The Epitome Of Motoring Elegance

black mamba

The Packard automobile was universally revered for it's style and quality of construction. As much as with any other make, the owner of a Packard was showing folks that he had reached the top.

This gorgeous car is a 1936 Packard 1407 12 Cylinder Dual Cowl Phaeton. Only 7 of these magnificent cars in this body style, and with this engine option, were built. A total of 682 12 cylinder models were made in 1936....spread over 15 different body styles. This one was a large car, having a 193 inch wheelbase. It was the last model year that employed a straight axle, wire wheels, and mechanical brakes.

By 1939, the 12 cylinder had almost disappeared....the Packard small V-8 and 6 cylinder models dominated production. The car you see here sold for about $4200 back then....this very car, today, is priceless.

Dogdots

Nice looking car. They must spend a whole lot of time waxing it up. It looks spotless.

What's that little white one behind it?

black mamba

Hi Mary,

As you have imagined, the prep work that goes into getting a car ready for a show of this stature is extensive, to say the least.

That little white car you inquire about is a 1960 Corvette Le Mans racer.
It enjoyed quite a lot of success in 1960, racing at such storied events as the Cuba Races, Sebring, and, of course, Le Mans.

Good to hear from you,

Tom

Panther

Howdy Tom,

Looks like another great show, what a stunning work of Art,

always love hearing the History about the Stunning Auto's.

black mamba

Hey Craig,

Sometimes the history behind a car is as exciting, if even not more so, than the car itself. Most of these old classics have been around long enough to have a good story, or two, in their background.

Take care,

Tom

Azzaro

Hi Tom.......When I was a kid I remember some Packards around, but none like that one.....Those white walls looked great until you parallel parked and hit the curb a few times. Beautiful car.....nice capture gary

black mamba

Hi Gary,

I'm with you. By the time I became car conscious, the Packards of the day had morphed into a more modern and contemporary looking machine....right along with everything else. Even then, though, they were a cut above the rest.

Tom

rwells

Another beautiful machine. There's a lot of artistic pride in that design. Nice capture as usual Tom

I understand how with time, cars had to be more cost effective, blah, blah, blah... but, I sure hate that the artistic value was squeezed completely out of car design.

black mamba

I hear you, Randy. Those are my sentiments exactly.

It seems like some manufacturer, even with all the regulations that are in place, would take a daring move and put out a car with some visual character lacking in other cars. BMW, under the designer Chris Bangle, put out some cars, several years ago, with a little different approach to angles and flares in the body panels. They were largely panned by industry writers....but BMW enjoyed banner years in sales with them. And it wasn't long before their competition began to put out models employing the same design clues.

The market had spoken. Folks wanted something that showed some originality, some flare and character. There's a huge number of folks who don't want to ride with the herd...give them an option and they'll flock to it.

Tom