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Do you remember the last years of Packards? Maybe the '57, but also the '58?

David H · 2021-01-26T19:51:55Z

The 1957 Packard sedan: (Click on picture for enlargement.) The 1958 (1:1) Packard 2-door hardtop: And I just have to include a brief history lesson, mostly from Wikipedia: For the 1957 model year, Studebaker-Packard took its top-of-the-line model, the President, and added a revised grille and taillights along with a Packard-styled dashboard and called the car the Packard Clipper. Two models were produced in 1957, a four-door Town Sedan and a station wagon Clipper Country Sedan. Sales were a low 4,809, almost all of which were the Town Sedan. Critics bestowed the derisive name "Packarbaker" on the cars. Writer and auto historian Richard Langworth has noted that while these cars weren't truly Packards, they were, however, very good Studebakers. 1958 saw the Packard line expanded to four models; a 4-door sedan, a 2-door hardtop, a 4-door station wagon, and the Packard Hawk, a modification of Studebaker's Golden Hawk with a "fishmouth" Packard grille. Studebaker-Packard's finances dictated that the changes for 1958 be made as cheaply as possible. Despite stylist Duncan McRae's efforts, the car that emerged appeared cobbled together, rather than as a cohesive design. Auto reviewer "Uncle" Tom McCahill remarked that from the rear it looked as if the cars had been left in the sun too long and the canted fiberglass fins had started to melt down the straight rear fender sides. Only 2,034 of the three standard models (sedan, hardtop and station wagon) were produced; an additional 588 Packard Hawks were built as well. The rarest of all '58 Packards is the station wagon with only 159 produced. The last Packard rolled off the South Bend assembly line on July 25, 1958. In 1962 the Studebaker-Packard Corporation officially dropped "Packard" from its name. Sic transit gloria.