James Ward Packard (1863 - 1928) bought a car from Winton and was not satisfied with its operation and approached Alexander Winton with some suggestions to improve the car. Winton rebuked him and told him to build his own car to incorporate all the suggestions. James Packard along with his brother William Doud Packard(1861 - 1923) built the first car in 1899.
A 1899 Model A Packard-
In 1900, they formed the Ohio Automobile company to manufacture cars. In 1902 , they renamed the company as Packard Motor Car Company.
A 1902 Model F and a 1910 Packard Tourer -
Packard was known for reliability and luxury and sold their cars in the price range of over $2000 when all others were selling cars below $1000 and thus was serving wealthy customers.
Packard was known for new inventions and innovations. Some of major and well know inventions are -
1913 - Introduced spiral bevel gear in the final drive making the cars silent
1923 - Introduced hypoid gears leading to lower floor levels
1940 - Introduced air conditioning
Packard was one of the top automobile manufacturer for long time before losing traction around the 1950s. Some of the well know models out of a large array of models are -
A 1920 Packard Twin and a 1947 Packard Clipper -
In 1954 Packard was acquired by Studebaker corporation and in 1956 the company was renamed as Studebaker-Packard Corporation. By 1962, the Packard badge was dropped and the brand disappeared.
Packard Logo -
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