Packard’s new look for 1948 won awards when it was introduced, but by 1950 it was already out of style.
Packard Eight De Luxe Sedan
They’re known as the Bathtub Packards, but they’ve been called worse: Pregnant Pachyderms, for example. But people of contemporary taste might be surprised to learn that when the 1948 Packard (22nd Series, for you marque loyalists) was first shown to the public in the summer of 1947, it was fairly well received. For what it’s worth, the New York Fashion Academy named the new Packard the “Fashion Car of the Year.”
Custom Eight Touring Sedan
As the story goes, the ’48 Packard’s look was created by Albert W. Prance, lead designer at Briggs Manufacturing, Packard’s body supplier. Starting with a production 1946 Clipper, Prance laid on modeling clay between the front and rear fenders, hood, and body until it was one seamless form—an envelope body. Meanwhile, Packard chief stylist John Reinhart came up with the stylized legacy grille and other details. While the original plan was to retain as many of the Clipper’s body panels as possible, in the end only parts of the inner body structure were preserved. However, the chassis was nearly unchanged.
Deluxe Eight Club Sedan
The product line was extensive. From the bottom: Packard Eight and Deluxe Eight on a 120-in wheelbase, Super Eight (120-in and 141-in wheelbase), and Custom Eight (127-in and 148-in). Body styles included the company’s first convertible since 1942, offered in the Super series, and a hybrid sedan-wagon, the Station Sedan (see our feature here). The most appealing body style to modern eyes is probably the fastback Club Sedan, above, with its dramatically sloped roofline, available in all series. The base Packard Eight Club Sedan was the price leader that year at $2,250.
All Packards for ’48 featured L-head straight-eight power. For the Packard Eight and Deluxe Eight, there was a 288 cubic-inch job with 130 hp; in the Super eight, the 327 CID engine with 145 hp; in the Custom, Packard’s biggest inline eight with 356 CID and 160 hp, the highest rating from the Motor City that year. There was a 245.3 CID inline six, but only for taxis and export. When the six was finally discontinued after 1950, the tooling and rights were sold to White Motor for use in trucks.
The Pregnant Packard, as it was soon known, remained in production for three years (22nd and 23rd Series). In 1948, sales saw a solid increase, then leveled off in 1949 only to plummet at a frightening rate in 1950. While the company had numerous problems, fingers are generally pointed at the styling, which was polarizing to begin with and had quickly gone out of date. A group of executives and engineers had formed a committee to plead for a new model for 1950, but president George T. Christopher refused before he finally relented. By December of 1949 Christopher was gone, and a new Packard appeared in 1951.
Super Eight Convertible 
While Hudson and Nash did well with their “bathtub” type styling, the Packard offerings only found favor for a year or so. The 1951 was certainly a more conventional and popular run for the company.
You couldn’t have hit a more prominent nerve. In 1948, my grandfather, who missed out on the war by a couple years, bought a new 1948 Packard 2211 Deluxe 8 Touring sedan and cost him and my grandmother almost $3200. He bought a Packard because of their war efforts. His had the “Electromatic Clutch” and O/D, a $123 option, 2nd was the radio at $119! He drove that car all through the 50s, when he tangled with a city bus totaling the car, the story went. It had 41,000 miles and he was devastated. He then bought a 1961 Chevy, but if he could have bought another Packard, he would have.
Fast forward to 1980, my dad found a 1950 Packard in a back yard on blocks of wood, get this, the widow said her late husband parked the car when gas went over .25/gallon!! We bought the car and were amazed it had the 1st year Ultramatic, not mentioned here. It was the 2nd fully automatic from Detroit( Caddy the 1st?) and we restored the car. Before my grandfather junked the car, he removed the Cormorant hood ornament, $28 new, and kept it in his basement all those years, After our Packard was done, we put his Cormorant on the hood. He never saw our Packard, and we sold the car in 2005, but we kept the Cormorant, and it adorns my brothers fireplace mantel. I never cared for the “pregnant elephant” jokes, I didn’t think these were any different than most cars of the time( Rambler?), and clearly said by those who never drove a Packard. Just ask the PERSON that owned one. Thanks MCG
Kaiser also had polarizing styling, and while neither was exceedingly handsome, they both led the industry with the integrated fenders. People bought Packards because they had experience with, and confidence in, the brand; people bought Kaisers (the car was yet unknown) because they considered Henry Kaiser’s ship building contribution to the war effort, and had confidence in him. Both were good cars. Especially to those who were fans of each.
The upside-down bathtub styling dated back to the Chrysler/DeSoto Airflows, but didn’t really become popular until the GM aerosedan fastbacks of the 1941-48 period–and even they were gone by 1952. Packard had an advantage in the 1951 body change because they were body-on-frame. Nash still had the funds to restyle the body completely for 1952, but Hudson’s step-downs were virtually impossible to restyle, and even the 1954 refresh looked dated even when new. And Packard’s Ultramatic was the only fully automatic transmission developed by an independent maker (Hydra-Matics were used in Frazers, Kaisers, Hudsons, Nashes and Willys, and even Ford bought them for Lincolns!)
The four door sedan body style is almost identical to that of the Chevrolet Cadet that never saw production. Somehow I think the Chevy proto-compact would’ve worn it better, the rounded body shapes tend to look better on smaller cars.
Well I have a 1948 Deluxe in Metallic Blue color. Almost every option. A beautiful survivor with 19.000 miles. she was serviced in 1962 by a Studebaker dealer with 9600 miles on it. History is lost as to the very low mileage.
Hi Frederick, people don’t realize today, but low mileage cars were common. In the 50s, my grandfather, regularly still took the bus to work, and the Packard sat in the garage and was just for special outings.
Question: Will the engine from a ’54 24rth series (automatic) fit in a ’49 23rd series?
The engine easily, using the 23rd series front motor mounts. Installing the Ultramatic into a manual car is much more involved.