Who Remembers The Packard?

[Campbell]

This Is The largest Abandoned Factory In The World. It's The Old Packard Plant in Detroit...over three million square ft.

 

[oldsoul]

While I am too young to remember the Packard being sold new, I do know about the abandoned plant. It's really a sad statement about the modern history of Detriot. Sadly, I fear it will not change all that much any time soon.

 

[Campbell]

While I am too young to remember the Packard being sold new, I do know about the abandoned plant. It's really a sad statement about the modern history of Detriot. Sadly, I fear it will not change all that much any time soon.

There's a lot that's sad about the automotive industry. Cars are being built by robots. I don't know where all this is headed but it damn sure isn't good for the working men and women who have been the life's blood of our country.

 

[oldsoul]

While I am too young to remember the Packard being sold new, I do know about the abandoned plant. It's really a sad statement about the modern history of Detriot. Sadly, I fear it will not change all that much any time soon.

There's a lot that's sad about the automotive industry. Cars are being built by robots. I don't know where all this is headed but it damn sure isn't good for the working men and women who have been the life's blood of our country.

Robots are here to stay. There are good aspects to that as well as bad. Thankfully, they have not become prevalent in the repair industry, though that is likely coming too.
As for the Men and Women that have been the life blood of American industry, they will have to adapt and adjust. In my field, Truck Driving, this is coming too. Walmart, for one, is already testing an "automated" truck guidance system for inter-city travel. It will "drive" the truck from one point to another, with a human operator for city and off hi-way driving (ie. city streets and hi-ways, fuel stops, and loadig/unloaing facilities).

 

[Campbell]

While I am too young to remember the Packard being sold new, I do know about the abandoned plant. It's really a sad statement about the modern history of Detriot. Sadly, I fear it will not change all that much any time soon.

There's a lot that's sad about the automotive industry. Cars are being built by robots. I don't know where all this is headed but it damn sure isn't good for the working men and women who have been the life's blood of our country.

Robots are here to stay. There are good aspects to that as well as bad. Thankfully, they have not become prevalent in the repair industry, though that is likely coming too.
As for the Men and Women that have been the life blood of American industry, they will have to adapt and adjust. In my field, Truck Driving, this is coming too. Walmart, for one, is already testing an "automated" truck guidance system for inter-city travel. It will "drive" the truck from one point to another, with a human operator for city and off hi-way driving (ie. city streets and hi-ways, fuel stops, and loadig/unloaing facilities).

It's a good thing I'm about finished. I'll never like that bullshit!

 

[oldsoul]

Yeah, it's pretty scary stuff. Now, if there is a failure in the on-board computer, you get a light on the dash. With the computer controlling the vehicle, you get dead...

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Caution: the guitar solo starting at around 4:00 may be hazardous to your mental health

 

[DGS49]

I remember Packard's being sold new in the 50's, but obviously they weren't selling enough of them.

My father worked in a Packard garage in the 30's, and he always talked about how Packard was right up there with Cadillac, Lincoln, and a few other top brands at that time, and the people who bought them were Upper Crust.

Say what you want about automation and robotics, but the cars being produced now are much, much higher quality than anything we saw in the 50's and 60's. Everything from performance to fuel economy, to reliability, ease of maintenance, rust prevention, safety, environmental impact, durability...there is just no comparison. All of that improvement is a monument to good engineering, along with the precisely repeatable manufacturing processes that come with automation.

THIS is the golden age of the auto.

 

[longknife]

This Is The largest Abandoned Factory In The World. It's The Old Packard Plant in Detroit...over three million square ft.

View attachment 56417

Looks a lot like a Studebaker.

My uncle had a Packard/Willis dealership in Pasadena.

 

[Vandalshandle]

Packard was a luxury car. In the 1950's, they started sharing parts with Studebaker, which was a bad mistake, since Studebaker was a cheap car. Quality took a serious dive in the late 1950's, with both fit an finish problems, and engineering problems. By 1959, the company had pretty much blundered out of business. Studebaker quickly followed.

 

[oldsoul]

I remember Packard's being sold new in the 50's, but obviously they weren't selling enough of them.

My father worked in a Packard garage in the 30's, and he always talked about how Packard was right up there with Cadillac, Lincoln, and a few other top brands at that time, and the people who bought them were Upper Crust.

Say what you want about automation and robotics, but the cars being produced now are much, much higher quality than anything we saw in the 50's and 60's. Everything from performance to fuel economy, to reliability, ease of maintenance, rust prevention, safety, environmental impact, durability...there is just no comparison. All of that improvement is a monument to good engineering, along with the precisely repeatable manufacturing processes that come with automation.

THIS is the golden age of the auto.

You are correct, on all fronts. I would say that the "golden age" of ato styling ended in the late sixties to early seventies. The oil crunch did in the "land yachts" of old... Too bad, they where real works of art.

 

[my2¢]

As a kid in the late 50's I saw what must have been a Packard parked on the street. I thought it was something that came from Russia being that there was something about the headlight treatment that gave me that notion. I had a weird feeling of non-understanding seeing that car.