Author: Norm Mort Publisher: David and Charles ISBN: 178711838X Category : Languages : en Pages : 235
Book Description
The independent automakers who had survived the depression of the 1930s had flexibility and enough capital from the war to be the first to launch all-new models for a car-starved nation. So lucrative was the American post-war car market that new automobile companies were also formed to cash in on the pent-up demand for new cars. This is their story told through text and the use of contemporary brochures, period literature, factory photos, road test info, and over 90 new, previously unpublished colour photos of restored examples to relate the importance of these historic vehicles.
Author: Stacy Perman Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1439190100 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 527
Book Description
Two wealthy and powerful men engage in a decades-long contest to create and possess the most remarkable watch in history. James Ward Packard of Warren, Ohio, was an entrepreneur and a talented engineer of infinite curiosity, a self-made man who earned millions from his inventions, including the design and manufacture of America’s first luxury car—the elegant and storied Packard. Henry Graves, Jr., was the very essence of blue-blooded refinement in the early 1900s: son of a Wall Street financier, a central figure in New York high society, and a connoisseur of beautiful things—especially fine watches. Then, as now, expensive watches were the ultimate sign of luxury and wealth, but in the early twentieth century the limitless ambition, wealth, and creativity of these two men pushed the boundaries of mathematics, astronomy, craftsmanship, technology, and physics to create ever more ingenious timepieces. In any watch, features beyond the display of hours, minutes, and seconds are known as “complications.” Packard and Graves spurred acclaimed Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe to create the Mona Lisa of timepieces—a fabled watch that incorporated twenty-four complications and took nearly eight years to design and build. For the period, it was the most complicated watch ever created. For years it disappeared, but then it surfaced at a Sotheby’s auction in 1999, touching off a heated bidding war, shattering all known records when it fetched $11 million from an anonymous bidder. New York Times bestselling author Stacy Perman takes us from the clubby world of New York high society into the ateliers of the greatest Swiss watchmakers, and into the high-octane, often secretive subculture of modern-day watch collecting. With meticulous research, vivid historical details, and a wealth of dynamic personalities, A Grand Complication is the fascinating story of the thrilling duel between two of the most intriguing men of the early twentieth century. Above all, it is a sweeping chronicle of innovation, the desire for beauty, and the lengths people will go to possess it.
Author: Arthur W. Einstein, Jr. Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 0786456612 Category : Transportation Languages : en Pages : 283
Book Description
A major force in the American automobile scene through the 1950s, Packard made a mark on American advertising as well. The cars themselves seemed built for promotion--the red hexagon in the hubcap, the yoke grille, and the half-arrow belt-line molding acted as a logo of sorts, setting a new standard in visual continuity and branding. The company's image became so firmly established, in fact, that Packard eventually ran advertisements which pictured the cars but purposely omitted the name, instead asking readers to "guess what name it bears." This book traces Packard's advertising history from 1900 through 1958, based on original research that includes several first-hand interviews with the people who made it happen. Filled with reproductions of Packard ads (some in color), the book looks beyond the surface to examine how the advertisements reflect and interpret the company's management and business convictions, how they were influenced by business conditions and competitive pressure, and how they changed with the times.
Author: Beverly Rae Kimes Publisher: Automobile Quarterly Publications ISBN: 9780971146815 Category : Automobile industry and trade Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Only the legendary Packard could command a book of such scope and expense. This monumental work has required ten years of research, documentation and photography. It represents many more decades of collecting Packard automobiles, facts, photographs, technical data and information to record for all time every aspect, every model, every achievement of the Packard motor car and the men who made its name an emblem and international byword for taste and refinement in automotive design and engineering. Over three years were spent in intensive writing, checking, cross-checking, rewriting, coordinating, editing, and winnowing thousands of rare and unpublished historic photographs. This volume represents the scholarly efforts of sixteen contributors and was written by ten highly qualified authorities on Packard lore.Winner of a Cugnot Award.
Author: Thomas McPherson Publisher: Enthusiast Books ISBN: 9781583882337 Category : Transportation Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Initially assembling its own complete vehicles, Henney mounted its premium-quality hearse and ambulance bodies on such diverse chassis as Essex, Ford, Lincoln, Pontiac, Pierce-Arrow, Oldsmobile, Velie—and at least one Austin. The harsh economic climate of the 1930s brought Henney and Packard together, Henney hitching its wagon to the Packard star to become the sole American professional car builder authorized to use the prestigious Packard commercial chassis. This exclusive arrangement eventually evolved to a point where—in addition to its famed funeral coaches and ambulances—the Henney Motor Company was also building seven-passenger sedans, limousines and concept cars for Packard as well as special limousines for the White House. After the Freeport, Illinois plant closed in 1955, the Henney name was resurrected for use on the first modern electric-powered automobile in America—the Henney Kilowatt. The only definitive book ever published on Henney and its fabled relationship with Packard, this book is also the story of a pioneering American company, its charismatic leaders, wide array of products and the unique segment of the motor industry in which it was involved.
Author: J. “Kelly” Flory, Jr. Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 0786452307 Category : Transportation Languages : en Pages : 1049
Book Description
From the resumption of automobile production at the close of World War II through the 1950s, the American auto industry would see the births and deaths of several manufacturers, great technological advances, and an era of dramatic styling as a prospering nation asserted its growing mobility. Cars of this period are among the most iconic vehicles ever built in the United States: the 1949 Ford, the remarkable Studebaker designs of 1950 and 1953, the 1955-1957 Chevrolets, the "Forward Look" Chrysler products, the ill-fated Edsel and many others. This comprehensive reference book details every model from each of the major manufacturers (including independents such as Kaiser-Frazer and Crosley but excluding very low-volume marques such as Tucker) from model years 1946 through 1959. Year by year, it provides an overview of the industry and market, followed by an individual report on each company: its main news for the year (introductions or cancellations of models, new engines and transmissions, advertising themes, sales trends etc.); its production figures and market status; and its powertrain offerings, paint colors and major options. The company's models are then detailed individually with such information as body styles, prices, dimensions and weights, standard equipment and production figures. Nearly 1,000 photographs are included.
Author: Norm Mort
Author: Jan P. Norbye
Author: Stacy Perman
Author: Will Bodine
Author: John Gunnell
Author: Arthur W. Einstein, Jr.
Author: Beverly Rae Kimes
Author: Herbert Asbury
Author: Thomas McPherson
Author: J. “Kelly” Flory, Jr.