Packard 'Super 8' Tourer (Dinky Toys 39a)
| Exhibit |
|---|
Packard 'Super 8' Tourer (Dinky Toys 39a) |
 |
| location: |
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Arch Two , Area 21 Classic Dinky Toys (John Durrant Collection) |
| Shelf 5
1946 - 1950 |
A brown Packard 'Super 8' Tourer sedan with brown wheels, Dinky Toys 39a (1946-1950).
The bulge on one side of the vehicle is an impressively well integrated spare-wheel holder, with the way it's embedded into the chassis appearing very resistant to theft.
Minus the shiny silver bumper and decorative hood ornament the original 1939 vehicle sported, this Dinky Toy may look drab in comparison to the photos of the vehicle you can access in the links beneath this article.
Packard
Founded as the Ohio Automobile Company in 1899 by two Packard brothers and their business partner, Weiss, the company changed its name to Packard following early success. Developing a prestigious reputation for quality vehicles, it was a Packard that Warren G Harding chose to be driven to his presidential inauguration, the first in which the imminent president was driven in an automobile.
In 1954 the company merged with Studebaker, forming The Studebaker-Packard Corporation. Despite an ambitious set of cars released through the 50s, past success wasn't revived and the marque was dropped by its parent company in 1959.
Continuing the spirit of the company's founders, a pair of brothers bought the rights to produce a new vehicle under the Packard name in 1998. However they lacked their predecessor's engineering and publicity ingenuity and failed to find investors for their prototype. What remains of the company licenses out the use of the Packard name and manufacturers automobile parts.
