to take care of her DeLorean problem.

How do you only have 12k subs! Your content is top notch. I could listen to you talk about cars forever, Can't wait for your chanel to blow up with subscribers!

Very good! Well done! Hang in there, I've been sharing to the car guys I know. I have a Restoration shop with a big TV, and there are many like us. Thanks for video!

You made this sad history fun! Great video. Thanks.

Absolutely loved the way this story was told! Amazing presentation skills!

a load of fun! so great to see that you put your all into these. great and memorable to tell a story as well!

Great video, sad story. Very well done, your choice of dramatic mystery theater / film noir music was superb.

Masterclass video. You're a storytelling genius!

Nice one! One of your best videos to date. Love the Dutch accent, coming from a MOPAR loving Finn. Keep up the good work, Ed!

Your presenting quality, humor and facts are better than pages with 100's of thousands of subs. I honestly can't believe your channel isn't bigger. Keep it up!!! I freaking love your videos!nn

This is now my favorite auto channel!

I have watched and enjoyed many of your videos (especially the early 60's Chrysler one). This has been my favorite. I'm partial to Packards ... my grandmother owned one in the 30's (before I was born, but I saw the pictures). Thanks so much for this. Hope you'll keep up the excellent work.

I really like your channel, funny creative and knowledgeable. You're a true car guy. Your style balances out my obsession with junkyard digs and vice grip garage!

Holy shit, I love you and this video too. This was way too NEAT.

What a cool way to tell the story of Packard. If not for a clash of egos Packard and nash may have made a good company.

Even from the thumbnail I could tell this was gonna be another sad story. I've been an auto enthusiast long enough to recognize even very early badge engineering. Clearly it's just a Studebaker Hawk being disguised with a bad nose job; An undignified end for a brand which once stood alongside the likes of Dusenberg and Pierce Arrow

If Mason would have succeeded with the mergers, AMC may have made it as a “big -4”. A real shame Another great video. 📻🙂

@BELCAN57

3 жыл бұрын

The problem was that Mason died before the merger could take place. George Romney (Willard's dad) assumed the Chair at AMC and he couldn't stand the Chairman of Packard, James Nance. Packard took the only other option open to them and bought Studebaker. Unbeknownst to them, Studebaker's "break even" number (the amount of cars they needed to make in order to stay afloat) was so high as to be an unobtainable goal. Packard had shackled themselves to a corpse. It was only a matter of time.

@jeffking291

3 жыл бұрын

@@BELCAN57 Yep. That’s exactly what happened. (They sealed their own fate). 📻😐

@edarcuri182

3 жыл бұрын

@@BELCAN57 The merger of Hudson and Nash-Kelvinator (which was renamed American Motors) was finalized on My 1, 1954. Mason died in September of that year. You are correct about the rivalry between Nance and Romney. Romney had been offered a job at Packard at the same time he took the job at Nash-Kelvinator. When he turned down Packard's offer, Nance was then hired by that company. It is just a guess on my part (although there is some historical evidence) that Nance wasn't keen on lashing his company to Romney's. Had he done so, we might be writing a different history given the many difficulties the other US manufacturers (Chrysler especially) faced themselves.

@sutherlandA1

3 жыл бұрын

They predicted that if the merger of Studebaker, Packard, Nash and Hudson had gone ahead the combined company would've usurped Chrysler as the 3rd biggest carmaker

@jeffking291

3 жыл бұрын

@@sutherlandA1 I believe it . Nash as the low level Studebaker, Hudson as the Luxury Entry lever, Packard as the high end Lux. Could very well have worked. 📻🙂

This is a clear and clever way to present the information!

This is the best car related channel on KZread. Thank you!!

Wonderful and intelligent way of portraying the Packard demise. Loved it.

Very informative and extremely interesting. Thank you ! Just one question : as the Soviet-built zIS-110 is said to originate from the Packard Super Eight, to what extent may the equally Soviet-built ZIL-111 be said to be of Packard lineage?

Ed, this was very well done, and a great concept!

When Studebaker decided to consolidate production in South Bend it was discovered that real Packards were too large to be built on their lines, so they were forced to rush-job the Packarbakers. Personally, I like the Packard Hawk, but the rest of them are pretty sad, with their grafted on bits. The supercharged V8 was pretty cool, though.

This was great. Informative and a really creative format!

I love the narration and story line. Great video. Very much one of the best I've seen in a long time. Informative, humorous and entertaining.

Well done and very entertaining! Thank you. It is often said that the plan was to put Studebaker into an alliance of Packard, Nash, and Hudson. I am skeptical as George Mason at Nash, who was the leading thinker in the group, had deep reservations about Studebaker. Not about their product nor about their volume. The reservations owed to their expenses and their high priced contract with their union. Perhaps those reservations could have been eased, but Nash-Kelvinator was the most solvent of the independents and was because they were scrupulous about costs. Another factor was the apparent rivalry between James Nance and George Romney. We are told that Nance, Packard's President, was averse to joining up with a company that appeared to be headed toward elevating Romney to the top job. I know neither of these gentlemen but history shows that Romney was, indeed, a front runner for the head of any combination as he became the President of American Motors on Mason's sudden passing. There might be a story there, too, but it is likely to remain a mystery. Thanks again. What fun.

Bravo, well done. I well recall tooling about with my Dad back in the 50s in his 20-year old '36 Packard. Sooth as silk, quiet, powerful, plush, and a Philco radio! Artfully down, thank you.

Very entertaining and well done. Loving your content...educational, well-researched and with a healthy dose of humor thrown in to keep things from getting dull. Bravo!

Great video man!! Keep up the good work. Cant wait to see your channel grow! Great quality videos!

Great story Ed, thanks for sharing!

Insanely good!! Great narrative. Keep this up!

That was a brilliant take on a history lesson. Well done!

Poor Packard, I feel his pain.

Well done. That was both good fun and informative.

Ed…you are so clever with these works. I enjoy them and thank you for your diligence.

This was brilliant! As a fan of both Packard and Film Noir, you pushed all the right buttons with me. Bravo!❤

Really fun and interesting presentation’s. You entire series in very entertaining and professional. A must watch for car fans, and everybody else.

Excellent program! If Nash-Kelvinator, Studebaker, Packard and Hudson would have merged, the resulting AMC may have been stronger, but a large amount of trimming would still have been done. "Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent."

THX for the outstanding content and the thousands of hours spent producing it.

Bravo, Ed! You really out did yourself on this one. I am absolutely loving the history series, 10/10!

Genius episode! Loved it! :)

All kinds of stuff I never knew about this mysterious Packard brand. My dad used to work at a Studebaker factory making bulletnose cars. The noir format of the production was a brilliant idea.

Great video. Informative and nice job on the old school detective movie feel

Interesting and imaginative way of telling the story. You should have mentioned the Packard Predictor concept car as an example of what might've been. Keep the vids coming!

That revamped "new" Packard was here in Santa Barbara about 20-years ago. I had a ride in it and it was stunning. I have a video of the thing and some color photos ... I'm starting to search for them. Probably in my old Cannon ... If I find this, I'll sent it to you. (I assume in The Netherlands?) I lived for a while in Deventer and Den Haag.

I like the format. Subscribed. Keep the good work coming. This will be a very successful channel

Very interesting, entertaining, and imaginative approach to telling the story of the downfall of Packard. Nicely done!

Aww. Poor fat car. 😂 I love these videos man, truly satisfied with randomly finding you the other day 💯

Very nice setup for this vlog! Perfect! 👌

This was ingenious! One of the best episodes!

Man You got talent, its the first time watching your videos and I coming all the way from the first one planning to go to the last, Congrats, I will call you to help me on my videogame and its movie storyline

These videos are the best. Thank you

I saw this when it first showed 9n here. And have since episode 1. This is some of yhe best on KZread. 👍🏼

Excellent video!!!! Well done! I own a 57 Packardbaker and it's really just a Studebaker in a tuxedo!!

Hi, I found your video very interesting. I really enjoyed the noir movie atmosphere the you gave to the story. Really original and sharp. Congratulations.

Brilliant story telling ! Thanks

The Ultramatic transmission was not a two-speed but a variable ratio very much like Buick's Dynaflow. The Ultramatic had two "gears" but the torque converter could change speeds as well.

Amazing story telling. Subscribed!

Nice. Great storytelling!

That "PackardBaker" looked like the trout I caught last week.

@vinnydaq13

3 жыл бұрын

Just imagine....the brand new 1958 Packard Fishface !😉

@michaelorford8304

3 жыл бұрын

You shouldn't fish downstream from Three Mile Island.

@tihspidtherekciltilc5469

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaelorford8304 I think he meant what he woke up next to.

Great video! I had always thought that Packard were part of GM - but I would mix them up with LaSalle

Ed, this is an excellent channel. You absolutely deserve a much greater number of subscribers. Keep up the great work.

That was a really well-made video! It's a shame when once interesting and innovative car brands disappear.

Great intro, music and overall presentation, good job !

Packard is probably my favourite auto maker out of them all. Actually Packard's straight 8 was a really good engine, extremely robust, nearly bulletproof, and it could compete with all the ohv v8s at the beginning of the 50s. And obviously, the sound of a Packard eight is just something else, in my opinion, it sounds even better than a v8

Your BEST video yet!!!!!!!

your vids are illuminating, entertaining and amusing. well done. thanks

Great episode, full of information with a good ride.

Some "key people" are missing from the "case file," such as George Christopher (a GM man who managed the 110/120 lines, and HATED the Luxury Lines), U.S. Secretary of Defense Charlie Wilson (Eisenhower's guy from 1953 to 1957, and a GM man from 1919 to 1953), and an self-absorbed man- named James J. Nance (from General Electric's "Hotpoint" home appliance division). Industrial/Crony Sabatoge and Ego, were what brought Packard to its knees. Further, George Mason's untimely death, left AMC in George Romney's hands ("Mitt the Twit" Romney's Father!), and he went after the "Quality Economy" image- as nobody was working in that (Rambler nameplates, replaced Nash and Hudson, on the reputation of the "Nash Rambler" being expanded upon!). If George Mason had lived, East Grand was kept open, Conner Ave. was used for bodies only, and Nance's ego hadn't bested them all, a Four-Tier "American Motors" would have worked. A dream that would be! If the latter three things had gone as what I said, Studebaker-Packard could have survived the loss of Defense Contracts in 56, with Predictor Fins and Request grilles, on 1955-1956 Bodies, for Patricians and Caribbeans, and changes to Executives and Clippers being modest, and maybe- all of it would have wound-up in 1966, with revisions of Brooks Stevens styling, by the design firm- MHP. Sometimes we dream, to cope with reality... And Robert Frost was a Devil's Advocate...

Great job and very well presented. Subscribed.

Your videos are beyond cool 😀 (Pls never change the intro lol)