"Feature
Car"
Bob Newlands & Jan
Taylor
1927 Model 343-7P Touring
Events!
Tours and meetings are
back. We have great hope, and a full
Calendar, for 2024.
Club
Meetings
Meetings are held
with CCCA for the foreseeable
future. The venue is Ernestos Italian
Restaurant, 8544 SW Apple Way,
Portland, OR. Next meeting
will be May 2. See the
Calendar.
April Coast
Tour
Planned for April 20 &
21. The Bobs are leading. See all
the details in the Tour
Flier. Meet
up will be at 11525 SW Choban
Ln, Portland at 9:15 AM on April 20.
Western
Regions Meet
5/16-19
The 2024 Packard
Club (P.A.C.) Western Regions Tour to
San Simeon and the California Central
Coast, hosted by the Earle C. Anthony
region is set for May
16-19, 2024. Make your
hotel reservations A.S.A.P. to secure
your spot!
Western
Regions Flyer
May Ladies
Tea
May 18. If you
are interested in attending the
annual Ladies Tea event, please
respond to Howard Freedman No later
than this Friday, April 12. See all
the details in the Ladies
Tea flyer.
The 2023 Oregon
Clipper, coming soon
Featuring a
very busy year.
Thanks
John & Joe
2018
Packard Holiday
Dinner
2018 Forest
Grove Concours
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PACKARDS
OF OREGON
Is
dedicated to the preservation
and use of Packard automobiles;
to provide a source and exchange
of history, technical assistance
and other material related to
the car and to provide and
regulate tours, events and
exhibition of the Packard.
Ownership of a Packard is not
required for membership.
Meetings are
held with CCCA and are open to
the public. The venue Ernestos Italian
Restaurant, 8544 SW Apple Way,
Portland, OR. Next meeting
will be
Thursday, January 5,
at 6PM. See the
Calendar.
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WHO MADE PACKARD?
Well, Packard made Packard of course!
Packard
was one of the greatest marques in the
history the automobile, projecting the aura,
prestige and excellence unmatched by any
other manufacturer in North America during
the years between the two world wars.
Packard has
been described as being the automobile that,
“expressed a young America’s striving for
elegance, a tradition, a heritage to match
the centuries-old culture of Europe.”
Many consider
Packard the only real competition that
Rolls-Royce ever faced.
The Packard Motor Car Company produced
1,610,890 automobiles between 1899 and 1958.
Packard
produced a famous advertising slogan that is
still being used for other products and
services today.
It was originated in 1901
by James Packard, who believed that talking
about Packards was a waste of time, best
left to the owners.
When his
secretary asked him for a sales brochure to
send to a prospective customer, Packard
replied that they had no literature and to
tell the customer to, “Ask the Man Who Owns
One.”
In
1921 Warren G. Harding was the first
American president to be driven in an
automobile to his inauguration.
The
automobile was a big, beautiful,
Twelve-cylinder “Twin-Six” Packard.
In 1937 the
first car to cross the brand new Golden Gate
Bridge was a Packard.
Packard was also responsible for many
automotive “firsts” such as:
-
First to use a
steering wheel instead of a tiller
-
First to equip cars
with balloon (pneumatic) tires as standard
equipment
-
First to include
front and rear bumpers as standard equipment
-
First to use the
selective gear shift with the “H” pattern
movement
-
First to introduce
complete weather-conditioning in production
cars
-
First to provide sun
visors
-
First to provide a
package (glove) compartment in the instrument
panel
-
First American
production car to provide four-wheel brakes as
standard equipment
-
First company to
build a 1,000 hp aircraft engine
-
First to develop and
fly a diesel aircraft engine
-
First American
company to offer an L-head, straight-eight
engine
-
First American
company to offer a V-type, twelve-cylinder
engine
-
First automobile
company to build a 24-cylinder engine
To find out more about
Packards, go to www.packardsoforegon.net which provides easy
access to the Packards or Oregon Club and
other resources on the Packard Motor Car
Company. An excellent reference
is “Packard, A History of the Motor Car and
Company,” by Beverly Rae Kimes.
Webmaster
Joe Munsch
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