1946 Packard in the showroom, NY.
Obermeier Motor Company, St. Louis, MO.
Zell Motor Car Co., Baltimore, MD.
Rogers Garage Inc., Tydol Gas Station, Hanover, NH.
Wendell Hawkins Packard Inc., Houston, TX.
Western swing musician Bob Wills getting a ’51 Patrician at the Packard Dealership in Tulsa, OK.
Wendell Hawkins Packard Inc., Houston, TX.
Back in the 1920’s my grandfather was kicked in the face by his horse. He survived, recovered, and when he got home from the hospital, he shot the horse. Then he went to the local Packard dealer and bought a car. That was all he owned for the rest of his life.
When he finally passed away, he had all his old Packards parked behind a large hedged area behind the house. My Mom and Dad inherited the house, and the first thing they did was get all the parked Packards towed away. They sold the one he had been driving when he passed away. It was nicknamed “Blue Devil” because it was cobalt blue, and he said it was too fast and powerful for him. But he loved it anyway.
Does anyone know where the Packard dealer was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin?
Classy car, classy buildings. Here is the one that was in San Antonio. The building that housed the Gene Meador Packard dealership was erected in 1929 (talk about bad timing) at 1123 Main Street. The building still stands; this is a current image. Presently, it is a medical office building among several, both new and converted, in the area.
As some of you well know, Bob Wills (in photo #6) was famous for saying, “Take it away, Leon!” in his Western Swing recordings. This was in reference to the incredible steel guitar player, Leon McAuliffe (1917-1988).
Still and all, my guess is that Bob drove this Packard off the lot himself, without any help from Leon.
Take Me Back to Tulsa!
Bob Wills is still the king!
Great selection!
The lead picture is of Boulevard Motors in The Bronx (address was 1030 E. 163rd St.). Then-and-now and StreetView link are below – a somewhat different retail atmosphere today. Incidentally, this was a sales-only location – service facilities were located a few miles away on Bruckner Blvd.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RcHmDQ7Z4B8HtwTdA
From Packard to Grand Opening / Grand Bankruptcy. Different retail for sure.
Thanks, I was wondering where in NY it was.
It looks like Wendell Hawkins was already going through some tough times in the mid ’50’s. Their landscaping was looking pretty rough in the first picture! That last shot, at night with the searchlight, it looks like it came from a Noir movie. Those last real Packards were impressive.
I was just reading that Wendell Hawkins Packard of Houston was only signed as a Packard franchise in ’54 but by ’56 he was one of the top dealers. He was extremely involved in the social scene of Houston and sat on the board of the opera. At the ’56 model debut he had a Caribbean and the wild Packard Predictor show car on the dealership floor.
Packard got the cars sorted out for ’56, the ’55 Packards made the “57 Chryslers look like Toyotas when it came to quality control, but it was too late.
Simonson Mercedes in Santa Monica, CA is still in the beautiful former Packard showroom:
No dealer here, but an impressive lineup of ’51 Packards on Grant Street in downtown Minneapolis, June 18, 1951. All the men sure look like they belong to the dealer body, though.
Out of all the extinct brands I have discovered over the years, I think Packard is the one I would have loved to have owned more than the others.
Any 1940-1949 Packard would be a dream car for me.
The 1940-1947 Packards are quite excellent, both Clipper and non- The 1948-1950 Packards are from the “elephantine” styling generation and are an acquired taste.
In the third photo (of Zell Motor Car Co.) you can see a ’48-50 Packard parked in front of the ’51-54 car that replaced it, making it easy to compare them. It’s incredible how Packard spent so much money to redesign the pontoon fenders on the ’40-47 design to eliminate the separate, bulging fenders for the ’48-50 cars, only to add bulging pontoon fenders again to the rear of the 1951 models when they were finally treated to their first completely new body since before WW2. Packard was stuck with these bulging rear fenders all the way through 1956, and in their last few years they used all kinds of styling tricks to disguise this now out-of-style design element.
Oh, gawd yes, me too, VD.
The ’41 Clipper is my personal favorite ’40’s US car. It somehow just looks like a ’40’s film star. Even in real life, I still see one in B&W. Hollywood Golden Era glamour in metal, I reckon.
Odd to see Neo-Classical architecture (NH) with gas pumps in front. The flood light added to the pediment is awful.
Fantastic photo selections Rich.
Good-looking lettershapes, really help make words appear attractive, and more marketable, in advertising.
The word ‘Packard’ in a script typeface, as in the first pic, looks gorgeous. Very elegant and commercial appearing.
LONE STAR BEER & BOB WILLS MUSIC ! .
(sorry, I couldn’t resist) .
Packard, like Chrysler had a weird styling thing, many liked it, I don’t much .
-Nate