1931 Packard “Eight” Sedan

Founded in 1899 by brothers James and William Packard along with their business partner George Lewis Weiss, the Packard Company set out to build better “horseless carriages” than anything else available at the time. Packard quickly established a reputation for quality and luxury that appealed to a wealthy clientele and put the company in competition with other luxury car designers such as Rolls Royce and Mercedes-Benz. This was reflected in the more than $2,000 price of standard Packard models. With the Great Depression following on from the stock market crash of 1929, Packard doubled down on the opulent luxuries of their designs in order to attract ever more wealthy customers.

The Packard Eight, which had been in production since 1924, rapidly became the company’s most popular model and was ultimately offered in a variety of different body styles. Period advertisements noted the added comfort offered by models such as this seven-passenger sedan. Packard was ultimately purchased by Studebaker and became the Studebaker-Packard Corporation in 1954. The Packard name was finally dropped with the last vehicles rolling off the assembly line in South Bend, IN in 1958. This Packard saw use as a touring car throughout the American Southwest as part of the Fred Harvey Company’s famous Indian Detours.