Packard attempted to bridge the sedan and station wagon markets with the 1948-50 Station Sedan, calling it “a double-duty beauty.”
As consumer interest in station wagons began to stir in the ’40s, one response from the automakers was the wagon/sedan hybrid—a cross between a sedan and a wagon, if you will. Memorable examples we’ve featured here include the Chrysler Town & Country Barrelback and the Kaiser-Frazer Traveller/Vagabond, and in a way, the trend foreshadows the popular hatchbacks and SUV crossovers of recent years. This one is unique in that it’s a Packard, one of the more prestigious names in American automobles. And it’s a woody, so it’s sure to attract admirers.
One advantage of the hybrid approach is that it could piggyback on existing sedan tooling. Although photos exist of a prototype Station Sedan built on the big Super Eight body and chassis, ultimately it was decided to base the production woody on the smaller Packard Eight package: 120-in wheelbase, 288 cubic-inch straight eight with 130 hp. The grand old automaker on East Grand Boulevard pitched the Station Sedan as “the successor to the station wagon.”
While the not-quite-a-wagon certainly had the look of a woody, Packard was quick to boast that in truth, the body was of all-steel construction. “Strong, safe, rattle-free,” the brochure declared. The full-length roof stamping was steel, as were the four doors. Northern Birch was selected for the decorative exterior framing, while the only component of total wood construction was the two-piece tailgate.
Upholstery was leatherette with cloth inserts, which Packard said was more durable and attractive than real leather, the traditional woody choice. Meanwhile, exterior-grade plywood with stainless rub strips to protect against scuffing lined the cargo floor and the back of the fold-down rear seat. But since the tailgate was only the same width as a sedan deck lid, access was less than ideal, and the limited dimensions of the sedan body shell also precluded the option of a third-row seat.
However, the Station Sedan’s most serious drawback, surely, was the price. At $3,425, it cost 50 percent more than the equivalent Packard Eight Sedan at $2,275, and $600 more than a Super Eight six-passenger sedan. In fact, it was the most expensive wagon on the market at the time but for the Buick Roadmaster, which cost a mere $8 more. Over the three model years the woody was offered, only 3,864 were produced, most of them in the first season. When the Packard line was completely redesigned for 1951, the Station Sedan was not continued.
They may have sold more of them had they deleted those odd wood inserts in the doors. They broke up a clean design and looked silly. I don’t understand why they didn’t continue the theme into the quarter panels but think it would have been more attractive if it hadn’t existed at all. Additionally, it must have added to the cost of manufacturing.
Exactly my reaction. The two panels slapped on the doors are a ridiculous ham-fisted accomodation to the requirement for wood finisheing. Seems it was decided that the curves in the rear quarter were too expensive to match. They should have limited it to the pieces around the windows; that would have been an attractive accent.
Agreed. The Chrysler Barrelback (linked above) shows graceful integration of the wood and metal elements.
I saw a dark green version of this in the Dayton Packard Museum, but that one did not have the wood-clad doors. Its been maybe five years since I saw it, but I do see it in a photo, next to the Delorean on their website
We have a beautiful 1948 Packard Station Sedan in the Tucson Auto Museum.
Like with most woodies, sitting inside of one of these, surrounded by all of that wood, is just wonderful.