'56 Packard Man

The above rendering by Carl Evers shows a natural evolution of the pre-war Clipper design. Shown below is a 1947 Clipper Custom Super Eight which was little changed from the pre-war car. The actual production 1948 Packard was an unhappy, dumpy design that earned the sobriquet “pregnant elephant” or “upside down bathtub.” Below the blue ’47 is a black ’48.

Designer and artist Carl Evers (1907-2000) came to the U.S. in 1947 from Sweden where he had worked as an auto illustrator . In the U.S., Evers became a famous illustrator and artist, producing illustrations for Argosy and other magazines. He also produced fine art, often using nautical themes. He produced these seven illustrations of ideas for the first post-war Packard.

A Roll Royce and Mercedes-Benz influence can be seen in some of them. It would have been interesting if these neo-classical designs had been produced, or parts of them incorporated into the post-21st series cars. Their styling would have been most attractive , especially with the vertical grille treatment.

The story of how these drawings survived is somewhat typical of other items rescued from the Packard trash bin. When Packard was shutting down, its design studio material was being discarded indiscriminately, much of it being burned at the Packard power house. The tale of Stylist Richard Teague smuggling Styling Department material out of the Packard plant in the trunk of his car is legendary. We are fortunate that these finely-rendered concept drawings survived.

Curbside Classic has published a series of photos of Car Dealerships.
Here is Ed Clancy FIAT Volvo: