Editing Packard (section)

===1946–1956===
[[File:Neuberger Motors, 1137 Broadway, Hewlett, N. Y.jpg|thumb|Packard dealer at 1137 Broadway, Hewlett, New York, ca. 1950–1955]]

By the end of World War II, Packard was in excellent financial condition with assets of around $33&nbsp;million, but several management mistakes became more apparent with time. Like other US automobile companies, Packard resumed civilian car production in late 1945, labeling them as 1946 models by modestly updating their 1942 models. As only tooling for the Clipper was at hand, the Senior-series cars were not rescheduled. One version of the story is that the Senior dies were left outdoors to rust and were not usable. Another tale is that Roosevelt gave Stalin the dies for the Senior series, but the [[ZiS-110]] state limousines were a separate design.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.classic-american.com/news/zis-is-not-a-packard |publisher=Classic American |title=Star letter: ZIS is not a Packard |first=George |last=Hamlin |date=May 17, 2012 |access-date=July 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130729163348/http://www.classic-american.com/news/zis-is-not-a-packard |archive-date=July 29, 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Packard Convertible Coupe 1949.jpg|thumb|1949 Packard convertible coupé]]
[[File:1950 Packard Eight Club Sedan in Packard Maroon.jpg|thumb|1950 Packard Eight Club Sedan]]

The [[Packard Clipper|Clipper]] became outdated as the new envelope bodies started appearing, led by Studebaker and Kaiser-Frazer. Although Packard was in good financial condition as the war ended, they had not sold enough cars to pay the cost of tooling for the 1941 design. While most automakers were able to introduce new vehicles for 1948 and 1949, Packard could not until 1951. The company updated cars by adding new sheet metal to the existing body (which added {{cvt|200|lb}} of curb weight).<ref name="flory 50s"/> Six-cylinder cars were discontinued for the U.S. market, and a convertible was added. These new designs hid their relationship with the Clipper. Even that name was dropped for a while.

The design chosen was a "bathtub" type, commonly called [[Ponton (car)|ponton]]. While this was considered futuristic during the war and the concept was taken further with the 1949 [[Nash Motors|Nash]], and survived for decades in the Saab 92–96 in Europe, the 1948–1950 Packard styling was polarizing. To some, it was sleek and blended classic with modern. Others nicknamed it the "pregnant elephant". Test driver for ''[[Mechanix Illustrated|Modern Mechanix]]'', [[Tom McCahill]], referred to the newly designed Packard as "a goat" and "a dowager in a [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] hat" in the January 1948 issue. Packard sold 2,000 vehicles in 1948 and a total of 116,000 of the 1949 models. In the early post-WWII years, the demand for new cars was extremely high, and nearly any vehicle would sell. Attempting to maintain strong sales beyond this point would prove more problematic.

Cadillac's new 1948 cars had sleek, aircraft-inspired styling that immediately made Packard's "bathtub" styling seem old-fashioned. Cadillac also debuted a brand-new OHV V8 engine in 1949 whereas Packard's lack of a modern engine became an increasing liability.

[[File:50packard2.JPG|thumb|1950 Packard Eight four-door sedan]]

Packard outsold Cadillac until circa 1950; most sales were the midrange volume models. During this time, Cadillac was among the earliest US makers to offer an [[automatic transmission]] (the [[Hydramatic]] in 1941). Packard caught up with the [[Ultramatic]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Flory |first=J. ("Kelly") Jr. |title=American Cars, 1946–1959 Every Model Every Year |year=2008 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-3229-5}}</ref> offered on top models in 1949 and all models from 1950 onward, but its perceived market reputation now had it as a competitor to [[Buick]].<ref name="flory 50s">{{cite book |last=Flory Jr. |first=J. "Kelly" |title=American Cars, 1946-1959 Every Model Every Year |year=2008 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-3229-5}}</ref>

Designed and built by Packard, the Ultramatic featured a lockup [[torque converter]] with two speeds. Early Ultramatics normally operated only in "high", with "low" having to be selected manually. Beginning in late 1954, it could be set to operate only in "high" or to start in "low" and automatically shift into "high". "High" was intended for normal driving and "Low" was mainly for navigating hills.

The Ultramatic made Packard the only American automotive manufacturer other than GM to develop an automatic transmission completely in-house. Ford had chosen to outsource their design to Borg-Warner (Ford had attempted to purchase Ultramatics from Packard to install in Lincolns, but bought Hydramatics until Lincoln developed its own automatic transmission a few years later). Ultramatic did not compare to GM's Hydramatic for smoothness of shifting, acceleration, or reliability. The resources spent on Ultramatic deprived Packard of the opportunity to develop a modern V8 engine. Also, when a new body style was added in addition to standard sedans, coupes, and convertibles, Packard introduced a station wagon instead of a two-door hardtop in response to Cadillac's Coupe DeVille. The [[Packard Station Sedan|Station Sedan]], a wagon-like body that was mostly steel, with a good deal of decorative wood in the back. A total of 3,864 were sold over its three years of production. The Packards of the late 1940s and early 1950s were built with traditional craftsmanship and the best materials, but the combination of the lower-priced Packards leading sales and impacting the prestige of their higher-end models and some questionable marketing decisions, Packard's crown as "king" of the luxury car market was at risk. In 1950, sales dropped to 42,000 cars for the model year. When Packard's president George T. Christopher set the course for an evolutionary styling approach with a facelift for 1951, others wanted a radical new design. Christopher resigned and Packard treasurer Hugh Ferry became president and demanded a new direction. Ferry, who had spent his career at Packard in the accounting department, did not want the job and quickly made it clear that he was serving on a temporary basis until a permanent company president could be found.

[[File:Flickr - DVS1mn - 51 Packard 300 (13).jpg|thumb|1951 Packard 300]]

The 1951 Packards were redesigned. Designer John Reinhart introduced a high-waisted, more squared-off profile fitting the contemporary styling trends — very different from the traditional flowing design of the postwar era. New styling features included a one-piece windshield, a wrap-around rear window, small tailfins on the long-wheelbase models, a full-width grille (replacing the traditional Packard upright design), and blunt "guideline fenders" with the hood and front fenders at the same height. The {{cvt|122|in|mm|0|adj=on}} wheelbase was used on the 200-series standard and Deluxe two- and four-doors, 250-series [[Packard Mayfair|Mayfair]] two-door [[hardtop]]s (Packard's first), and convertibles. The higher-end 300 and Patrician 400 models were built on a {{cvt|127|in|mm|0|adj=on}} wheelbase. The 200-series models were low-end models and now included a business coupe. The new appearance had similarities to [[Oldsmobile#1950s|Oldsmobile]]s, which were more moderately priced and sold in greater numbers.

The 250, 300, and 400/Patricians were Packard's flagship models and comprised the majority of the production for that year. The Patrician was now the premium Packard, replacing the Custom Eight line. Original plans were to equip it with a {{cvt|356|CID|L|1|adj=on}} engine, but the company decided that sales would not be sufficient to justify producing the larger, more expensive engine, and so the de-bored {{cvt|327|CID|L|1|adj=on}} (previously the middle engine) was used. While the smaller engine offered nearly equal performance in the new Packards to that of the 356, the move was seen by some as further denigrating Packard's image as a luxury car.

Since 1951 offered little new from other manufacturers, Packard's redesigned lineup sold nearly 101,000 cars. The 1951 Packards were a mixture of the modern (automatic transmissions) and old (using flathead inline eights when OHV V8 engines were becoming the norm). No domestic car lines had OHV V8s in 1948, but by 1955, every car line offered a version. The Packard inline eight, despite being an older design that lacked the power of Cadillac's engines, produced no vibration. When combined with an Ultramatic transmission, the drivetrain made for a quiet and smooth experience on the road. Packard could not keep up with the horsepower race, which was increasingly moving to high compression, short-stroke engines capable of sustained driving at speeds above {{cvt|55|mph|km/h|0}}.

Packard's image was increasingly seen as dowdy and old-fashioned, unappealing to younger customers. Surveys found that nearly 75% of Packard customers had owned previous Packards and few new buyers were attracted to the make. Compounding this problem was the company's geriatric leadership. The Packard board of directors by the early 1950s had an average age of 67. In 1948, Alvin Macauley, born during the [[Grant Administration]], had stepped down as chairman. Hugh Ferry decided to hire an outsider as president. He recruited [[James J. Nance|James Nance]] from appliance manufacturer Hotpoint. At 52, Nance was more than a decade younger than the youngest Packard executive.

One reason for the aged leadership of Packard was the company's lack of a pension plan for executives (rank-and-file workers had a pension plan per their [[United Auto Workers]] contract). As a result, Packard executives were reluctant to retire with no source of income other than a [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] payment, thus blocking younger men from coming to power in the company. One of James Nance's first actions as president was creating a pension plan to induce Packard executives to retire. Nance worked to snag Korean War military contracts and turn around Packard's badly diluted image. He declared that Packard would cease producing mid-priced cars and build only luxury models to compete with Cadillac. As part of this strategy, Nance unveiled a low-production (only 750 made) model for 1953, the [[Packard Caribbean|Caribbean]] convertible. Competing directly with the other specialty convertibles marketed that year, ([[Buick Skylark]], [[Oldsmobile Starfire#Concept car (1953)|Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta]], [[Cadillac Eldorado]], and [[Chrysler New Yorker#1949–1954|Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe]]), it was equally well-received and outsold its competition. Nevertheless, overall sales declined in 1953. While the limited edition luxury models such as the Caribbean convertible and the [[Packard Patrician|Patrician]] 400 Sedan, and the [[Derham Body Company|Derham]] custom formal sedan brought back some prestige from past Packards, the "high pocket" styling introduced two model years prior was no longer drawing buyers for Packer's volume models. Furthermore, Packard's build quality also began slipping during this period as employee morale decreased.

[[File:1953 Packard Caribbean convertible, Water Mill.jpg|thumb|1953 Packard Caribbean convertible]]

While American independent manufacturers like Packard did well during the early postwar period, supply had caught up with demand and by the early 1950s they were increasingly challenged as the domestic "Big Three"—[[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]], [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]], and [[Chrysler Corporation|Chrysler]]—battled intensely for sales in the economy, medium-priced, and luxury markets.<ref>{{cite book |last=Flammang |first=James M. |title=Chronicle of the American automobile: over 100 years of auto history |year=1994 |publisher=Publications International |isbn=978-0-7853-0778-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Z5TAAAAMAAJ&q=frantic+1953-54+Ford/GM+price+war |access-date=2012-01-31 |page=278 |archive-date=2016-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514100309/https://books.google.com/books?id=9Z5TAAAAMAAJ&q=frantic+1953-54+Ford%2FGM+price+war |url-status=live}}</ref> Those independents that remained in business in the early 1950s, merged. In 1953, [[Kaiser Motors|Kaiser]] merged with [[Willys]] to become Kaiser-Willys. Nash and [[Hudson Motor Car Company|Hudson]] became [[American Motors Corporation]] (AMC). The strategy for these mergers included cutting costs and strengthening their sales organizations to meet the intense competition from the Big Three.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,860075,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222130620/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,860075,00.html |archive-date=December 22, 2008 |title=Time Clock, Oct. 12, 1953 |magazine=Time |date=October 12, 1953 |access-date=December 1, 2017}}</ref>

In 1953–54, Ford and GM waged a brutal sales war, cutting prices and forcing cars on dealers. While this had little effect on either company, it damaged independent automakers. Nash's president [[George W. Mason]] thus proposed that the four major independents (Nash, Hudson, Packard, and Studebaker) merge into one firm [[American Motors Corporation]] (AMC). Mason held informal discussions with Nance to outline his [[strategic planning|strategic vision]], and an agreement was reached for AMC to buy Packard's Ultramatic transmissions and V8 engines. They were used in 1955 Hudsons and [[Nash Motors|Nashes]].

It did not help that Chrysler and Ford waged a campaign of "stealing" Packard dealerships during the early 1950s. Consequently, Packard's dealer network became smaller and more scattered which made it even more difficult to sell Packard vehicles.

Although [[Korean War]] defense contracts brought in badly-needed revenue, the war ended in 1953 and the new Secretary of Defense [[Charles Erwin Wilson|Charles E. Wilson]] began cutting defense contracts from all automotive manufacturers other than GM, where he had been president.

Packard's last major development was the Torsion-Level [[suspension (vehicle)|suspension]] by Bill Allison, dubbed ''Torsion Level Ride''. The front and rear suspensions on each side of the car side are interconnected by a long torsion bar. This design reduced pitching while allowing for low spring rates, which imbued Packards with a ride that was soft yet controlled. Additionally, this suspension featured an electro-mechanical compensator or "levilizer" that kept the car level regardless of passenger or trunk loading.<ref>{{cite web |last=McFarland |first=Forest R. |date=1955 |title=The New Packard Torsion Level Suspension |url=https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/SAE_Torsion.pdf |access-date=2022-03-06 |archive-date=2022-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306060940/https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/SAE_Torsion.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=1954 |title=Out of the Future |via=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sz0RZUySk0 |access-date=2022-03-06 |archive-date=2022-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306060938/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sz0RZUySk0&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live}}</ref>