1909 Packard Model 18

The Packard Model 18 represented the company's foray into the smaller car market, combining elegant designs, durability, and sensible engineering into a more affordable production car. The Packard Company was a decade old when it introduced its Model 18, and by this point in history, they were one of the premier manufacturers of the horseless carriage. At the time, Packard offered a single model - the Model 30. As the market continued to change and evolve, Packard found itself needing to broaden its portfolio. The Model 18 continued the tradition of the Model 30, offering a versatile chassis with an uncompromising commitment to quality, but in a scaled-down version at a more affordable price.

The Packard Model 18 was a new model for 1908 with body styles that included a Touring Car, Runabout, Limousine, and Landaulet. It was a successful model for the young company and used a 326 cubic-inch T-head four-cylinder engine delivering 18 horsepower (in French calibration) at 650 RPM. Both the Model 18 and Model 30 had three main bearings, float-feed carburetors, and a cast iron engine block. The Model 18 had solid valve lifters while the Model 30 had mechanical valve lifters. The Model 30's displacement size was 431.9 cubic inches and it developed 30 horsepower at 650 RPM. The Model 18 rested on a 112-inch wheelbase platform (the runabout had a shorter, 102-inch wheelbase) and the Model 30 resided on a larger, 123.5-inch platform (108-inch wheelbase for the runabout). Both the 18 and 30 were offered as a runabout, limousine, landaulet, tourer, and demi limousine. The Model 30 was also available as a Close-Coupled Tourer. Prices of the Model 18 ranged from $3,200 for the tourer and runabout to $4,300 for the Limousine. The Model 30 pricing began at $4,200 for the tourer and runabout and rose to $5,600 for the landaulet (even higher for the demi-limousine and close coupled tourer).

The engine on both vehicles was backed by a rear-mounted three-speed manual transmission and the suspension comprised of a solid front axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, while the back employed a live axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs. Mechanical brakes on two wheels provided the stopping power.

Packard produced 2,303 automobiles in 1909, of those, 802 were the Model 18. The Model 18 was introduced in the summer of 1908, and all of those produced in 1908 were considered 1909s. Production of the Packard Eighteen continued through 1912. Packard's entry-level model for 1913 was the Series 1-38 powered by an L-head six-cylinder engine that was cast in three blocks of two. It was the first Packard to be equipped with an electric starter and the first to have a left-hand drive configuration. Although it was the least expensive vehicle in the company's lineup, it was significantly more expensive than the Model 18, with prices that ranged from $4,050 to $5,300.

In 1932, Packard added a low-priced model to its lineup in an effort to stimulate sales in the wake of the Great Depression. It was called the Light Eight and it was unsuccessful, perhaps because it did not move far enough down on the pricing spectrum. In 1935, Packard introduced the One Twenty, another 'value' model, and this time, it was very successful, with nearly 25,000 examples built in its inaugural year. Inspired by the success of the One Twenty, Packard moved farther 'down market' with the introduction of the Packard Six, the company's first six-cylinder model since the late 1920s.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2009