Looky What I Found! 1938 Packard Coupe. Would like help/opinions as to value. I can make the owner an offer.

[bryankazmer]

The distinction between Jr and Sr just kept getting muddier. Packard had to decide what to share and what to differentiate. They did not have a corporate parent to cover losses. Lincoln and Cadillac would not have survived either without corporate backing and junior lines

 

In the 40-42 non-Clippers, the body basically interchanges (leave the subtle différences out) from the cowl back between the 110, 120, and swb 160. But each has different engines and trim. This is more differentiation than Lincoln Continental/Zephyr or Cadillac 61/62/60/63/LaSalle where the mechanicals are the same

 

I agree that the difference between an expensive and a middle price car decreased during the Classic Era, but it was not zero

[alsancle]

1 hour ago, Grimy said:

Unlike Pierce-Arrow 🙂 except for the Series 80 and 81 1925-1928.   I noticed you confined your remarks to Packards of the 1930s (good!) because the Packard Six of the 1920s was downmarket as well compared to the senior cars--and they provoked the Pierce 80/81.  And do you remember the anti-Packard Cadillac ads which sniffed (substantially, I don't have the exact quote), "The name Cadillac has never been applied to medium-priced cars," conveniently explaining the LaSalle name on a down-market Cadillac.  SO WHAT?????

 

Peter, each of us has some pardonable (or perhaps unpardonable, in your case) pride in their marque of choice, but methinks you are carrying this a bit too far and too often.

What about the "A" series cars of the mid 30s?   Definitely watered down Pierce Arrow, right?

[Grimy]

1 minute ago, alsancle said:

What about the "A" series cars of the mid 30s?   Definitely watered down Pierce Arrow, right?

For some strange reason unknown to me after all these years, Pierce appended an A to all their 1934 model numbers:  836A, 840A, 1240A, 1247A.  I know of no significance as the 1934 bodies were not carryovers from 1933.  The A was dropped for the virtually identical 1935s (836A series was dropped too), and the last number changed:  8s were 845, 12s were 1245, and LWB 12s were 1255.

[George Smolinski]

3 hours ago, Packard enthus. said:

I disagree.  The OP brought to the attention of this "thread" his interest in  Packards. 

You may disagree, but you are dead wrong! I wanted to know about the 1938 Packard coupe NOT about the pros and cons of certain Packards that qualify for certain events. At the risk of hurting feelings of some who replied, I'm not impressed by your vast knowledge of the whole Packard family of cars. Again, I only wanted to know about the one I posted, and now we're delving into Pierce Arrows! My freaking head is ready to explode trying to stuff all these non-relevant (to my 1938 Packard) facts into it. AGAIN, I'm not buying the car! If you want to discuss Packards, Pierce's, Caddilacs, Deusenberg's, or even Ramblers in general, please start your own thread.

[Frank DuVal]

Maybe you do not understand that other car companies operated the same way. 

 

Just what is similar between a Chevrolet and a Cadillac in the mid 50s? Certainly not the upholstery.  😉 And what is similar between the Chevy II car and the full sized Chevrolet in 1962? Entirely different cars built on different assembly lines (usually, there may be exceptions). 

 

So Packard was doing the same thing in an earlier time. Sort of trying the Alfred P. Sloan work them up from the bottom end car to the upper end car as they earn money. Just like Toyota (and other car companies) is doing for the last 30 years. And there are those that say the 110 and 120 series kept Packard alive during the depression. So they did not go the way of Duesenberg, Pierce Arrow, etc. 😁 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

11 hours ago, George Smolinski said:

You may disagree, but you are dead wrong! I wanted to know about the 1938 Packard coupe NOT about the pros and cons of certain Packards that qualify for certain events. At the risk of hurting feelings of some who replied, I'm not impressed by your vast knowledge of the whole Packard family of cars. Again, I only wanted to know about the one I posted, and now we're delving into Pierce Arrows! My freaking head is ready to explode trying to stuff all these non-relevant (to my 1938 Packard) facts into it. AGAIN, I'm not buying the car! If you want to discuss Packards, Pierce's, Caddilacs, Deusenberg's, or even Ramblers in general, please start your own thread.

 

  Good for you, George.   Just some plain answers?

 

  Although,  might get boring around here if everyone stuck to that principal.

 

  Ben

[60FlatTop]

I posted two comments. The very pragmatic list of pre-purchase questions is still there. The devil made me write the irreverent one that is gone. That Jr/Sr stuff will follow the car with any owner. It would be like the car I own and just stay away from the aficionados with. Take a nice ride an solitude. Dita Von Teese sold her 120. Probably too many humorists said "Here comes the Donut Lady". Funny the first time but it gets old.