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.
I note that the car comes with a robe cord to stow the lap robe when not in use. That’s sure a throwback to a bygone era. I’ll bet that percentage of these cars that ever had a lap robe in them at all is very low.
Per PACKARD advertising, *Àsk the man who owns one * And PACKARD buyers were loyal to the Brand until the mid 50s, when PACKARD, like the other Independents, was struggling to survive. The Patrician gave way to a further upscale CARRIBBEAN ,first offered in late 53 🤔. A ONE off REQUEST, with Traditional PACKARD grille mounted on a 55 Caribbean and PREDICTOR show car, giving a preview of the next generation failed the sinking ship. *Last Days in the Bunker * is a good description of the confusion and panic final Days of PACKARD as an independent. The disastrous merger with Studebaker, part of A proposed merger of PACKARD, Studebaker, Nash and Hudson, never created the 4th Automotive Giant. Eventually the BIG 3 lost fabled Marques. Was This PACKARD the end of Motoring on the GRAND scale or the beginning of a tragic cascade into a world submerged in bland vehicles?
Take a look at those taillights. James J. Nance (head of Packard) told styling director Dick Teague to *DO SOMETHING About those damn BULL BALL taillights. In a single weekend, Teague created the famous Cathedral taillights featured on Packards and modified for Clippers for 1955. I never owned a PACKARD, but do know a lot and you don’t even need to ask!
The first picture, the first thing that I see is the front end and what comes to mind is the movie “The CAR”. I can see where George Barris got some of his inspiration for the demon car.
Thanks for the great rundown of these somewhat forgotten cars, Stephen. Now that the exact details of the car market of the day no longer matter, they can be appreciated for what they are.
Tom McCahill wisecracked that the previous generation of “bathtub” Packards looked like they were meant to be driven by a dowager in a Queen Mary hat. By the same token, this generation of Patricians looks like they were meant to be driven by a diplomat or investment banker in a pearl-gray Homburg. That just wasn’t a large enough market.
In comparison to the coachbuilt classics of the Thirties, the early Fifties Patricians didn’t sell too badly. It’s just that Cadillac had rocketed past everyone and was selling in numbers nobody else had thought possible. Yes, these cars were relatively less expensive than the top-of-the-heap Thirties cars, but what Cadillac accomplished was still incredibly impressive.
Love it! Especially that gray wool broadcloth upholstery.
This may be a rare case where a roofline shared by a formal sedan and a 2 door hardtop looks good on both.
‘Patrician’-a great name for a luxury car thanks to the upper class of ancient Rome. If memory serves, I believe Humphrey Bogart had a chauffer driven one in the movie ‘Sabrina’.
Humphrey Bogart didn’t used a Patrician in the movie. However he got a Chrylser Crown Imperial limousine.
https://www.imcdb.org/movie_47437-Sabrina.html
Such a beautifully written, and presented, showpiece biography.
The rear seats of the Chrysler LH cars were noted, for their vast rear seating areas.
This rear seat appears cavernous!
Thank you! I appreciate your comment!
Stephen, your work is a tremendous highlight of Paul’s site.
Your passion and dedication to the appreciation and preservation of history, is met with much gratitude here!
Sorry, Consumer Reports, but nine main bearings on a long, whippy straight-eight crankshaft sounds like money well spent. There is such a thing as false economy.
This isa wonderful write-up, Stephen! I turned 1 in 1953, so of course don’t remember them when they were new. However, they were still extant on the streets of Pittsburgh later in the decade when I became car-aware.
I grew up in the early ’60’s in Oakland Ca. and don’t remember seeing many Packards left on the streets. Cadillacs were everywhere, new, or near new. Mid to late Fifties models were extremely popular as used cars. Typically these older models were meticulously clean and well maintained. Cadillac captured the market and imagination of the buying public, and they were priced and financed in a way that made buying then possible to a large number of buyers.
In my old age, I’m come to appreciate the design and quality of these Packards, but I never lusted after them like I did the Cadillac. I would go on to own many older Cadillac models while I was in my 20’s.
A friend of mine found a black 56 Packard patrician in Sacramento CA, behind a old auto empty auto dealership and bought it to save it, the body was in excellent condition but rats had gotten into the interior.
His was black with light blue interior, which he were told was popular color combo with funeral homes, he eventually donated to the Sacramento Auto museum and they sold it to someone in Australia
As far as formal four-door sedans go ( possibly the least desirable body style of the period in today’s world ) the Packard really does have the edge over the chrome laden Cadillac four-door sedan; conservative, well proportioned, old money… that vertical chrome side strip on the Cadillac doesn’t do the four-door sedan any favors, although proportionally looks fine on the Coupe de Ville of the period. The 1955 and the 1956 Packards, especially the Caribbean convertibles, strike me as possibly the best balance of the jet age styling with old school detailing… look at the dashboard of this 56 Caribbean… good article though here, we like the flashy and sporty models today, but one realizes the formal sedans were probably the bread and butter of all the car lines in the early and mid 50s…
You’ve done Packard a great service. I remember them as a kid growing up in the late fifties beautiful elegant cars, that unique exhaust note of straight eights, taillights with glass lenses and great looks. The management team killed the company. , merged with Studebaker then managed to kill them too.
Great piece and well-written! I owned one from 1972-1975 in midnight blue. Smooth ride, quiet, power antenna, power brakes, etc. And yes, I had a lap robe hanging from the backseat cord! I bought the car for $375 (yes, $375) and all it needed was new brakes! The only thing that didn’t work was the temperature gauge. Nice walk down Memory Lane with this article and beautiful photos!
Glad you enjoyed the article!
It’s a small thing I guess but those chrome door guards on the Packard really mar the side profile view of the car. The whole thing would look more fluid and I think less stodgy without those vertical strips breaking up the front to rear visual flow of the design. And I think it might then even have a fighting chance of looking as or almost as good as the Cadillac it’s being compared against.
Why do people put those ugly chrome things on anyway? Especially on a classic like this. I doubt there’s a risk of anyone throwing the doors open against other cars or shopping carts at the local mall parking lot.
Designer John Reinhart claimed he was hamstrung resulting in the high waisted design, but that does not account for the awkward proportions of at the rear of the roof.