You couldn’t be more wrong.Packards were never that desirable. If a man had money in 1934 he'd buy a duesenberg. Don't forget the only reason 50 were made cause it was the height of the depression and they didn't sell
A Duesenberg was a rare car, and a celebrity‘s car. The Veyron comparison I made was not entirely accurate. Packard competed with Rolls-Royce. A Duesenberg was four times the price of a Packard 12. Nearly ten times the price of a Packard 8. The expression, “It’s a Doozy” comes from how outrageous the Duesenberg was. But Duesenberg only made the most expensive cars, unlike Packard.
They weren’t direct competitors. Duesenberg didn’t survive the Depression. Duesenberg ceased to exist in 1934.
Packard did survive because they had a complete line up. From sixes, to eights, to twelves. A successful working man could afford a Packard six, perhaps an eight. Just as a successful working man today could afford a Mercedes, though perhaps not an S class or Maybach.
At the beginning of World War Two, when Rolls Royce was looking for a US manufacturer to make their Supercharged 1650 CI V-12 Merlin aircraft engines, they visited many companies in the US.
Only one company met Rolls Royce standards for precision and workmanship - Packard.
And most of the Merlin engines in the war, including the engine in every single P-51, were built by Packard.
As was every PT boat engine - a 2,500 cubic inch supercharged V-12 marine engine known for its power and durability in the war. Packard designed and built.
In their entire 12 year run, Duesenberg sold about 1,200 cars, including about 500 J/SJ, which were sold from 1928-1937.
In 1934 alone, at the height of the Depression, the low point for car sales and the sales year that drove Duesenberg under, Packard sold 8,000 cars, including nearly 1,000 V-12s.
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