1st Concours d'élégance Paleis Het Loo 1999

The Packard One Twenty that appeared in 1935 was the car that moved the factory to real mass production. It was named after its 120 inch wheelbase (305 cm) and sold for almost half the price of its unsuccessful Light Eight predecessor. The One Twenty was the perfect car for those who had always wanted to drive a Packard, but couldn't afford one. And this way it became a success: in its first year of production it sold just under 25,000 times; a figure unfamiliar to Packard till then.
This new model was largely designed and developed by ex-General Motors employees; people very familiar with mass production and marketing. Styling was conventional but modern; it was streamlined, rounded and relatively daring for a Packard. Engine was a contemporary, so-called L-head, straight 8 of 4213 cc and 110 hp. Top speed was just under 140 kph.
The One Twenty was available in a number of standard factory produced body styles; here you see the convertible coupe model.

And here we are about 14 years later in the Packard history with the streamlined first series 1949 Super Eight. Later that year the second series was introduced, which can be recognized by a chrome trim strip running from front to back on the waist of the body instead of the strip at the bottom like you see here.
1949 was one of the best years ever for Packard, in total about 116,000 cars were sold; an unthinkable amount twenty years earlier in the company's history. The styling of this 22nd series (confusing isn't it? the second 1949 series was Packard's 23rd series) wasn't very well-liked, but in the post-war America of that day almost any car could be sold and the quality brand name of Packard insured sufficient appeal.
The Super Eight range consisted of luxurious large models only topped by the Custom Eight line. The chassis still hailed back from the old One-Twenty models, including the wheelbase for the sedan models, but the engine was new. Now a 5356 cc straight 8-cylinder with five main bearings was fitted, offering a fine 145 hp. The 120 inch wheelbase Super Eight could only be had as a sedan like on the picture, as a club sedan and as a convertible coupe. About 7983 Super Eights of the 1949 first series were produced.

Panhard et Levassor from France was one of early automotive pioneers with an impressive history that runs from 1889 till 1967, the year that the Citroen company ended the existence of this most notable manufacturer. The X19 model from 1912 marked an important step for the company. Panhard et Levassor were impressed with the Knight patented sleeve-valve engine design and with the X19 they made the complete change from normal to sleeve-valve engines for all their models. From then on the P & L logo was accompanied by an small "s" on either side meaning "sans soupapes" which is "without valves" in English.
The engine of the X19 was a 4-cylinder 2614 cc unit with separated cylinder pairs placed in line on the crank case (sometimes called "bi-block" configuration). It produced some 15 hp @ 1200 rpm and the rear wheels were driven by a cardan shaft. Depicted is a 1912 Panhard & Levassor X19 with excellently restored 2-seater roadster bodywork.

Like Cadillac, Lincoln and Packard Pierce-Arrow was one of America's great luxury car marques. The company was renown for meticulous craftsmanship and refined luxury, but also for extreme conservatism. That's why the company was already in serious trouble by 1925. In 1928 Studebaker bought this prestigious company in an attempt to expand into the luxury car market as General Motors (Cadillac) and Ford (Lincoln) had done before. As a result the new Eight model was introduced in 1929; until then the company had relied on outdated and extremely expensive big sixes.
The new Eights were a success and Pierce-Arrow produced some 9700 cars in 1929, more than twice the amount produced in 1928. A wide range of body types were available on a number of different wheelbases. Most cars were built to customer specifications and prices were exorbitant: up to ten times that of a contemporary Ford Model A. The straight eight engine with nine main bearings was available in three types: a 5569 cc 115 hp, a 5995 cc 125 hp and a top of the line 6306 cc 132 hp version. The 1929 model Eight did much to restore Pierce-Arrows's waning glory and continued to do so in the early 1930s. The wonderful sedan model on the picture gives you a good impression of the appeal of these cars.

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