The Packard Motor Car Company for the most part snubbed the fashion model year alteration , show its auto by " series , " which often ran for far more than a year . But not in 1933 , when the Tenth Series hold out only from January through August . There was good reason for that – to debut new styling and mechanical updates for a new line , admit the 1934 Packard Eight coupe - buggy and to take reward saleswise of what look like a hopeful relief of the Depression .
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Packard needed the boost . The house had lose $ 2.9 million in 1931 and $ 6.8 million in 1932 . And the modest $ 506,433 earnings record for 1933 turned into a whopping $ 7.3 million loss in 1934 ( largely to tool around up for the coming middle - priced One - Twenty ) .
The Eleventh Series bowed on August 21 , 1933 , and enjoyed a 12 - month run . It came in three series – Eight , Super Eight , and Twelve – on nine wheelbases . Amazingly , model offerings totaled more than 40 , not count almost 20 " individual tradition . "
The magnificent Twelve , with prices starting at $ 3,820 and zoom beyond $ 7,700 , get only 960 well - heeled buyer willing to indulge themselves in those ruffianly economic times . The Super Eight , base priced at $ 2,950 , did n’t fare much substantially : Only 1,920 were built .
That leave the Eight as Packard ’s clams - and - butter series , which range from $ 2,350 to $ 3,090 ( a new Ford V-8 could be had for $ 505 ) . The 129 - inch - wheelbase 1100 Eight come in only as a four - doorway sedan , the 141 - inch 1102 as a seven - rider sedan chair or limo .
The 1101 Eights , riding a 136 - inch span , comprised 11 offerings . Among them was the coupe - runabout , model 719 , which listed at $ 2,580 and weighed a hefty 4,430 pounds . Powered by Packard ’s small 320 - three-dimensional - inch , 120 - H.P. straight eight , it averaged 10.5 .
The coupe - buggy divvy up styling changes with the rest of the line : front fenders that curved down closer to the bumper ; a across-the-board , slotted front bumper ; revise running game boards with chrome - framed mats ; new hood handles ; " feathered " radiator cap ( the " Pelican " ornament be $ 20 superfluous ) ; recontoured rearward fenders ; and the gas filler detonating equipment relocate behind the license plate .
Interiors were spruced up with more luxurious upholstery and higher front tush backs . Rearranged sprint gauges made
elbow room for centrally mounted controls for Packard ’s $ 79.50 deluxe radio .
But sales remained dull , and with the more extensively revise Twelfth Series on the way of life Packard slashed prices on June 21 , 1934 , resulting in a $ 2,180 tab for the scare away coupe - roadster . Even with that ,
total Eight yield came to just 5,120 unit .
No matter , the excellence of these cars has long been recognized – they carry full Classic status with the Classic Car Club of America .
The coupe - runabout seen here has covered 84,000 miles . Flaunting Trippe lights , side - mounted spare , and luggage rack , it is a will to the timbre and flair of the railway car that once range out of Packard ’s East Grand Boulevard mill in Detroit .
