Packard For Sale
Packard had a long, proud history of building head-of-state-worthy whips. But what's the long defunct company actually worth these days? Ask the man who owns one! Roy Gulickson has been president of Packard since he bought the company name in 1995, and now he's trying to sell it for a princely $1.5m. So for Veyron money you could own a classic luxury marque of your own, complete with engineering designs, tools, spare parts and supplier information… from 1958. But wait, there's more! Reuters says Gulickson will also throw in "a new Packard prototype that comes with an all-aluminum V-12 engine and a traditional chrome grille." And by "new" they mean it was built in 1998. If you are foolhardy bold and visionary enough to want to resurrect a once-proud American luxury brand, you might want to move soon on this. An analyst insists that four companies have expressed "serious interest" in buying the company. Gullickson does admit that "perhaps using a smaller engine or converting it to run on compressed natural gas" would make the prototype more attractive in the era of four dollar gas– but that's a problem for the buyer to figure out. Meanwhile, Packard purists insist the brand should be allowed to rest in peace.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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Hell why doesn’t Audi bring back Horch as well? I mean [s]no one[/s] everyone wants for a Horch, right?
I see no one's updated the website since 2005. LOTS of interest in the car, obviously... I rode from my wedding in a 1939 Packard Twelve Convertible Sedan, and can attest that the car stopped Atlanta traffic. It is one of the most impressive automobiles ever made. The "new" Packard is an abomination. Quite possbily the ugliest car since the resurrected Stutz Black Hawk of the '70's. If I had the green, I'd buy the company just to keep that car off the road. Maybe auction off the right to crush it at Barrett-Jackson.
That prototype is "contrived" to say the least, and not even in a gaudy way that might appeal to wealthy, showy people. It's just ugly. Blech! (...and I liked the Stutz Blackhawk.) If Packard was to make a comeback, I imagine it would operate similar to Zimmer or Avanti. Both of these are niche manufacturers which utilize chassis and drivetrains from the big-3 with extensively reworked bodies. The only other possibility would be if a (real, solvent) car company bought the rights to the name, but I can't see that happening. IMO, one of the biggest problems with ressurecting Packard is comments such as that from RTZ. The brand has been dead since 1958. Unless you're an automotive history buff (like me) or old enough to remember them first-hand, you won't recognize the prestige of the Packard name. Before the depression, Packard, Pierce-Arrow and Peerless were the most vaunted luxury marques in America. Packard was the only one to survive the depression. They were ultimately bought by Studebaker then badge-engineered to death.
Two words: Packard Genesis