Packard had a long, proud history of building head-of-state-worthy whips. But what's the long defunct company actually worth these days? Ask the man who owns one! Roy Gulickson has been president of Packard since he bought the company name in 1995, and now he's trying to sell it for a princely $1.5m. So for Veyron money you could own a classic luxury marque of your own, complete with engineering designs, tools, spare parts and supplier information… from 1958. But wait, there's more! Reuters says Gulickson will also throw in "a new Packard prototype that comes with an all-aluminum V-12 engine and a traditional chrome grille." And by "new" they mean it was built in 1998. If you are foolhardy bold and visionary enough to want to resurrect a once-proud American luxury brand, you might want to move soon on this. An analyst insists that four companies have expressed "serious interest" in buying the company. Gullickson does admit that "perhaps using a smaller engine or converting it to run on compressed natural gas" would make the prototype more attractive in the era of four dollar gas– but that's a problem for the buyer to figure out. Meanwhile, Packard purists insist the brand should be allowed to rest in peace.
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Legally isn’t a trademark fair game once the company stops using it?
After 60 years, you might be able to just slap Packard on some golf carts and try to sell them and appropriate the brand name for yourself, at least in the US.
Sounds like stuff purchased at a corporate yard sale. In other words, at a bankruptcy liquidation.
When will we see Oldsmobile or Plymouth up for grabs at such prices?
Prototype pictures at: http://www.packardmotorcar.com/
Oh, my eyes hurt.
What happened to the old Packard is the greatest tragedy in American automotive history.
How they applied American mass precision techniques to the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, beating British production and perforance is the stuff of ledgends. All gone in just over a decade.
Well, I guess you would call me a Packard purist…a poor Packard purist. So, in spite of wanting another one for many years (a 56 Carribean, thank you very much), I have never been able to either buy a restored one or restore one myself. I did own a 56 Clipper for a while and it was that chariot that moved me, a few clothes and my record collection to California in 1973. A co-worker at the time had numerous Packards and that same year I rode with him in his 41 limo around the Utica proving grounds at 110 mph.
I saw the prototype at a convention in Sacramento about 8 years ago. I have known the “company” and the protoype have been for sale for a quite a while now.
All that said, I think Leno should buy it. He certainly foolhardy and bold enough. Not sure about the visionary part. However, as much as I would love to see the marque resurrected, I know it is best left in history.
ps: the wife just told me if she wins the lotto we can buy the company. She’s pretty nice.
Richard Chen :
August 6th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Prototype pictures at: http://www.packardmotorcar.com/
Oh, my eyes hurt.
Wow, it’s as if someone took the ugly siblings of both Lincoln and Jaguar, got them to mate, fed the mother a steady dose of Everclear and crack throughout the pregnancy, and beat the resulting child until it eventually went to an unlicensed Mexican plastic surgeon with a picture of a Maybach and said ‘I want to look like that’.
Wow, it’s as if someone took the ugly siblings of both Lincoln and Jaguar, got them to mate, fed the mother a steady dose of Everclear and crack throughout the pregnancy, and beat the resulting child until it eventually went to an unlicensed Mexican plastic surgeon with a picture of a Maybach and said ‘I want to look like that’.
You could have just said it looks hideously ugly, but it was a good laugh. Man that car is nasty, Packards were cool, putting the Packard name on that would be a crime in so many ways.
That Packard’s so ugly it makes onions cry.
That Packard’s so ugly its got ring marks all over from people touching it with ten-foot poles.
That Packard’s so ugly it tried to take a bath the water jumped out!
That Packard’s so ugly it made speed stick slow down.
That Packard’s so ugly it made right guard turn left.
That Packard’s so ugly it makes blind children cry.
That Packard’s so ugly its reflection quit.
I got a million of them.
Perhaps the only vehicle design to rip-off the Kia Amanti. We should all start a fund to allow TTAC to purchase the cherished Packard name just to prevent this from occurring again. Besides, then we could design the very first 5-star reviewed automobile TTAC has ever encountered.
My brilliance is amazing.
I can say this without an ounce of exaggeration: That car is physically revolting.
$1.5m is nothing. The problem is the company does not have a rich and highly sought after and lusted for history. No one longs for Packard’s to be brought back. There might not have even been a good or great Packard model that was ever built. Most don’t even remember them. It’s a dead brand and one for history and museums. There’s more dead and defunct auto makers and this is just another one. It just happens to be for sale. They could lower the price and watch it constantly get re sold and trade hands and passed around. Even if it sells; it will never become anything more then it is.
I’m sure GM could always use another brand in its stable.
It looks like a ’72 Cutlass 4-Door with a diaperload in the back and a bug-eyed pre-puke pressure buildup in the front.
rtz wrote:
Most don’t even remember them.
Unless you were a Banacek fan, then you will remember his 1941 Packard Darrin. ;)
Oh, and after seeing this new prototype, all I can say is, this is a prank, right?
rtz: “The problem is the company does not have a rich and highly sought after and lusted for history. … There might not have even been a good or great Packard model that was ever built.”
Say, are you aware that automotive history did not begin with Lexus and Infiniti?
“It’s a dead brand and one for history and museums.”
I would say that you are wrong. Branding-wise, Packard carries with it great connotations of style, luxury, quality and refinement. More so than any living nameplate in the US. If Caterpillar can make billions in selling clothes, there’s a place for Packard as well. I would say that a resurrected Packard makes more sense than trying to wake up the Maybach brand from the dead, dead parrot sketch-style. “This brand wouldn’t live even if you put 4000 volts through it.” Hell, I would even buy a re-named Lexus if it was called Packard instead.
Damn, that is one fugly car! Putting the Packard name on that thing ought to be a crime.
@rtz: Packard, way back when, used to make some of the finest luxury cars in the world. Some of them are genuine classics that are highly sought after today (big $) and have a certain charisma that no Lexus, Mercedes or any other modern luxury car can match. Ever seen a 1930’s vintage Packard Twelve? They’re absolutely beautiful!
Is Studebaker for sale as well? I’d like to buy both. Maybe buy Oldsmobile too, to sell in between Studebaker and Packard.
From their website:
“A conservative estimate of the number of people who stopped at the Packard® is 475, and there was a large number who stopped their car at the Packard® site, asked questions and took photos from the car.”
Beached whales usually attract the same kind of people…
Maybe they should just make spark plug wires and coils :-)
Packard takes a back seat to Duesenberg, sorry folks. Although, and I feel this way about Packard as well, I would absolutely LOVE to see either/both brought back to life. AS LONG as it’s done right; that fugly p.o.s. Packard prototype needs to be scrapped. The Duesey prototype on the other hand…well hell, no one seems to know if it even exists yet, let alone how it looks in the flesh.
If Merc can bring back Maybach, if VW can bring back Bugatti, why can’t someone bring back Duesenberg/Packard? Even though the people who bought brand new Duesenbergs are all long dead, I believe there’s still a whole world of brand cache to be tapped.
toxicroach :
August 6th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Legally isn’t a trademark fair game once the company stops using it?
No, because Studebaker-Packard owned the name which became Studebaker-Worthington in 1967 (Studebaker never “went out of business,” they had seven divisons and only closed down the car division) which was absorbed by McGraw Edison in 1979. Much like how DaimlerChrysler owned the Hudson and Nash trademarks because of the AMC acquistion by Chrysler in 1987.
Hell why doesn’t Audi bring back Horch as well? I mean no one everyone wants for a Horch, right?
I see no one’s updated the website since 2005. LOTS of interest in the car, obviously…
I rode from my wedding in a 1939 Packard Twelve Convertible Sedan, and can attest that the car stopped Atlanta traffic. It is one of the most impressive automobiles ever made.
The “new” Packard is an abomination. Quite possbily the ugliest car since the resurrected Stutz Black Hawk of the ’70’s.
If I had the green, I’d buy the company just to keep that car off the road. Maybe auction off the right to crush it at Barrett-Jackson.
That prototype is “contrived” to say the least, and not even in a gaudy way that might appeal to wealthy, showy people. It’s just ugly. Blech! (…and I liked the Stutz Blackhawk.)
If Packard was to make a comeback, I imagine it would operate similar to Zimmer or Avanti. Both of these are niche manufacturers which utilize chassis and drivetrains from the big-3 with extensively reworked bodies. The only other possibility would be if a (real, solvent) car company bought the rights to the name, but I can’t see that happening.
IMO, one of the biggest problems with ressurecting Packard is comments such as that from RTZ. The brand has been dead since 1958. Unless you’re an automotive history buff (like me) or old enough to remember them first-hand, you won’t recognize the prestige of the Packard name.
Before the depression, Packard, Pierce-Arrow and Peerless were the most vaunted luxury marques in America. Packard was the only one to survive the depression. They were ultimately bought by Studebaker then badge-engineered to death.
Two words: Packard Genesis