Wheels
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Packard Eight
Hood ornaments have mostly vanished on modern vehicles. Which made me wonder - what was their origin?
On early automobiles, temperature gauges were used on the radiator cap. A mounted hood ornament soon replaced it. Since the seventies, fixed hood ornaments are no longer legal, due in part to safety regulations. But the art of the hood ornament (shown here with art deco influence) was in vogue in the 1920's and 1930's.
Like the Packard Twelve, the Eight was pretty awesome. It was a V8 within Packard's luxury line of autos which competed with Rolls Royce.
Packard was started in Warren, Ohio where my father lived for a short time. I grew up in nearby Akron and once worked on a corporate video for Packard Electric that included an early automobile sequence.
Having a few loose ties triggered my intrigue to read up on the company. Interesting story of how a corporation survived the Great Depression selling luxury cars and creating innovations such as air conditioning. Packard was the top luxury brand between 1924 and 1930. This model was from probably from the early 1930's.
