Working summers, while going to school, at a GM plant, I remember the Plant Manager coming into the lunch room while we were eating lunch and looking out the window onto the employee parking lot and saying to all of us, "those Jap cars are going to be the death of this plant". Several years later the place closed.
very sad. not mentioned here yet is the reason for the packard studabaker merge. that being that after the war packard decided not to rebuild the body building plant that had been redone for the war effort. instead the chose to just buy bodys from briggs. that worked ok untill ford bought briggs, and told packard to take a hike. packard then bought studabaker mainly for the body building plant at southbend. packardbakers then, until the end
another interesting thing to mention, from the beverly khimes book on packard history. the test track before the war was claimed to be the best paved track in the country. during the war the chrysler plant was across the street? or adjacent property, i forget, but they built tanks, and packard let them use the track for testing tanks since they could drive them to it. after the war, the track was shot from the tanks beating it up. packard, like all the auto plants had spent a ton of money to convert to war time production, and then to convert back to auto building. packard said they never really recovered from the cost, even with the government payback, and therefor did not rebuild the track, or they're body building facility . sales were slowing, and the death blow was when ford bought the briggs body co. as mentioned. i had two packards years ago, a 29 sedan, and a 30 phaeton. it was like playing with 32 fords-you need more money than this peasant has, so i let em go
Still pondering what earthly notion empowers vandals to destroy property. Is it deep-seated envy? Doubt these nice young men have much love in their hearts...
The Jalopy Journal
