The Fall of the Packard Motor Car Company [Paperback]

James A. Ward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997

Told for the first time this is the complete story of the puzzling decline and fall—in the midst of a huge automotive boom—of one of America’s most prestigious automobile manufacturers

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Larger business history collections will want to acquire Ward's analysis of Packard's mid-fifties failure. Ward, a University of Tennessee transportation historian, summarizes the company's early days--from the turn of the century to the 1935 release of the 120, Packard's first middle-market vehicle--in a single chapter; four more follow the firm through the Depression and World War II. But Ward's focus is Packard's final days, from Hotpoint executive James Nance's installation as president in 1952 to the 1956 shutdown of Packard's Detroit operations and to 1958, when the last automobiles to bear the long-respected Packard name rolled off its merger-partner Studebaker's Indiana assembly line. Ward's gracefully written narrative examines the many factors that pushed Packard out of business: financial challenges, demographic trends, marketing and advertising decisions, government action and inaction, and "unforeseeable and uncontrollable events" that prevented even the soundest management decisions from achieving their objectives. A nuanced exploration of a notable business failure in the midst of the postwar boom. Mary Carroll --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Ward is one of our nation’s top transportation historians. He chronicles Packard’s curious rapid fall in a beautiful book with more plot twists and turns and odd characters than a Sam Spade murder mystery. Because Ward is curious about the interplay between institution and personalities, the book comes alive. . . . Resplendent with generous helpings of Packard photos.” —Chattanooga Free Press

“Packard elegance is a fading mystery, and this handsome volume serves as a respectful but realistic obituary.” —Journal of American History

“This is clearly a work of history that stands, in the automotive field, in a class by itself. . . . Like the mighty Packard Twelve, this one is a classic.” —The Packard Comorant

“Ward’s gracefully written narrative examines the many factors that pushed Packard out of business: financial challenges, demographic trends, marketing and advertising decisions, government action and inaction, and ‘unforeseeable and uncontrollable’ events that prevented even the soundest management decisions from achieving their objectives. A nuanced exploration of a notable business failure in the midst of the postwar boom.”—The Booklist

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804731659
• ISBN-13: 978-0804731652
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,718,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Readable and informative, September 8, 1999

By 

Manuel Ferro ([e-mail]) (Miami, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fall of the Packard Motor Car Company (Paperback)

I have owned several books of antique automobiles, including Packards. This book is about the company itself and what lead it to its precipitous decline after WWII.

It is very readable and informative. It is one thing to read tables of sales and changing positions in the marketplace among brands, which are available in automobile encyclopedias. This book, however, explains WHY things happened. For instance, I did not know that in 1953 Ford decided to be No.1 at any cost. Ford's deep pockets were used to buy market share. GM did the same. This created a serious problem for all the independent producers, none of which were as efficient as GM or Ford.

I liked the book a lot.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My boyfrend's-'"packard" book, December 29, 2010

By 

Kathy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fall of the Packard Motor Car Company (Paperback)

My boyfriend Tom is an automotive historian, who has read this book before--LOVED IT & was waiting for a good price to add it to his colection. The item's condition was truly worthy of the FINE historical account he KNEW it to be. So we're both VERRY happy with Amazon. If you want a REVIEW of the book ITSELF--Tom says it's a MUST-HAVE for ANY serious Packard fan & a SHOULD-HAVE for any fan OR student of independent auto-makers in general!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid History, Insightful Analysis, February 19, 2010

By 

John Mccarrier (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fall of the Packard Motor Car Company (Paperback)

This is an excellent history of the last decade of operation of a once proud company and the man who tried to save it. It presents company president James Nance as a talented executive whose strategies were constantly thwarted by fast moving events beyond his control.

It provides an excellent analysis of the trends in the market that the after World War II, the problems faced by the independent auto manufacturers, and the variety of responses their respective company presidents made.

The author does an excellent job of tracing the decision making process by company executives and their board of directors despite the fact that company records were burned shortly after the band was dropped.