Introductory Note: If ever there was a vehicle we are unlikely to encounter at curbside and just as unlikely to find at a car show, it would be the 1958 Packards. These got no respect when new and are still largely the butt of jokes and subject of eye-rolls. So if we are ever to give these cars their fifteen minutes of fame here on CC, some other kind of encounter will be necessary. Like this one, for instance. JPC
After years of effort my work has finally paid off. I have just put the finishing touches on a functional time machine. And what better way to try it out than to do something with CC. We have all looked at classics and wondered what it was like to look at new ones lined up on a dealer’s lot, so let us give it a run.
Some time back reader Robert Murray was kind enough to share the color selection folder for his 1958 Packard hardtop.
I had been looking over that bit of classic mid-century auto-dom and was struck that even with minimal color selections for the period, there was a lot more cheer than in modern dealers. So I have decided to test our time machine at the Packard dealer. Heaven knows he could use the business in 1958.
I turn the (analog, of course) dial to June 1, 1958. I wondered where we should go, but decided that it may as well be somewhere with nice weather. Noll Auto Company of Pasadena, California was a big Packard dealer so let’s give them a shot. It is late enough in the season that they ought to be dealing but early enough for a decent selection. I strapped in, pushed the red button, and – – – presto.
As I walked towards the neon and shiny metal I was greeted by an avuncular older man. “Good morning! Name’s Wendell. What can I show you today?”
“Well . . .” I reply haltingly “I would like to look at one of those new hardtops”. Fortunately, I had remembered to bring my brochure.
“An excellent choice, sir. You and everybody else! That has been the hottest model we have seen here in years. Are you familiar with the newest features? We have about everything that’s popular so I’m sure you will find something that you like.”
“Not to put any pressure on you” Wendell continued, “but if you have a trade you need appraised you might want to get it in line because the used car manager is as busy as a one-armed paper hanger. Just pull it behind those three ’56s parked out front and he will get to yours as soon as he is through with those.”
“No” I replied, “I am not trading anything.” I was momentarily confused, but then I looked out over the sea of 1958 Packards in the lot. Which left me even more confused.
“We have a pretty good selection, is there a particular color you had in mind?” he asked as he handed me the folder with all of the 1958 color choices. I think we have almost all of them, and what we don’t have we may still be able to find. We are a top dealer and have a lot of pull with the Company – we may be able to get a car or two diverted our way yet.
“Wow” I thought to myself. Here I was expecting to see a couple of stray cars and a salesman looking through the want ads in the paper for a new job. Then I thought back and realized that when I made an earlier test run back to 1952 I may have changed something small. Oops, I’d better be careful today.
Wendell continued by saying “I wish they wouldn’t mix Studebaker into these brochures. That just confuses my customers when they see those cheap cars and these Packards in the same sales material. That is supposed to change next year, they tell me, since we are now selling so many more cars than they are.
I decided to skip past that last statement and start at the top of the list. “How about the Bluff Gray?” I inquired.
That, my friend, makes for a very distinguished car. Here is one over around back of the building that just came in this morning and hasn’t been prepped yet. It has the Cliff Gray roof. ”
“There is a sedan out in the sun that will give you a better idea of how that metallic finish just dances in bright light. These Packard enamel finishes never need waxing, you know.” “This one has the Cliff Gray roof as well. I will tell you up front that I do not have a Cliff Gray hardtop in stock. I don’t know, it looked like the color of a battleship to me and I didn’t order any that way.”
“I take that back”, Wendell continued, “we got a Studebaker wagon for our Parts Department – that’s the front sticking out there. But nobody has asked for that color. It sure looks nice as an accent to that Bluff Gray body, though.”
“And just have a look inside – it’s hard to find this kind of old-world craftsmanship in this crazy modern world. Aren’t those gold accents the cat’s pajamas?”
“But If you like a really dignified car a lot of folks have been picking the Midnight Black. There’s nothing more elegant than a black Packard, you know, especially with that golden accent trim.”
“The Parchment White has been really popular too. We have several of those. Packard buyers are conservative folks and they love their basic colors.”
“OK now” I thought to myself. “I did not come back to 1958 to look at black white and gray.”
“I dunno” I mused to Wendell, “I am starting to like this Mountain Blue.”
“Oh, yes. That has been a popular one, just dark enough to be dignified but with some life in it to let folks know that you have some spunk!” Here’s one – what do you think of this sedan?”
“I also have a wagon that is a two tone with a Waterfall Blue roof – but I don’t guess you would be interested in a wagon.”
“No thanks, I don’t want a 4 door. I wonder what that Waterfall Blue looks like on the whole car.”
“See that car back on the edge of the lot? I can’t sell it to you but that’s the color. I let some advertising people take it onto the Santa Monica Pier for some publicity shots and the dumbbells managed to let it roll off the end and into the Pacific. We got it pulled out a few days later and are working with the insurance company. Isn’t that a kick in the head? I had a buyer lined up for it, too.” he said with some disgust in his voice.
“Yessir” he went on, “that is a popular color with the ladies. I would have to see if I could get a hardtop in that color. I ordered 22 of them for the year and have sold ’em all.”
“Twenty-two baby blue hardtops? Just you?”
“You bet!” said Wendell with a satisfied smile. “Ever since gas hit 75 cents a gallon right after the first of the year this new smaller Packard has been the hottest ticket in town. I was afraid something like that might happen when Adlai Stevenson got elected and let Mexico reclaim Texas. There are rumors that the government is going to start regulating gas mileage since most of our oil is coming from California now. I’ve read that Chrysler is going to cancel the Imperial and that Lincoln will be on a stretched Ford body in the next cycle. It’s been nothing but roses here though” he said with the kind of smile a guy wears after a lucky break.
I stare with a combination of wonder and befuddlement across what looks like an acre of new Packards crammed into the car lot and the dozen shoppers wandering around looking at them. And not being a baby blue kind of guy, I decide to keep looking.
I see a few in Jewel Beige, but I am not a beige kind of guy either. “The ladies like this one too” says Wendell, as if he can read my mind. But then isn’t that what makes a crack salesman? “Personally, I like it better as an accent than as a main color, but that’s just me. I’ve only sold 8 or 10 of these – but Packard has something for everyone this year.” he adds.
As my eye continues down the color chips Wendell breaks my train of thought. “Have a gander at this – You said you are looking for a hardtop, but have you considered a Hawk? It is a hardtop too but a mighty special one. It sure looks good in the Park Green.”
I am starting to notice the huge selection of Packard Hawks.
“I’m selling the heck out of these – I have cash deposits on all but two or three in this row. There is nothing quite like it. Ford tried to copy it in the new four seat T-Bird, but they are slow sellers. Demand has fallen off a cliff since they dropped the two seater – if they sell 5,000 they’ll be lucky. They are trying to get too much for them – whoever thought Ford dealers could sell a prestige car is crazy.”
“And it is an overweight gas hog, too.” Wendell continued. “In this kind of market the Packard’s thrifty 289 V8 just sips gas, and the supercharger in the Hawk gives you a wallop of extra power when you need it. It’s really an idea ahead of its time.” “Have you ever seen an interior like this? Genuine leather, just as good as anything from before the war.”
“This same interior is in that Bluff Gray Hawk in the showroom window” Wendell added as he gestured towards the big windows.
I had to agree that it was a nice color on these, especially with that tan leather.
“Or a lot of people here in California like lighter colors, so the Surf Green like that one over there has been fairly popular. That one over by the building is being prepped for a customer but I can probably get one for you in another week or so.”
“And if you prefer the regular hardtop I’ve got one here”, Wendell added helpfully, caressing the fender with his hand.
“That wagon over there shows the Surf Green as an accent to the Park Green. It’s been popular this year too.”
“Meh” I think. Light green doesn’t do it for me. Looking back at the cars nearby I notice six station wagons lined up. “What about this color?” I ask when I see the Canyon Copper.
“Yes, this wagon is the last of this paint color I have left. I ordered a dozen coppers in each model and every one of them has been sold except for this one. I don’t like it as well as some of the other colors, but you know how some colors become popular for one reason or another. The coppers have been selling well for everyone this year. You know we Californians” he smiled, “Always have to be in style.”
“But if you want something that really sets off the lines on this car, have a look at this White Gold. While almost all of these colors are all new this year, this one really makes the fins stand out. I like it with the white top, but I have sold a few of them paired with black.”
“Of course a black roof makes a solid case for getting one with air conditioning”, Wendell continued. “Packard still offers the superior trunk-mounted air conditioning system. The bigger companies really made a mistake when they tried cramming the whole system under the hood. They just don’t work as well with all of that engine heat. Packard invented automotive air conditioning, you know.”
The gold car is Wendell’s demonstrator and he opened the door to show off the interior. “The padded dash is standard equipment!” he boasts.
“. . . And just look at those luxury fabrics. Is it any wonder people have been practically beating down my door this year?”
“If you like this interior shade, its also in that Shadowtone Red car over there. We may be too late, one of the other salesmen is just taking it out for a demonstration . . . and that almost always means a sale.”
Wendell offers to let me take his gold car for a test drive. But suddenly I feel a vibration from my cell phone app that is monitoring the time machine, telling me that the battery is starting to get a bit low. “Some other time” I tell him, knowing that my window for getting home will soon be closing. “I appreciate you taking the time to show me these cars, and with all of the color choices, I have some thinking to do.”
“Don’t take too long” Wendell replies, “the way these are selling I may not have anything left before the ’59s start coming in. From what we learned at the dealer introduction, Packard is raising prices by about 20% because of all of the new features being added. We are not quite going to catch Cadillac this year, but I’ll bet that changes with the ’59s when we get a 4 door hardtop and a convertible to fill out the line! And if you think the ’58 Cadillac is ugly, just wait until you see them next year.
“Before you go – I almost forgot – have you seen the red one? This Parade Red is featured in the brochure. I thought I had this one sold to Elizabeth Montgomery, you know – the actress? But she picked a gray sedan instead. Go figure. Just between us, I could let you have this one for $50 off before I roll it back into the showroom.”
“Thanks just the same” I say as I look at my watch, “I don’t really care for bright red. Like I said, I have to get back.”
“I understand my friend. Here, take one of my cards . . . wait, I’m all out . . . here, I’ll write down my name and number on your brochure. Like I said, stop back in when you have thought about it. If you would like me to bring one around so that your little lady can take a look, happy to do it. You’ll make your Mrs. really proud with one of these. Just don’t wait too long because these ’58s are moving fast and the ’59s will cost you more.”
With one sad glance back, I said goodbye and jogged back to my transport point. I felt a slight shiver as I found myself back in 2019. I made a quick check of CC online to see if Packard’s history had changed to line up with what Wendell was telling me, but I discovered that automotive history was just as it was when I left. Could my time machine have found another dimension as well? I hadn’t bargained on that, a puzzler that will take some work to get through. Along with figuring a way to make the thing big enough to accommodate a new car to bring back next time. Because that Midnight Black one was really calling my name.
Each car shown herein is undoubtedly rare enough that its current owner may be known to a few of our readers. With only 675 58L hardtops built in this final year of production the number remaining must be extremely small. So a big CC thanks to those who have cared for and maintained these unloved cars and also to those who have shared photographs of them online. We had attempted to find one in every color but were unable to do so given their extreme rarity.
We wont quite catch Cadillac sales this year, no s##t Sherlock, the styling just doesnt work for me I can still see the Studebaker under the glitz,
The basic styling wasn’t too bad, but the “updates” (like the headlight pods) make these cars look like a simple 2 layer cake that has been “dolled up” to try to pass as a wedding cake.
I tried to remember some of the 58s from my childhood and all that comes to mind is black, white, brown, and my uncle’s baby blue Nomad. Most of the colors shown, except for the lighter blues and greys look stunning as to the interiors.
What I have noticed about these is that S-P spent a ton of money on these cars for 1958 – new hardtop body, flatter roof on everything but wagons, eliminated the fender vent doors in the non-Hawks, all new front sheet metal for both Packards (standard and Hawk), new fin treatment added to the old fin treatment – and for all that all we actually notice are the awkward pods for the quad lights.
Most of my life I looked at these as terrible Packards. But lately I have been looking at them as the ultimate Studebakers of the 50s.
A lot of the structural changes were from Studebaker — S-P really did not spend much money on these cars, which is the only reason the ’58 Packards existed at all. I forget the exact figures (it’s been a while since I read Ward’s book), but it was something like a million or two.
The actual tooling cost for the ’58 Packards (separate from what they spent on updating the Studebaker line) was really remarkably low — a million or two, something like that. That’s the main reason there WERE ’58 Packards at all. S-P had been ready to pull the plug, but the cost was so low that they decided it was worth one more shot.
“The ’59s will cost you more.” Ha… I wonder how many 1958 Packards were sold to folks using that line!
I know the article below is of poor quality, but the article is interesting. It’s a 1958 editorial by Andrew Tully (a then-well-known author and WWII war correspondent) about the demise of Packard and how it was the sad passing of an era. But he makes the point of saying it’s a sad day for people over 40 who remembered Packard’s glory years. I wonder what people under 40 thought of Packard in the 1950s? If they thought about it at all.
And as for me, I like that White Gold color.
The Bluff Gray Packard Hawk in the opening photo lives at the Studebaker National Museum. That car is the first one of these I have ever looked at closely in person, and it is a stunning car. That metallic gray has just a hint of lavender to it under the indoor lights and coupled with that orangy-tan leather it is simply striking.
I have wished they might have kept the long wheelbase sedan and this hardtop in this high-end trim (whether sold as a Studebaker President or as a Packard) to augment the Larks and Hawks of 1959. A luxuriously trimmed smaller car might have found a niche and would not have cost much since it was already done. New front fender stampings would have fixed most of what was really wrong with this one.
Interestingly, I saw a ’57 Thunderbird yesterday painted in a color that looked like a dark gray/green. Intrigued, I looked up Thunderbird colors but didn’t see anything that that resembled that shade, so I’m thinking it was either Gunmetal Gray that was reflecting light to make it look greenish, or it was a specially-painted car.
But it too looked stunning. And the color really changed the car’s character over the typically pastel colors one typically associates with 1950s T-birds (and the black one in last week’s article is similar in that regard). That opening shot of the Hawk is another such example… looks great in a subtle yet captivating color.
Robert Ebert wrote that the Studebaker-Packard board considered offering the larger sedans and wagons along with the Lark. Although that option would have reduced Studebaker’s break-even point because the bigger cars would have generated higher profits, tooling costs would have been a few million higher than if they focused solely on the Lark and Hawk. The decision to ditch the big cars was made quite late – in April 1958 – which was at a point when sales had slumped to such a degree that funders were reluctant to loan the automaker any more money.
The 1959 Lark was arguably too small. The basic body was too heavy to be competitive with the forthcoming Falcon, Valiant and Corvair but worked pretty well against the larger Mercury Comet and Rambler Classic. For 1962 the Lark was bumped up in size but that proved to be a case of too little, too late.
A luxurious top-end model might have done well in 1959-61 if the front and rear styling did not have the agricultural look of the Lark’s.
Even with the Lark’s cut-down nose and tail as-is or dressed up with a bit of extra chrome, they could’ve sold a fair few sedans and four-door wagons with the 1958 firewall-to-rear axle ratio (firewall to inside of tailgate on the wagons) and it would’ve been worth selling it as a hardtop as well to amortize the one-year-only roof tooling for it.
I suppose they saw the writing on the wall a few months into the 1958 model year when the ultra-stripped Scotsman was the only model that was selling.
That’s a good point. I wonder if the 1958 two-door hardtop’s greenhouse would have fit without adjustments onto the 113-inch wheelbase, which was used for the wagon as well as a taxi-market four-door sedan during 1959-61. Was the 3.5-inch cut in wheelbase from the 1958 models taken entirely ahead of the cowl?
“Was the 3.5-inch cut in wheelbase from the 1958 models taken entirely ahead of the cowl?”
I would say not completely. The 61 Lark Cruiser had a slight dogleg at the lower rear edge of the back door to accommodate the rear wheelhouse. The 58’s lower rear door went straight down from the beltline and made a 90 degree bend at the rocker panel, much like a modern Chevy Suburban’s back doors.
Also the long rear doors of the Cruiser had only been used on the President, which was 120.5 inches in wb. So the Cruiser lost 7.5 inches from the corresponding 58 model on the same body. This would suggest to me that the rear wheel was moved forward by 3 or 4 inches on the 113 inch wb sedan as compared with the 58 President.
The 58 hardtop design was not completely wasted as everything but the very back part was re-used for the 59 Lark hardtop and the 60 Lark convertible. Side windows, doors and such were already there ready to be adapted.
The dismissal of the 120.5 wb Y-Body President for 1959 simply sent their prior customers for those cars to another make dealer. Not everyone could live with a Hawk and definitely not everyone wanted a compact car. Compacts were still looked down on as being for poor people or only as a second car by many. A mild restyle on the existing President could have kept a lot more people in the Studebaker fold.
AMC was smart to field the Ambassador, it gave Hudson and Nash loyalist a car they could still consider suitable for their needs. It may have been a Rambler with a stretched front end but still looked big and luxurious to many. It was simply plus volume for AMC.. .
Didn’t Studebaker try to sell a luxurious small car with the Lark Cruisers of the early 1960s? Granted, the styling was the same as the “regular” Larks, but the Cruisers did have a longer wheelbase, if I recall correctly.
These big-ish cars had either a 120 or 116 inch wb. The regular Lark was 108 and the 61 Cruiser (and all subsequent Lark sedans) were 113.
Agreed – They had a loyal following of customers for the President series and, in effect, forced those customers to go somewhere else in 1959. To a degree Studebaker rectified this in ’61 with the introduction of the Cruiser.
I’m working with a designer to develop a ’59 “What-if?” that addresses this very point. Stay tuned!
Great article!
I still wish I’d bought the Hawk for $400 back in ’73. I bought a ’65 Ghia instead, which wasn’t much fun.
Ask the man who dreams of one.
Great story!
What a fun premise, and a great way to incorporate a color chart into a story. Or actually make it the story. A great read to open the day, JP.
It also brings full circle the recent trend of contrasting roof colors on a fairly wide variety of new vehicles beyond just a few such as Mini that had been doing them for years.
What I just noticed is how S-P gives nature names to *almost* all the colors. There are enough to show a theme but not enough to make the theme stand out. Which is kind of the story of the cars too.
Only naming paint colors didn’t cost any money.
Outstanding. A small change in 52 was all it took 🙂 next time you travel to the 1920’s bring me along and we can take in some jazz concert.
Fabulous cars, but I’d go for the cliff grey parts department wagon myself.
And before today, who knew that a cliff was a lighter shade of Gray than a bluff?
I’d like to go back, too. Make a couple of tweaks, nothing major, just ensuring that GM and Ford end up as small time players, while Auburn-Cord-Dusenberg, Pierce-Arrow and Hupmobile thrive.
And Borgward trounces Toyota and Honda as #1 imported brand.
Lose the extra fin, revert to single headlights, and get rid of the sad and tired looking taillights, and the car will look much improved.
Agreed. A while back a Curbside Classic commentator showed a picture of his 1958 Packard two-door hardtop. The car was being restored so the bolt-on tail fins were removed. It looked much cleaner.
Quad headlights were all the rage in 1958 so I can understand why Studebaker-Packard assumed that it had to offer them . . . but couldn’t afford an all-new front end (particularly for both the family cars and the Hawk). So then how about in-board lights placed in the grille? Think 1962 Dodge or 1969 Mustang.
In theory the fish mouth grille could have worked well on both the sedan and Hawk, but to my eyes it’s too wide. Apparently the designers were embarrassed that the Studebaker body was narrow so they tried to make it look full sized. It looks tacked on rather than well integrated.
The narrowness of the Studebakers (and “Packardbakers”) was a result of Raymond Loewy’s “Weight is the enemy” mantra. The cars were competitive with the “Big 3” in interior volume – but were narrower because the doors in cross section were much thinner.
While they look passable by themselves, these cars look ridiculous next to any other 1958 automobile. Too narrow, too short, obviously from a much earlier generation, and too hacked up. Next to a new Chrysler, these Packards look like kit cars. Next to a Buick, they look like a little import, next to a Lincoln, they look like a little nerd brother. While they may be indeed the best Studebaker you can buy during the 1950s, they weren’t Studebakers. They were supposed to be Packards, and as such, they were an instant failure.
AS to the salesman in your dream – I just cannot shake the image and voice of Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, whose voice was melodically oily and lived in another world.
“YEEAAHSSSS?”
“OH, it’s you!”
“Found a dime on the sidewalk this morning, Mr. Benny?”
“No – I lost a dollar, and I was wondering if you found it.”
“Perhaps I did. Could you identify it?”
“Certainly – it has a portrait of George Washington on it.”
“They all do, Mr. Benny!”
“It had the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago series “G” on it”
“Go ahead?”
“G60895069D was the serial number”
“I don’t believe it! You know the serial number on that dollar?”
“I got it from a teller in Cucamonga and I’ve had it in my left pocket until this morning!”
“Drats! there goes my lunch Mr. Benny! Here it is!”
“I also lost a penny with it.”
Haha, both Jack Benny and The Great Gildersleeve were great old shows. I have only heard them in the last 20 or 30 years, of course – there have been a couple of radio stations over the years that have devoted some air time to reruns of shows like these, and there are modern sources to find them.
But Jack Benny would never have gone shopping for a Packard. There was not a thing wrong with his Maxwell. 🙂
My car radio is always tuned to XM Radio Classics. Now, what would Phil Harris or Dennis Day drive…
Jack Benny had a very magnificent ’37 Packard Twelve formal sedan in real life. Never mentioned that in his skinflint persona…
“Our Miss Brooks” would have liked to have driven her Chevrolet, but it was always in the shop for small missing items, like the engine. Walter Denton was always happy to give her a lift, though!
Great Scott! That was a fantastic article! (the Earth’s gravitational pull must be stronger in the future…)
“YEEEAAHSSSS? Welcome to the Noll Packard Emporium! I’m Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, or as you may have heard, “Mr. Packard”, which is my nickname. Are you hear to browse, buy or use the men’s room to shave off that chin stubble?”
“Well . . .I would like to look at one of those new hardtops”.
“New? I bet I have something in your price range in our slightly used lot. I think we just had a older Packard return from a demolition derby. Got $50 bucks?”
“Not to put any pressure on you, but if you have a trade you need appraised you might want to push it into line because the used car manager has just returned from his usual three-martini lunch and you could get a couple of bucks even if you rode up here in a mule. Just ride Ole Bessy behind those three ’56s parked out front and hang her feed bag on her.”
“No. I am not trading anything.”
“OH, really? You have the money? Did someone die and leave you an inheritance? I’m so sorry for your loss! Won a lottery? You know that’s illegal. Blackmailing a boss? Tell me how you did that because I really need to know how to pull that off. In the meantime, let’s pretend you do have the money and I’ll pretend to sell you a new car!”
I was a little worried there JPC that you’d altered the timeline a little too much, but you apparently went to another Earth in the Multiverse. Phew.
I thought after reading this, I’d come in to work only to find 4 or 5 2012 to 2019 Packard-Bakers on the parking lot and no Japanese cars.
As luck would have it, the only oddball car I saw this morning was some sort of Alpha Romeo roadster in bright yellow during rush hour. It looked to be from the late sixties or early seventies, but I couldn’t identify it, nor could I get a picture in the heavy traffic. Proportionally however, if you squinted hard enough, it almost looked like a Stude Hawk (sans fins of course), albeit a lot smaller. The CC Effect is indeed strange.
(Great piece, BTW. ;o)
“Ever since gas hit 75 cents a gallon right after the first of the year this new smaller Packard has been the hottest ticket in town”.
In 1958? More like 30 cents.
See my response below to George.
JPC somehow altered the timeline.
Well, yes. Also Dwight Eisenhower beat Adlai Stevenson in ’56 and we still have Texas. 🙂
That’s the most unbelievable part, Stevenson beating Eisenhower. Ike was completely unbeatable in ’56.
Stevenson? He’d already failed in ’52. That matchup was like Nixon-McGovern or Regan-Mondale.
That two door hardtop with the Christine paintjob (2nd from last) would have been my choice.
I got fascinated with the ’57-’58 Packards in the mid-’70’s, back when encountering them still on used car lots and mostly in junkyards still occurred. Of the sedans, the majority were black with black and gray accented interiors. Just a few blue ones.
Of the hardtops, a red and white one on a car lot in LaJunta, CO in 1975 still haunts my memory. Very good condition as it was a dry, high plains well preserved example. Another Mountain Blue in the Reading, PA area body 499 in 1986, about a decade later at the Studebaker York Swap meet a White Gold one. A gorgeous turquoise at the National meet in 2007.
I prefer the ’57 Clipper Town Sedan as the most aesthetically appealing but the ’58 are so scarce and fun to tract down.
Not so much on new front clip tooling as it appears. The Packard hoods and fender surrounds are fiberglass, the bumpers and grille modification of the ’57 Clipper items. The ’57 fenders are simply cut away far enough at the headlight opening to allow a stamped dual headlight mounting plate, holes stamped for the pod pieces to bolt on. The Studebaker hood was cut away a little on each side to clear the pods. New headlight trims, etc. The Packard fins were essentially a shorter version of those on the Studebaker, a folded over piece, welded on and covered with trim to hide the seam. Lots of potmetal and stainless trim to make it look like more than it was.
Tooling for the hardtop, thin roof shell and deleted vents were shared throughout the S-P lines so the specifically Packard items were a small portion of the budget.
As Packard, they left much to be desired, as a Studebaker, they were very good ones. After all, they essentially took the place of and enlarged on the ’56 President Classic in trim and upholstery. The ’57 President Classic and ’58 President sedan stepped down a rung to make a place for them.
Thanks, I figured somebody with a screen name beginning 58L might have something to add here.
I agree that the 57 is a more attractive car overall, but then I have a fetish for that 58 hardtop. I wonder if anyone has ever taken the hardtop body and fitted it with 57 sheetmetal and trim – that would have been a pretty car. Also that 57-58 Packard dash was really the only attractive one of the whole 56-58 standard series.
It is true that they were doing this all on the cheap but they do not often get enough credit that they were having to do styling and manufacturing work on four separate vehicles (Studes, Packards, and Hawks in two flavors). Even using the parts bins as much as they did, this was a pretty good effort for no more money than they had.
58L8134, that’s helpful to know. Two basic questions. First, if one likes the fish mouth grille but wants to ditch the bug-eyed quads, is there a simple way to do that? I assume you can’t just swap out the 1957 front fenders without filling in the hood cutouts, right?
Also a while back CC commentator Robert Murray posted a photo of his 1958 Packard two-door hardtops during restoration — and the tail fins were removed. I’d read somewhere that the tail fins were bolted on, so had assumed that taking them off would be easy. What’s your take on how it’s done given that the tail fins were actually welded on?
JP, I’d agree that the 1958 hardtop would have looked a lot better with the 1957 design. Well, except for one thing: The 1958 Packard’s side sweep fits the body’s curvaceous shape better than the previous year’s big, straight strip of trim. It would be fun to mix and match the best design elements.
Studebaker designers do deserve a lot of credit, particularly given all of the managerial chaos and constant threat of going out of business.
While the quarter panels bolted to the body, the fins on both Hawks and regular 58s were welded on. Ratty cars typically exhibit some nasty rust along those welds from moisture trapped inside.
You could swap a ’57 Clipper front clip on a ’58 hardtop body complete. Keeping the ‘fish mouth would be harder. Not only the hood cutouts would have to be filled but the lower fender corners on the Packard have a stamped offset to allow the fiberglass parts to bolt on flush.
The fins were spot welded right onto the existing quarter panels, stainless trim covers the outside seam, body color inside. It was a great place to capture condensation moisture for rust to blossom.
Credit Duncan McRae with the styling work on both. He headed what little there was of Styling at South Bend during that period.
The Packard Hawk came about because Roy Hurley saw a Ferrari that he liked, wanted a personal one-off custom for himself. When he saw it, loved it, ordered it become a production model…Noooooo! Can’t say “no” to the guy calling the shots!
JPC, this was very skillfully put together–lots of info plus a fun read as well. I’ve gotta believe that 95% of what I “know” about these last Packards is because of CC and devotees like you.
I’m a horrible nitpicker—everything else being so apt—to second rpol35’s comment about the gas prices, remembering I could still get Sunoco 260 in the early 1970s for 35 cents a gallon, but then the late ’70s slap in the face of hitting 75 cents.
Well done!
You guys didn’t spot what was going on… By test driving his time machine back to 1952, he altered the time-line, only to notice this going back to 1958.
Classic Sci-Fi going on here.
Yes, I thought about going with $1 per gallon, but figured that would have been way too much back then. And really expensive gas would have been the only way to make these even a little popular. 🙂
I first saw a ’58 Packard in 1984 with a bunch of other old beaters in this parking lot on Rt. 10 in Denville NJ. (Unfortunately, it was gone by the time I took this photo–it was parked where the camper is). The car in question was a faded pale pink, with the trunk dented in. It had a TOOT emblem on the back, and I couldn’t figure out what that meant. It was obvious the hood was fiberglass. I always wondered what happened to this car, but I doubt the news is good.
Readers may want to see my comment on Elizabeth Montgomery’s car in
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/auction-classic/auction-classic-1958-packard-station-wagon-the-og-escalade/
The last paragraph of this post mentions the rarity of these cars (and they ARE rare), however I think the survival rate is actually pretty good, considering how few were made. Being the last cars with the Packard name, some people appreciated what they had, and collectors started saving them in later years. Today it’s hard to find a ’58 Chevy that’s not an Impala, a ’58 Ford that’s not a retractable, or a 57-61 Plymouth of any kind! And those cars were produced in the hundreds of thousands!
As a fan of science fiction, I really enjoyed the twist this took.
For those of us who are curious: The Noll Auto Company building in Pasadena is still there!
Wow, cool! I had just been looking for an old shot of a busy looking Packard dealer in the 50s. I could not find any shots for 1958, clearly nobody was interested in taking pictures that year.
This story plucks at the strings of one of my daydreams in regular rotation: I can visit anywhere, anywhen in the past. Whatever money I bring with me from present day keeps its face value but converts into the currency of the place and time I’m visiting (so if I have $50 in my wallet in 2019, and I go visit 1951, I have $50 in period currency in 1951). The time machine has filters and provisions to prevent dumb tropes interfering with my fun: wardrobe and props are handled automagically, and I won’t bring a disease either direction, that kind of thing, and I can bring back whatever I might buy. Why, just think of the savings buying groceries with 2019 money at 1951 prices—great value!
If you’re familiar with Popular Science’s monthly feature from the late 1920s–late 1960s called The Model Garage,, you’ll enjoy reading a reader-contributed sequel entitled, Gus and Stan Help Out A Traveler. Same basic idea…
Very familiar, yes—and thanks, despite my frequent visits to that site, I hadn’t run across that homage before now!
So very sad that Studebaker Hawks were re-badged as Packard Hawks. Sad for the Hawks and sad for Packard.
Respectfully, it appears the line upon which this entire story turns was lost on most readers…
“…when I made an earlier test run back to 1952 I may have changed something small.”
LOLOLOLOL!
C’mon, has it been THAT long since any of us last saw the original “Back to the Future?”
THAT’s how Adlai Stevenson became President and the price of gasoline tripled to 75 cents a gallon!
FUNNY STUFF…an alternative universe where the ’58 Squarebird flops and Packard can’t keep enough cars in the showroom.
WELL done, JP.
Wow! You really tore a hole in the space-time continuum with that one. My way of experiencing the early 60s car buying process did not cause as much upset.
Clever story idea and a great excuse for us to see all those color and body style choices. Your salesman’s enthusiasm almost had me joining in all the excitement about these fabulous ’58 Packards! I’ll take the red hardtop please.
Very entertaining story; thanks!
Great story. That’s quite a salesman you met!
Every time I look at a 1958 Packard (or a non-Hawk Studebaker), I wonder who actually bought one when they were new. The buyers must have been diehard Packard fans. These were hopelessly uncompetitive with the “Ambassador by Rambler,” let alone any of the Big Three offerings.
Well, it’s hard to argue with that. The Packard four-door sedan’s list price was a good $500 more than a top-end Ambassador and around what you’d pay for a mid-level Buick Century.
The Ambassador was a somewhat better car from a practical standpoint. AMC’s integrated Weather Eye heater and air conditioner was pretty advanced for the time, and its unit-body construction made it less squeak and rattle prone than Studebaker’s infamous “flexible frame.” The Rambler had a bit more shoulder room but the Packard had more rear-seat leg room. The Packard had weirder exterior styling but a nicer-looking interior. Neither handled terribly well compared to Big Three cars but the quality of assembly was likely much better.
I wonder if Studebaker-Packard’s primary goal for 1958 was to encourage as many Packard dealers as possible to drop the franchise before the brand was discontinued. That presumably would have minimized its close-out costs.
BTW, Robert Ebert notes that the 1957 Packard actually made a small profit even though it didn’t sell very well.
Dr. Robert Ebert’s excellent article on the ’57 Clipper noted that it had the highest unit profit of all the S-P models that year: $382.00 per car. The projected sales were between 4,000 and 6,000 units, at 4,809, it met their objectives.
True, there were dealer contracts to fulfill, so some type of Packard had to be created to meet that obligation. They also realized it was important not to withdraw the make from the market since it was unlikely that it could ever be successfully re-introduced again.
For the 1958 Packards, the idea was the cars should be as differentiated from the Studebakers as much as possible, in an effort to more affectively compete in that medium priced segment. The recession nixed any hope they would do that.
Who bought the ’58 Packard? Mostly prior Clipper and Studebaker President owners. Few Detroit Patricians and 400 were traded. Those in the luxury Packard segment migrated to Imperial as Chrysler traded on its engineering reputation as had Packard. Many to Cadillac as the best economic and prestige choice. Lincoln was still struggling to shake its dolled-up Mercury reputation..
The 58 Packard was several hundred dollars less than a Century. It was stickered about even with a comparably equipped Special–the Packard had standard auto trans and lots of accessories.
The difference in resale value made any Buick a wiser buy, tho.
Great story! Definitely a twist on the usual (though still very good) JPC CC style. I’m sure I was aware of these cars when I was young, but they kind of slipped from my memory until I attended the Concours in downtown Carmel a few years ago. This is the free, opening act for the Pebble Beach concours. Literally, classics by the curbside. Anyway, there was a gray (cliff, I think) 4 door ‘58 Packard on display, and I did a double take. That’s a Studebaker, not a Packard! The Cimarron came to mind immediately at the time.
Just to try again to dispel the myth that the ’57-’58 Packards were intended to compete with Cadillac/Lincoln/Imperial: the sedan in both years was fob $3,212: The least expensive 1957 & 1958 sedans respectively, for Cadillac: $4,713 & $4,891; Lincoln: $4,794 & $4,951; Imperial: $4,838 & $4,839.
The ’57-’58 Packards were priced opposite Buick Century, Pontiac Star Chief 28 Super Deluxe, Oldsmobile Super 88 and 98, Dodge Custom Royal, DeSoto Firedome, Chrysler Windsor, Mercury Montclair and Edsel Corsair. Heady, crowded territory to be pushing a car that was a heavily restyled five year old Studebaker underneath.
I should have touched on that pricing issue but was too wrapped up in trying to find a picture of a Cliff Gray Packard. 🙂
This may be one of the few instances where this kind of name debasement did not result in a sales jump from people who had always wanted an expensive brand now being able to afford one. I guess this tells us how little equity the Packard name had by the late 50s, and how uncompetitive the basic car was by then as well, certainly in that price class. Was anyone other than Rambler trying to sell a design this old by 1958?
Your point is well taken — in 1958 the Big Three’s entire product line was no more than two years old. That said, the Studebaker body was still somewhat current even though it dated back to 1953. For example, its cowl was almost as low as that of a senior Rambler — which was still fairly new, having been introduced in 1956.
At least from a visual standpoint, the main problem with the basic Studebaker body was the old-fashioned greenhouse, with its ultra-thick door pillars. Imagine how much more modern a 1958 sedan or wagon would have looked if they had thin-frame pillars somewhat akin to those on the 1963 models.
I wonder if the 1957-58 Packard sedan and wagon would have sold better if the automaker had marketed them in a similar fashion as AMC did the Rambler-based Ambassador — as a more nimble and efficient alternative to the gas-guzzling “dinosaur in the driveway.”
Instead, Packard designers tried to make the sedan and wagon appear as wide and long as their full-sized competition, which resulted in an awkward look. Meanwhile, marketing efforts mostly avoided talking about the car’s smaller size.
Even back then Americans would pay a premium price for a smaller car. The Rambler-based Ambassador sold better than the 1957 Nash and Hudson combined, and the four-seater Thunderbird was a hit even in the depths of the 1958 recession.
Excellent points. Height-wise the 53 body was pretty good. Width was another story. The 47 was narrow even by 1947 standards and by 1953 everything else started getting even wider. By 1957-58 the Stude body was a really odd size – a lot like the fwd New Yorker and Dynasty we are talking about today – they were decent cars but even the longer wheelbase models (like the Imperial) were no wider than a compact K car. That the shortened old Stude body could pass for a compact in 1959 tells us all we need to know.
Of course the big Nash had gobs of width in 1956-57 and still sold terribly. The 50s was not a good decade for independents still trying to swim in the deep water. A luxurious Ambassador-type car would have been Packard’s only chance, and it might have competed well based on the much more roomy interior. But nobody at S-P thought this was a good move. “Shhhh, don’t talk about its size and maybe nobody will notice that it’s smaller than anything else being built.”
Studebaker management under Vance and Hoffmann had decided all of their postwar cars would be based on the light-weight Champions, the Commanders become extensions thereof. As the trend to three abreast seating took hold, even for low-priced cars, this left their cars undersized. Apparently they were unwilling to invest in the larger dies and wider sheet metal necessary to maintain industry standard widths.
The passage width limitations of their antiquated body plant have also been cited as reasons for this. It might well be true. Pre-war, the body alone without fenders was about as wide as the postwar body alone. The postwar Champion was a light economical car with good handling and fuel economy.
As the decade wore on, it became heavier delivering less of the good qualities expected, plus it was a good 10-12% priced higher than comparable low-priced three models. The cause of this is well documented in poor productivity standards and a management unwilling to keep labor costs in check by taking strikes and fighting out the issues.
Im a 58 packard owner 58L restoring gold insert trim. Im not sure of the materisl used?
Thank you
tcampagna123@yahoo.com
516 319 8526
Tom, have you contacted the Studebaker Drivers Club? These cars seem to have been adopted by Studebaker people even though treated as misfits by Packard folks. I would guess (but do not know) that it was the same material used on Golden Hawks or Packard Hawks? The Studebaker National Museum may also be able to help, as they maintain many of the records of the company in their archives.
From what I’ve read, Studebaker management had the opportunity (and money) to invest in plant upgrades during 1947-49. The chose to instead pay high dividends to shareholders and maintain high wage rates.
That decision came back to bite the company in a very short time.
The brand equity in the Packard name by this time was zilch. Studebaker wasn’t far behind.
Hudson and Nash were toast, good thing AMC had the Rambler to promote.
The narrowness of the Studebaker body was both a weakness and a strength. It was a weakness if you believe that Studebaker should have fielded a line that competed directly against the standard-sized, low-priced cars from the Big Three. That’s what James Nance wanted to do when he was head of Studebaker-Packard but couldn’t come up with anywhere near the money needed for a new body, which was slated for introduction in 1957.
BTW, one thing I’ve not seen any of the Studebaker or Packard histories clarify is where the proposed full-sized Studebaker would have been produced. Was the expectation that the South Bend factory would have been reworked so it could produce wider cars? Or was production supposed to shift to Packard’s Detroit plant (which had its own problems)?
Anyway, the strength of the Studebaker body was that it gave the automaker a unique opportunity among early-50s independents. The Studebaker platform was narrow enough that it could have offered both a larger car and a compact. That would have resulted in far better economies of scale than what Nash, Hudson or Kaiser had because their compacts were based upon completely different platforms than their big cars. None of the independents were arguably large enough to afford to field two competitive platforms.
If Studebaker had come out with a compact version of the Champion in the early-50s, that might have stolen George Romney’s thunder. Studebaker rather than AMC might have been the big winner when the public turned to compacts in the late-50s.
“If Studebaker had come out with a compact version of the Champion in the early-50s, that might have stolen George Romney’s thunder.”
The 1947-49 Champion with its 112 inch wheelbase sedans wasn’t far from the dimensions of the Rambler, and probably could have about matched it had they been willing to sacrifice some of the generous rear leg room of the Stude. I have always suspected that the first wave of compacts may have sold a lot better than they did had the Studebaker Champion not been in showrooms – a car slightly bigger than those compacts but with no real penalty in cost or economy. Studebaker sold a lot of Champions in those years. But as AMC doubled down on the Rambler (especially with the 1954 sedan) Studebaker made the Champion bigger and heavier. It was kind of the original mid-size car before anyone knew there was any such thing.
The Champion (and the V8 Commander) of 1956-58 with its 116 inch wb (and the 1962 Lark at 113) hit on either edge of what would be the mid-size sweet spot of the 60s and 70s.
Excellent writeup! The salesman added, “Never mind that lady standing next to the car appearing all uninterested and the like. I’ll have her in one of our cars by the end of the day!”
I’d like to order a Hawk in White Gold, with a Parchment roof, please. What? You have a Wagon in that color combination on hand? I think I can handle that…
The hardtop roof was very attractive. I have an issue of the “Turning Wheels” Studebaker Club magazine that has pictures of a Hawk that a Stude employee grafted the Packard hardtop roof onto: it looked really good on there! Of course I spent WAY too long Googling for those pictures, and just spent about an hour digging through my giant box of TW back issues, looking for those pictures… if I ever find them, I’ll update this.
The never built 53/54 convertible is the only Stude I’d rather have, than the Packard hardtop-roof Hawk!
I do like JP’s alternate universe here.
Now I assume that, as Packard and Studebaker have been powering forward since the early 50s, that the 58s aren’t botched-up rust-traps with styling cues screwed to the outside in a last-ditch attempt to stay on-trend. I assume that:
a) They are styled that way from the inside out, and the engineering and construction are second-to-none (they really benefited from the bad rep last year’s Chryslers earned themselves)
b) They are styled that way because they asked a man who owns one, and he told them that this was what he wanted – not the slab-sided, chrome-larded GMs of 58, and not the scalloped, canted mess of the 58 Lincolns either.
What we need now is for JP to go back to, I don’t know, 1963, and show us how the magnificent Studebaker-Packard line matured and evolved, and they built on their well-earned success in 58. Any titbits on Nixon’s first White House term (61-65) would also be welcome…
If only Studebaker – Packard had the financial resources to put the Packard Predictor show car into production! Concealed headlights, roll-away roof, bucket seats, opera windows and a whole lot more.
It may look strange to our eyes today – my wife thinks it’s ugly – but back in 1956, it must have been an eye-opener. In my opinion, it’s spectacular.
The prototype is currently on display in the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana.
I’ll never forget the time my father took me down to the Packard dealer to get some touch up paint for his 25th series Aspen Green Touring Sedan. There was a lone 1958 model in the showroom. Must have been Parchment White with mylar? golden accent trim. I think it was a hardtop. Always will remember the garish fins and my father telling me that Packard’s would no longer be produced. I was about eight years old at the time and this one was the first and last 1958 Packard I have ever seen up close. Much more familiar with a black 1957 Clipper model that was often parked near City Hall in the early 1960’s. Walked past it often on my way home from Jr. High School. Saw that very car’s taillights later nicely transplanted to a customized shoebox Ford. My brother some how acquired the “Clipper” script after it got scrapped. We still have it.
Great piece JP, and I do like your lead picture, showing how you chose to display your choice at Chateau Cavanaugh!
I own and restored a 1958 packard 58L. The last part of the restoration is replacing the gold side trim… is this mylar??? Anodized aluminum???? Can someone call or email me
If you know
tcampagna123@yahoo.com
516 319 8526
I owned a ’58L in factory maroon color which I don’t see in the color chart. My Packard had the gray interior. Power steering/brakes and power windows. Received quite a few puzzled glances from folks as I drove by. Miss that car.
First time I’ve seen a ’58 Packard in a contemporary photograph (c. 1960?):