Packard Caribbean: The swan song of a glorious American marque

摘要

IT WAS THE BEGINNING of the end for Packard. The once great manufacturer of elegant vehicles for the ruling class was struggling to survive as the postwar era saw bourgeois arrivistes trading up to Cadillac, Lincoln, and Imperial from lesser General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler nameplates. Packard management looked to a halo car to cast a modern glow on the marque, which had long deferred introducing a V-8 and was perceived as stodgy and old-fashioned. The new entry was presaged by the Packard Pan American concept that dazzled the auto show circuit in 1952. Dreams turned to reality in '53, when the Caribbean came to market. Packard's sportiest car was based on the standard Cavalier convertible, with custom touches transforming it into a line-topping stunner.