A New Concept Of Power - 1955 Packard (Restored and upscaled to HD)

This is a promotional film for the new 1955 Packard V8. Showcasing the ability of the new V8 engine. The construction of the engine and testing it on the proving track.
The original film has color loss, so the film was recolored using AI to bring this rarely seen film back to life again. The film was also upscaled to HD.
I hope you enjoy the film

[@twinh53]

Another gem of a film. I don’t know where you find them, but keep them coming!

[@MatsCarVideos]

Thank you. I'll keep digging and see what other films I can find :)

[@thomassahagian2571]

I am 77 years young. Have enjoyed most 50 to 95 year cars. Without a doubt my latest find is a 55 Packard 400. 73000 miles quiet as a Rolex watch!

[@qmopar]

70 years ago. Wow. What a piece of Packard history. Sad to think it would be gone just a few years later. Thanks for sharing!

[@MatsCarVideos]

Glad you enjoyed it. There was so much potential there. Imagine what they would have been making today

[@SmittySmithsonite]

As a former auto mechanic that ran my own shop for 14 years, I can't even fathom a car company today that would put this kind of effort into a quality product. Today, automakers know there's, "An ass for every seat", and no matter how terrible the build quality or how many corners cut, there will be thousands of buyers going into debt for 3-9 years for it. Then when it turns to a pile of scrap in 10 years (IF they're that lucky) flat, they'll be back again for another one - they won't even bother fixing the engineering screwups of the past, since they're making money hand over fist! Amazing how far things went to hell in just 7 decades. 😢

[@Packard3spdOD]

Bravo! Especially cool to see Col Vincent there, too.

[@BELCAN57]

Sad to think that by 1957 Packard had closed it Detroit operations and moved to South Bend. I believe that this Packard V8 had some of the highest horsepower ratings in the industry.

[@MatsCarVideos]

The 1955 & 1956 Packards were made at South Bend. The v1956 Packard 374 CUI V8 with twin barrel produced 310hp at 4600RPM. It was the highest HP rating in the industry at that time.

[@qmopar]

@@MatsCarVideos Packard certainly was near the top, however by 1956, Chrysler’s Hemi was 354 cubic inches and developed 340 horsepower. It could even be had with an optional higher compression package making 355 horsepower.

[@MatsCarVideos]

That’s right. 1955 Packard had 275hp and by 1956 the hemi was 340hp. I completely forgot about that.

[@stublair6063]

The 1955 and 1956 Packards were made in the former Briggs Body Plant at the SW corner of Warren and Conner Ave on the east side of Detroit; this too small plant was one of many nails in Packard's coffin.

[@BELCAN57]

@@stublair6063 I read somewhere that the extremely cramped production line was one of the reasons that quality lagged in the 1955 and 1956 Packards.

[@wallyfronzaglio372]

Its hard to believe that a few bad corporate decisions took down such a great automobile

[@jamesbosworth4191]

It was more than a few. That 110/115 6 cylinder model was their first big blunder.

[@friendofdorothy9376]

This was very enjoyable and interesting to watch. But as another commentator said, you knew what was coming a few years later.

[@MatsCarVideos]

It was a sad end for such a great marque.

[@ambulet]

Where was Tom McCahill of Mechanix Illustrated? He wasn't invited? Great job on the clarity and colorization. Keep it up.

[@Ctrl-XYZ]

The colorization is awful, amateurish and distracting. A blurry pulsing mess.

[@TheGbeecher]

If only it was enough to save Packard...😢❤

[@charlesyoungblood1402]

So sad indeed !

[@Ctrl-XYZ]

Maybe repost this without the awful colorization? So distracting.

[@sebdupree1]

3:44-7:46

[@JackF99]

So what was it about Packard that caused them to fail in an exploding post-war market? Auto sales boomed in the fifties.

[@MatsCarVideos]

It was a number of bad decisions. Mainly the merger with Studebaker. Studebaker was in worse financial trouble than Packard. Studebkaer, Packard, Nash & Hudson were eventually meant to merge together. Unfortunately this didn't happen. If it did it may have resulted in a different story.

[@TheGbeecher]

Another victim of the 'Big Three'...😢❤

[@KCCardCo]

There was also a recall due to a faulty transmission. It ruined Packard's reputation.

[@jamesbosworth4191]

And a defective oil pump. Packard should have just stayed with 54's version of the Ultramatic. It worked.