Historical context
The first Packards were built by James Ward Packard and William Doud Packard and tested in the streets of their hometown, Warren, Ohio in 1899. The single cylinder, nine horsepower engine performed ably, for which soon after they named the machine the Model A.
The Packards were typical of the many tinkers, visionaries, and hard-headed businessmen who coalesced around the idea of the gasoline-powered automobile, a product of the social and economic changes occurring in the United States and Europe at the turn of the 20th century. By the 1920s, more than 180 American automobile companies had sprung into business in towns and cities across the Eastern and Mid-Western United States. Other companies were also started across Europe in England, Germany, and Italy especially. Cars were a popular commodity, and the public clamored for them. It was in this market that car companies grew very rapidly. Packard was soon marketed as a luxury car, and captured a large section of the elite section of the American market. By 1923, the Packard Motor Car Company was earning $7 million in profits a year.
Outcome
In the short term, Packard's low-end advertising and marketing strategy was a success. Middle-class car buyers were aware that they could buy Packards for less than other luxury car brands, such as Cadillac, Lincoln, or Chrysler. The ratio of sales between Packard's economy and luxury cars shot up from 3 to 1 in the mid 1930s to 12 to 1 in 1939. [5]
In the longer run, however, this blurring of Packard's image was disastrous for the company. Even though the public perceived the Packard as a quality car, people no longer associated it with luxury and premier craftsmanship. Packard simply became another car brand, near but not at the top of the industry. In addition, until 1950, Packard refused to adapt to an automotive standard that had been introduced at General Motors in the 1920s- yearly restyling of models. Because Packards tended to look the same the year after year, the public began to see the brand as outdated and less desirable. [6]
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