Impressive 1939 Packard Super 8 Convertible Coupe

I live next to an arty town located around 60 miles (100 km) north of Seattle.  It attracts many visitors, some arriving in interesting automobiles.  Recently, while on my morning walk, a 1930s convertible passed us, but all I glimpsed was its rear end.  Fortunately, it pulled into a parking lot a few blocks ahead, and I was able to photograph it using my trusty iPhone.

A bit of research revealed that it was a Packard Super Eight convertible coupe from 1937.   In those days,  Super Eights had inline eight cylinder motors, and ranked right below V-12s in the Packard model hierarchy.  Its model designation was 1018, wheelbase 134 inches (3404 mm), and list price $2680.

The price was about four times as much as that of a '37 Ford DeLuxe convertible coupe.  Moreover, there was no 1937 convertible coupe with a comparable price aside from the non-supercharged Cord 812, listed at $2595 (a 1936 version's pictured below).  The Cadillac 70 convertible coupe for 1937 listed for $3005, while the 1936 version was $2695.  So that seems to have been the Packard's nearest competition.

Production of 1937 Super Eights totaled 1,828.  Given that there were 14 Super Eight models, including sedans that probably were the most popular, I doubt that convertible coupe production exceeded 200 cars.  (1937 Buick Century and Roadmaster convertible coupes amounted to less than ten percent of those series' cars, so there might have been only 125-150 Super Eight convertibles made.)

Gallery

1937 Packard Super Eight Convertible Coupe - D.B. Pittenger photos

The grille design is classic Packard.  The red hexagons on the bumper guards indicate that it's a 1937 model.

Atop the grille is what seems to be a radiator cap.  Atop it would normally be a "mascot" decorative sculpture.  I suppose the owner wisely keeps his locked up unless the car is on display at a show.

This car has a rumble seat  - "dickey" seat in the UK.  Note the two steps leading to it.

The car is impressively large and solid.  Note the door to a golf club compartment between the side door and rear fender.

The other side.  That's my wife taking in the grand scene.

1936 Cadillac 70 Fleetwood Convertible Coupe - Mecum Auctions photos
I couldn't find a photo of a 1937 Cadillac 70 convertible, so this '36 model with the same basic body will have to do.  Wheelbase is 131 inches (3327 mm).

More rounded than the Packard, so I assume it seemed a little more "modern" to car buyers at the time.

1937 Cadillac 60 Convertible Coupe - RM Sotheby's Auctions photo
A lesser, shorter Cadillac, showing '37 styling touches.

1936 Cord 810 Cabriolet - RM Sotheby's Auctions photo
Having front-wheel-drive, rare in the USA in those days, the sportier Cord was not really in competition with the aristocratic Packard.  Wheelbase is 125 inches (3175 mm), 9 inches (229 mm) shorter that the Packard.  But, as noted, the price was nearly the same.