1932 Packard: Extending the Brand Theme

A while ago I wrote an e-book about automobile brand identification themes -- you can see the link on the right-hand panel.  I noted that the strongest visual continuity over time would usually be found in luxury brands, an important example being Packard.

Not long ago I visited the Nethercutt museum in Sylmar, California that featured many luxury cars from the 1920s and 1930s.  One such was a 1932 Packard Twin-Six (V-12) Convertible Roadster with a body by Dietrich.

When reviewing the photos I took, I noticed an interesting detail that I had been aware of in times past, but had forgotten.  I'll explain in the captions of the images below (click on them to enlarge).


Gallery

1934 Packard Super Eight Coupe Roadster, RM Sotheby's photo.  Packards had three main identification elements, at least two of which were present at any time.  The car shown above features all three: (1) the ox-yoke motif at the upper part of the grille, (2) the pen-nib arrow along the side of the hood, and (3) red hexagons on the hub caps.

This 1951 Packard 400 retains all three items, though the grille form is slightly stylized to accommodate early 1950s styling fashions.

Now for some 1932 Packards similar to the featured car.  This is a Rumble Seat Roadster.

Here is another Roadster.  All three brand elements are seen here.

The Convertible Roadster by Dietrich as found in the museum.

Again, the three brand elements car be found in this photo.  But there is a fourth item -- a variation on the grille theme.  Look carefully at the headlight bezels.  They are not uniformly shaped all around.  And the headlight glass is not flat or uniformly bulged.  That glass comes to a shallow V in plan view mimicking the form of the grille, and the bezel conforms to this.  Moreover, the bezels are slightly hooded in an irregular departure from a smooth transition.  This transition  is actually a subtle evocation of the upper shape of the grille opening.

Front view of the car.  If you look carefully at the headlight bezels you might detect their echo of the upper grille form.