Packard 180

File:1941 Packard 180.JPG

1941 Packard 180 touring sedan

The Packard 180 was introduced for the 1940 model year (18th series) by the Packard Motor Car Company to replace the discontinued Packard Twin Six as their top-of-the-line luxury model. The correct name of the model was Custom Super Eight One-Eighty. The car was derived from the Packard Super Eight One-Sixty with which it shared the complete running gear including the in-line eight-cylinder, 356-cubic-inch (5,830 cc) engine that developed 160 horsepower. It was advertised as the most powerful eight-cylinder engine offered by any automobile manufacturer in 1940. (By contrast, the Cadillac 346 cubic inch V-8 developed 150 hp). It replaced the Packard Eight, and was replaced by the Packard Super Eight.

Packards of all series (110, 120, 160, 180) shared similar body styling in 1940 (which some later said led to a "cheapening" of the once-exclusive luxury marque), using the same bodies with hoods and front fenders of different length to meet their respective chassis. Thus the 160 and 180 got identical bodies. However, the 180s featured finer interior detailing with the best fabrics, leather and carpeting available. Packard used a special woolen ceiling in these cars only which was sewn longitudinally. Packard built the partition in its Limousines in a way that there was no hint of it when the partition glass was lowered, allowing the owner to use the car by himself as a sedan (thus the designation "Sedan Limousine" by Packard).

In 1940, Packard made air conditioning an option. It was developed by the Henney Motor Company with whom Packard had a long lasting business connection and used on Henney bodied ambulances as early as 1938. It was the first time that A/C was available on a stock automobile.

In an exclusive agreement with Packard since 1937 until Henney's demise in 1954, Henney provided bodies for Packards's ambulances, hearses and flower cars, and they often provided special custom body work for passenger cars. The pre-WWII Henney models usually had 160-180 trim but were actually on the Packard 120A 156" wheelbase chassis with the smaller 288 cubic inch engine although there were also 160 and 180 versions available.

There were minor styling changes in the 1941 and 1942 models (19th and 20th series), the most notable of which was the moving of the headlights into the fenders. Also for the first time, running boards could be deleted with a rocker panel put in their place to cover the chassis, and two-tone paint schemes were available.

The final 180s rolled off the Packard assembly line in February, 1942, as World War II brought a halt to civilian automobile production. There have been rumors that machinery was transferred to the Soviet Union, and production continued until 1959 as the ZIS-110. However, according to James Ward's book The Fall of Packard, page 46, he found no supporting evidence in the Packard archives of such a transfer. Also, the ZIS-110 shares no sheet metal with any Packard, despite the fact that its external decor elements were intentionally designed to heavily resemble pre-war Packards, favoured by Stalin.

The Packard 180 was also the first car to have power windows.

References

• Ward, James A. The Fall of the Packard Motor Car Company, Copyright 1995, Page 46