The Long and Winding Road: Post-War (1946-1958) Packard Cars

After World War II ended in 1945, Packard struggled to survive against the mass-production dominance of Detroit's Big Three. 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. Relabeled post-war models gave way to controversial "bathtub" styling. While most automakers were able to introduce new vehicles for 1948 and 1949, Packard could not until 1951. Packard's image was increasingly seen as dowdy and old-fashioned, unappealing to younger customers and few new buyers were attracted to the brand.

In 1954, Packard bought Studebaker but questionable finances wrecked the future of the company. The last fully Packard-designed vehicle, a Patrician four-door sedan, rolled off the Conner Avenue assembly line on June 25, 1956. In 1957-58, Studebaker produced two the Packard Clipper, often called a “Packardbaker” and the Packard Hawk, but the end was inevitable. The last Packard by Studebaker-Packard Corporation rolled off the assembly line on July 16, 1958. Studebaker-Packard retired the Packard marque in 1959. In 1962, "Packard" was dropped off the corporation's name at a time when it was introducing the all-new Avanti.

View the classic Packard cars below, a sample of the types of vehicles on display at the Museum. The real joy is seeing them in person.