Packard (formerly the Packard Motor Car Company) was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.

One of the “Three Ps” – alongside Peerless Motor Company, and Pierce-Arrow – the company was known for building high-quality luxury automobiles before World War II. Owning a Packard was considered prestigious, and surviving examples are found in museums, car shows, and automobile collections.

Packard vehicles featured innovations, including the modern steering wheel, air-conditioning in a passenger car, and one of the first production 12-cylinder engine used during World War I to power warplanes.

During World War II, Packard produced 55,523 units of the two-stage/two-speed supercharger equipped V-12s engines under contract with Rolls-Royce. This updated engine powered United States Navy PT boats.

After the Second World War, Packard struggled to survive as an independent automaker against the domestic Big Three (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler). Packard merged with Studebaker in 1953 and formed the Studebaker-Packard Corporation.

Packard had one advantage that some other luxury automakers did not: a single production line. By maintaining a single line and interchangeability between models, Packard was able to maintain low costs. Packard did not change models as often as other manufacturers.

Rather than introducing new models annually, Packard began using its own “Series” formula for differentiating its model changeovers in 1923 borrowing a strategy from GM called planned obsolescence. The new model series did not debut on a strictly annual basis, with some series lasting nearly two years, and others lasting as brief as seven months.