Packard Clipper - Initial Reception

Initial Reception

Unfortunately for the Packard company, the Clipper's timing could not have been worse. After only 16,600 of the 1941 models were made, and a few thousand 1942s, Detroit stopped building civilian automobiles to concentrate on defense production. By the time cars began rolling off the lines again in late 1945, the still sleek Clipper's impact had been diminished by four years of war. The bright promise of its debut was limited by late introduction; what should have been its solid sophomore year was weakened by World War II. Its third and fourth years were postponed until 1946–47. Though Packard designer John Reinhart and other Company insiders wanted to retain and "sweeten (in Reinhart's word)" the Clipper's svelte lines, Packard management felt pressured by new postwar designs throughout the industry, introducing the mixed review "bathtub" or "pregnant elephant" 1948–50 Packards.

There was only one other auto maker that introduced all-new 1941 models which were stopped short by the American entry into World War II and thus rendered obsolete before their time. Other than Packard, only Ford brought out a much changed design for the 1941 model year—the restyled Ford and its Mercury clone. No other manufacturers introduced new 1941 models. General Motors redesigned for 1942, arguably a piece of bad timing even worse than Packard's, but the 1942s were so few in number that they still looked new when GM resumed automotive production in 1946. The Ford/Mercury comparison is not apt either, primarily because these were quite different cars from Pac kards, with no pretence of luxury. Nor did their design history mirror the Clipper's. The 1941 Fords and Mercurys were evolutionary developments, clearly related to the 1940s they replaced. The Clipper was such a dramatic break with previous Packard design as to preclude comparisons.

After the war, while Packard opted to improve the Clipper (1948), Ford chose a total restyle for Ford and Mercury in 1949. And, while the bulbous 1941–48 Fords and Mercs were replaced by superior modern designs, the elegant Clipper was replaced by a bulbous upgrade that owed nothing to modernity. It is not entirely coincidental that a 1949 Mercury Eight which had cost $2,000 new was still worth $430 five years later, while a 1949 Packard Eight which had cost $2,200 new was worth only $375. Motor Trend's Tom McCahill, who had raved about the Packard Clipper, called the 1948 Packard "a goat."

The Clipper's timing was unique. The state of the world being beyond Packard's control, Clipper production came to a halt February 9, 1942, just as it was hitting its stride—just as Clipper styling had spread through the entire Packard model lineup.