1941 Packard Coupe is unique and definitely a keeper
Packard cars in the 1920s and ’30s were considered by many to be the best cars in the world. They were favorably compared with RollsRoyce and MercedesBenz and better than any other American car. The first Packard was built in 1899 in Warren, Ohio, by James and William Packard, who called themselves the Ohio Automobile Co. They built 400 cars in the next four years and changed the company’s name in 1902 to the Packard Motor Car Co. They were luxury car builders from the beginning with a base price of $2,600 ($81,725 in today’s dollars), as compared to the respected Oldsmobile Runabout selling for $650 at the time.
Reportedly, Packard’s famous slogan, “Ask the man who owns one,” came about when a potential customer called James Packard’s office early on asking for information about the cars. His secretary asked Packard where to get information. The company hadn’t yet published sales brochures so Packard said to tell him to ask the man who owns one, and that became the company slogan for many years. Packard earned a loyal following among the wealthy and well-connected. In 1921 Warren Harding was the first U.S. president to be driven to his inauguration in a motor car, which was a Packard. Packard exported more cars in its class in the 1920s than any other manufacturer. Even Japan’s royal family owned 10 Packards at that time.
But the Great Depression in the 1930s was a difficult time for the company. Packard introduced medium-priced cars because sales of the very expensive, hand-built cars dropped drastically. Not everyone was poor during the Depression, but the very wealthy didn’t want to be seen flaunting their wealth driving or being driven in a big Packard. In 1935, Packard produced its first car priced at less than $1,000 ($20,189 today). They were a huge success in terms of sales, but they also diminished the Packard name’s status and prestige.
During World War II, Packard built airplane engines licensed from RollsRoyce that powered the famous P-51 Mustang fighter and were called “the Cadillac of the Skies” by the GIs. They also built engines for the PT boats, with each boat using three engines. Company management made some major bad decisions after the war, and Packard was no longer the “Standard of the World” in the auto industry. The last true Packard was built in Detroit in June 1956.
Pleasant Hill resident John Fornbacher owns this issue’s feature car, a 1941 Packard Coupe Model 110 with a six-cylinder engine. This model was one of the prewar medium-priced models that sold well but hurt the prestige of the brand, though it added muchneeded bucks to the bottom line. This coupe probably sold for about $1,100 ($20,697 today today) and offered as options a heater, radio, spotlight and even air conditioning. Fornbacher has owned this Packard since 1999.
“I was doing some military duty in the Sacramento area, and I had driven by and seen this car. At that time, I had a 1960 Buick and a 1955 Ford, and I wanted a prewar car. I ended up trading the guy for this car with my two cars. It was a lemon. The guy told me the engine was rebuilt, and the first time I took it on the road it broke down. I had a machinist look at it who told me, ‘Yes, it’s been rebuilt alright, in about 1953.’ ”
Fornbacher has since had the engine rebuilt and had the car repainted a period-correct two-tone green, which he believes was the original color. He had the interior beautifully redone to look like the sales brochure with the same intricate stitching used with the mohair fabric material.
The owner has done a lot of work on this car. The wiring was bad, and he found a man to correct that, but that was just the beginning. Like many restorations, one thing led to another.
“The next thing you know,” he said, “the body is off the frame, and we just went and did the whole nine yards. We tried to keep it 100% Packard and period-correct.”
One doesn’t get a job this size done quickly, and he has only had the car back for about two years. The restoration time was 10 or 11 years, and really it’s never done. Fornbacher doesn’t know how much he has invested in this project or what the car is worth today but thinks he has invested much more than the car’s current value. But he doesn’t care as he just loves the car, its lines and the way it drives and has no plans to sell.
This car is a driver as well as a show car. Fornbacher has taken it on trips with historical groups to various places of historical interest such as Calistoga and the wine country as well as to San Jose using the back roads. It’s unique and definitely a keeper.