The slogan “Ask the Man Who Owns One” appeared in 1901 to promote the Packard, an automobile brand that might be new to our younger readers.
100 years ago, it was considered the finest car built in the United States, and many ranked it the best in the world.
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The first American car was the 1896 Duryea, followed by countless others, including the Winton Motor Carriage in 1897. Like most young men of the time, brothers James and William Packard in Warren, Ohio, were fascinated by the new technology. Their new Winton “horseless carriage” was delivered to them in early 1898. 
Unfortunately, their new Winton was fraught with mechanical issues and proved to be perhaps the first “lemon” in history. A series of polite complaints deteriorated into an argument with Mr. Winton finally telling the Packard brothers that if they thought his product was inferior, they needed to build their own. So, they did just that!
Within 18 months, the first Packard hit the streets of Warren in June of 1899, and within 15 years, Packard was the flagship among dozens of scrambling American car manufacturers.
Unparalleled mechanical excellence and craftsmanship combined with carefully evolving, unmistakable/elegant styling made Packard the symbol of success. By the mid-thirties, it was second only to Ford in brand value. Henry Ford was carried to his grave in a Packard. 
Entering a new decade in 1940, the world was in turmoil. Our country was independent and rapidly developing into the dominant industrial nation. Packard recognized the need to offer a car for a much larger audience. They shocked the auto industry and the public with the introduction of the new Clipper model in early 1941. In late 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. World War II halted car production from early 1942 until 1946.
The new Clipper was a radical yet beautiful, integrated design, wide and low with the fenders an integral, flowing part of the overall sculpture. No more running boards, a long hood and sloping rear deck … completely new and modern yet unmistakably Packard. After the War, Packard had its post-war design in place with the Clipper, while all others had to use 1942 models with minor cosmetic changes as their “new” 1946 models. The Clipper design proved to be just the right combination of luxury, size and practicality. It set a new standard for the post-war era.
Captain Rick Powell is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, flying C-130 cargo planes for 7 years followed by another 34 years as a pilot for Delta. He likes Air Force blue, Delta blue skies, and old cars. When Rick learned about an opportunity to acquire a coveted Packard Clipper from a fastidious collector in nearby Waxahachie, he was more than interested, and the fact that it was blue just might have sealed the deal.
Rick’s car is a 1947 model, the last and best year for this timeless beauty. It is virtually perfect, with only 89,702 original miles, and it is UNRESTORED! Perhaps the best remaining original example in existence. There is a wide variety of vintage and modern cars in Rick’s garage, along with his extensive collection of rare bicycles. With decades behind powerful engines in quality aircraft and an intense focus on cars since his teen years, he reports that the Clipper’s 125 HP straight-eight engine and precise 3-speed manual transmission, riding on a long wheelbase with a road-tuned suspension, create a highway experience that rivals his modern cars. Not bad for a car that is 78 years old. 
Just nine short years after Rick’s car was built, the last Packard rolled off the assembly line in Detroit. It was a very sad ending created by a combination of bad planning, a changing world, and fierce competition. The Clipper was the final and most dramatic model to come from a great company that simply could not transition from its dedication to building for the upper class in an expanding market that demanded mass production.
Today, Packard is the most popular car among the members of The Classic Car Club of America. The reality that there are no new Packards allows us to examine them in a defined context and it makes them even more special … just ASK THE MAN WHO OWNS ONE, Captain Rick.
