A GDYNETS

PUBLICATION
2016, G. DAVID
YAROS. ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.

Car Collector
Chronicles

Volume IX, Issue 12

Exploring:

Ca

Car Collecting Today

High RPMs

Classic Rides
Reports From the Field
Oldsmobile (1897-2004)
Cadillac (1902- )
Allant (1987-1993)

Corvair (1960-1969)

= Clickable Link

IN THIS ISSUE:
High RPMs

Worst Nightmare!

A Look Back

Packard Death
Throes

Well, we have survived, so

far, the fiasco of the presidential election. Thanksgiving is now behind us and the
joy of Christmas awaits us.
Then we have the events of
2017 to look forward to. It
should prove to be an interesting year, to say the least!
What with the end of 2016
and the coming of 2017, I
thought that this month we
would take both a look back
and a look forward in time.
For those who have not
seen or heard of it, we shall
also present info on a car
collectors worst nightmare.
As that nightmare involves
a Packard, it seems apropos
to take a look at some other
Packard related matter. We
indeed shall do just that.
Our December 2016 issue
concludes the ninth calendar
year in which CCC has been
in print.

Find GDYNets on the web:

CCC Forum
EMail:

OldsD88@gmail.com

December Automotive Milestones

2-1927 1st Model A Ford
7-1931 Last Model A
7-1950 Buick builds its sixmillionth car
8-1861 William Durant born,
Boston, MA
9-1963 Last Studebaker
13-1939 1st production Lincoln Continental
15-1861 Charles Duryea
born, Canton, IL
17-1791 NYC creates 1st
one-way street
20-1868 Harvey Firestone
born, Columbia County, OH
20-1892 Pneumatic automobile tire patented
20-1951 Sears, Roebuck &
Co. debuts Kaiser-built
Allstate
22-1900 1st car bearing
"Mercedes" name is delivered
to buyer, Emil Jellinek
29-1800 Charles Goodyear
born, New Haven, CT
30-1936 United Auto Workers strike at Fisher Body
Plant

- A Very Merry Xmas!

GDYNets on the Web

Pics to Ponder
(Xmas Cars)

December 2016

CCC -THE FORUM -A web

site to discuss the newsletter,
the hobby and our cars.
Car Collector Chronicles
Saved 62 -Our 1962 Olds
convertible, Ransom Eli Olds
and things Oldsmobile related
web site.
The Gray Lady -1955 Cadillac
Coup de Ville web site.

SAVED 62: A website devoted

to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible. The site

also has a lot of information on
Oldsmobile cars and the company founder, Ransom Eli Olds.

THE GRAY LADY: This website features our 1955 Cadillac

Coup de Ville, lots of Caddy
information and an extensive
repair library.

DAVES DEN: -A site devoted to a myriad of interests.

Foremost is extensive information on the Steel City of Gary,
IN. There are also offerings on
steel making, U.S. Steel-Gary
Works, U.S. Marine Corps, M14
assault rifle, of course Oldsmobile, and the tragic story of the
murder of Gary, IN Police Lt.
George Yaros.

Car Collector Chronicles

Page 2

Worst Nightmare!

Divers have
to be called in
to attach tow

When I first learned of this, I wanted to cry. I just cannot imagine a more tormenting
scenario.
You receive an invite to display your ride at the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival &
Concours dElegance at Port Royal Plantation. The fact that you happen to own a 1938
Packard 1605 Super Eight convertible sedan, and that it is the only pre-war convertible
with a hard top, just may have something to do with receipt of the invite?
Being a car buff you happen to own 62 other Packards, but this baby is 1-of-1. You
ship your million dollar ride to Hilton Head and proudly put her on the show field.
Even though you are a renowned collector, you are more than anxious as the judges
go over your car with a fine toothed comb. When all is said and done you have been
awarded a Best of Class. You may now breathe easy while awaiting the Best of Show
competition. It has been a pretty good weekend, so far. Time to relax and have a beverage of choice.
While imbibing a bit of refreshment your ride develops a mind of its own and decides
to take a little trip. Unfortunately, that trip is a short one, without power, in reverse, right
into a lagoon! Bystanders undertake a valiant effort to head off the pending disaster.
However, the weight of the car, the slope of the ground and the leather-soled dress
shoes of the volunteers all combine to nullify their best efforts. Divers have to be called
in to attach tow cables to your treasured car so that it may be retrieved from the drink.

cables to your
treasured car
so that it may

Watch it here https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=gq4antm-6OY

be retrieved
from the
drink.

Unfortunately, this is the fate that befell Ralph Marano of NJ, on Sunday, 6 Nov. Surprisingly, Marano bore up to the disaster quite well. Even though restoration of this rare
car had just recently been completed, he vowed to start the process all over again.
Good for him!
This is another of those incidents where I wonder who is the insurance company? I
would love to see the repair estimates and claim check(s) paid out in settlement!

Car Collector Chronicles

Page 3

A Look Back
While researching this months issue I ran across this 1955 quote from Robert S. McNamara, then G.M. of Ford Motor Co., which I found interesting:
The test of your generation will not be how well you stood up under adversity, but
how well you endured prosperity.
From my perspective 60 + years later, the current state of the world is such as to justify
questioning just how well we met that challenge.
Males of my generation need no reminder as to who McNamara was. For all you youngsters out there, in addition to being the Father of the Falcon while at Ford (reportedly, in
1957 he drew up the specs for the car on the back of a church program while attending Sunday services), McNamara served Presidents Kennedy and Johnson as Secretary of Defense
during the early years of the Vietnam War.
The 50s were good to U.S. automobile manufacturers. In 1951, 73% of American households owned cars, 59% of workers used their cars to travel to work, and 68% of a l l cars
were used for this purpose. 85% of inter-city travel was in private cars.
As cars increased in size, some of Detroits larger models began to break the bound of the
envelopes designed to hold them. Cadillacs began to take up two parking-meter spaces.
Many cars were now too large to fit in the garages of homes built between the wars. Remember knock/bump outs in garage back walls? It got to the point that by the late 50s may
states began legislating maximum widths for cars.
1958 also happened to be the year the car bubble burst. As new car sales took a dive the
length of time owners held on to their newly purchased cars increased. Simultaneous with
this trend, foreign cars began to make a noticeable dent in the market. Volkswagen inroads
are what led to the introduction of the Ford Falcon, Chevrolet Corvair and Plymouth Valiant.
All of this is by way of background to a discussion of the death throes of Packard.

Packard Death Throes

1954 saw the coming together of Packard and Studebaker. The merger was an effort on
the part of Packard to avoid termination of operations. It was hoped access to the Studebaker dealer network would revive its sales. The fate it sought to avoid with this merger
came about a mere 5 years later.
Before giving up the ghost however, Packard went out on a limb with the presentation to
the motoring public at the Chicago Auto Show in 1956 of the Packard Predictor, a Ghia built
concept car which Packard hoped to produce.
The Predictor was ill-named, as it did not show the way to future sales. The car was 18
and 1/2 feet long. The length bested Cadillac by a half-foot. With 10 inch thick doors tipping
the scales at 200 lbs., the Predictor weighed in at 3 ton. That bested Cadillac by a half-ton.
The car cost financially strapped Packard $70K to produce; $613,080.80 2016 dollars.
Some of its outstanding features were concealed quad
headlamps, a variation on the trademark oxbow grille, minimal exterior chrome trim and a massive rear bumper with
chamfered anterior exhaust ports. Their purpose was to
direct noxious exhaust fumes away from car drivers trailing
behind.
The two most outstanding features of
the car were the retractable roof panels
and the cantilevered rear window. The roof panels
retracted automatically whenever the door was
opened. This feature made entry/exit easier. Additionally, the panels could be opened for increased
ventilation while driving. Likewise with the back win-

Cadillacs
began to take
up two
parkingmeter
spaces.
Many cars
were now too
large to fit in
the garages
of homes
built between
the wars.

Car Collector Chronicles

Page 4;;

Packard Death ThroesContd.

dow. It could be partially lowered. The cockpit featured swivel seats and a maze of pushbuttons to control
the roof panels, rear window, side windows, automatic transmission and who knows what else.

The public liked what they saw. So did

Packard. It incorporated many of the
Predictor features into a 1957 mock up,
known as Black Bess. Black Bess was
used by Packard in its sales pitch to Wall
Street financiers to try and obtain operating funds. It found no buyers.

The Curtiss-Wright Corp. came

along and extended a seemingly helping hand. It exerted
control and in 1958 closed
down Packard assembly operations in Detroit, marking the
beginning of the end.
Interestingly, the final two
Packard vehicles produced in
Detroit were not cars at all.
Rather they were trucks, which
were exported to Argentina.
Here are some lesser known Packard facts:
During the First World War, Packard played a key role both in
the design and the production of the Liberty L-12 engine.
Between the wars, Packard built one of the world's first diesel
aviation engines, the 225-hp DR-980 radial. It powered the
Stinson SM-8D, among others. It also powered a Bellanca CH300 on a record endurance flight of over 84 hours, a record that
stood for more than 50 years.
The B-47 bomber was powered by Packard-built jet engines.
A listing of all Packard Motor Car aircraft engines is available
online.
The Predictor did lead the way in terms of some of its styling
features. They are found on the 1957 Mercury Turnpike
Cruiser and 1958 Continental Mark III (rear window), the 1963
Corvette (hidden headlights) and the pronounced proboscis
nose/grille (Edsel and Pontiac).

Car Collector Chronicles

Page 5;;

Pics to Ponder (Xmas Cars)

Ok, Ive had my say for the month. Now its your turn! I invite/encourage submission
of your comments, opinions and article contributions. I also ask that you please help
spread the word about our publication. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by
me. Submissions should be sent to CCC at OldsD88@gmail.com.

Now that you have finished reading the newsletter, if so inclined, like CCC on Facebook by going here. To UNSUBSCRIBE send an email to ==> OldsD88@gmail.com
_______________________________________

-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM!

COMING NEXT ISSUE:

The look forward which I mentioned in High RPMs, but never got to this month

TBD