Citizens Motorcar Company

We're currently on a "southern" U.S. road trip from NH to FL and posting about sites seen & foods sampled along the way. This post is about a stop in Dayton, OH.

Before I post about the Packard auto museum we toured in Dayton, here's some (very) condensed info about this innovative U.S. auto maker's in business from the 1900s through the mid-1950s. The Packard automobile was at one time called America’s most luxurious vehicle. It led the U.S.market in that area surpassing both the Cadillac, produced by General Motors and the Lincoln autos made by Ford Motor Co.

James and William Packard

Brothers James and William Packard, founded Packard Motor Car Co. in 1899 in their native Warren, Ohio. James had drawn a “horseless carriage” as far back as 1893, but financial difficulties prevented the brothers from building their first automobile. In 1900, they applied for a patent for an innovative car design with a flexible shaft drive replacing the chain drive. The first Packard automobile was released in 1899 and the Ohio Automobile Company was formed in 1900. James is credited with coining the expression that the company used in promotions. When asked about the dependability of his autos, he once replied, Ask the man who owns one meaning that the quality of the car was so great that its owner would vouch for it. Afterwards, that statement became closely associated with Packard automobiles in its advertisements, brochures and later in dealerships.

It's been said that Ford Motor Company founder, Henry Ford, designed a line of "boxy" cars geared towards the average car owners. By comparison, Packard autos unabashedly catered to the elite buyer as no expense was spared in making every car regal. Here's some examples of the  luxury Packard models seen in the museum. Even prominent (and wealthy) Ford shareholders preferred to drive a Packard car according to informational placards in the museum. (Unfortunately, I can't recall the names cited.)

These luxury models were designed to be chauffeur-driven with the well-to-do owners enjoying the scenery in back seats that resembled comfortable furniture rather than auto interiors. 

Detroit factory exhibit in Packard Auto Museum

In 1902, the company name was changed to Packard Motor Car Company and the growing company relocated to Detroit, MI, in 1903. The 3-1/2 million square foot Packard plant on East Grand Boulevard was designed by noted architect Albert Kahn, considered the foremost industrial architect of his time and often called "the architect of Detroit." Situated on nearly 40 acres, it was, at that time, the most advanced auto factory in the world. 

The Packard factory was the first industrial building in Detroit to use reinforced concrete to replace wood and provide better fire protection, but not until Packard's #10 building, then previous ones were renovated. By 1910, the largest US. auto plant employed 40,000 workers at its peak. The last Packard automobile was built in 1954. The abandoned and dilapidated plant was sold at auction for $405,000 in 2013. Its buyer plans to develop it for alternate uses.

That shortened Packard history resulted from our visit to the Packard Museum in Dayton, OH. It's a unique experience in that this is the only car museum located in an authentic dealership (according to everything we read). The building was constructed in 1917 and was the city’s premier dealership and it was also designed by architect Albert Kahn. The "official name of the museum is “The Citizens Motorcar Company,” after the name of the original dealership, but it's more widely known as America's Packard Museum. 

The museum has received accolades from Car Collector magazine which named it one of the "Top Ten" automotive museums. Also, The Society of Automotive Historians awarded it the James J. Bradley Award for "exemplary efforts" in preserving motor vehicle resource materials. Only six other U.S. museums had previously received the award.

The museum was founded in 1991 by Robert Signom Jr, a Dayton attorney and car collector, as a tribute to his father. The elder Signom lost a green 1928 Packard six-cylinder convertible coupe during the Depression. The younger Signom saw a "For Sale" classified ad for a green Packard in an OH paper. 

He asked his father if anything might identify the car as the one he'd owned and learned about a slit made in the rear upholstery for golf clubs. Signom saw the car and found the slit. The car had Packard serial number plates that were imprinted with the name of the delivering dealer, the Citizens Motorcar Company, Dayton, OH, where his father had bought it. 
That car was the first in Signom's Packard collection and is included in the museum which grew from this first car. The collection was housed in warehouses around Dayton until 
Signom acquired and rehabilitated the long-vacant dealership on Ludlow St. which was the start of the world's sole restored Packard dealership operating as a museum. 

The museum features over 50 automobiles on display in an Art Deco showroom, service department and an additional pavilion added in 1936. 

The cars cover Packard’s history from the company's early days before WWI to its 1950s demise. The original porcelain Packard sign was found in the basement, restored and hangs on the corner of the building’s exterior like it did so many years ago.

There's a basement, not open to visitors, where specialized mechanics work on restoring and maintaining the cars to keep them in running condition. (Who wouldn't enjoy a ride in one of these classics? )

Many of these museum cars while unrestored are nowhere near looking deteriorated. In fact, they appeared to be in better condition than some current "older" autos. Most of the displayed cars have maintained their original colors and show normal signs of use since most were driven and used before being donated or purchased. 

The museum is not just about cars, there's also artifacts from the Packard Motorcar Company, such as neon signs, tools, and repair parts on display. The back of the showroom has a row of in-floor hydraulic lifts that still function and ceiling-mounted hose reels for oil and grease servicing. 

During World War II, when auto manufacturers geared efforts towards the war, Packard built aircraft and marine engines. The company built its own version of the Merlin engine, the V1650, which powered the P-51 Mustang ironically known as The Cadillac of the Skies. It also built 1,200-HP Packard V-12 engines that powered the legendary PT boats of WW II  and were designed by Jesse Vincent, Packard's long-time chief engineer.  (I failed to get photos of these.) 

Sitting on pallets in the service area is the original stonework from the two-story entrance to Packard’s Detroit headquarters. It's planned for a future museum expansion. 

It was the beautiful styling and condition of these cars that captured our attention during our visit. Who wouldn't enjoy a ride in one of these convertibles?

We learned that Packards are prized by collectors, partly due to their short 50-year production span. The cars have a following for Packard's dedication to craftsmanship in the first half of the 20th century. The company was known to design well-engineered autos and pioneered many safety and convenience features like the modern steering wheel, the first production 12-cylinder engine, and air-conditioning in a passenger car. (We're thankful for that last feature on this road trip.)

The 1928 Jesse Vincent Speedster (center below) was used by Vincent to commute from his home. It was capable of 129 mph and served as a production prototype for the 626 Speedster that Packard introduced with minimal advertising in 1929. The 626 wasn't a success, few customers would spend $5,000 on a pleasure car after the stock market crash.

A number of coach builders built custom bodies on Packard chassis and helped create Packard's stylish image. One well-known designer was Howard "Dutch" Darrin, who  designed and built customized Packards for celebrities that included Clark Gable, Dick Powell, and Rosalind Russell. (We found out that he was also a NJ native like ourselves.) The museum features several of Darrin’s highly stylized models including this 1939 Victoria Convertible, a real beauty. 

After WW II was over, Packard continued in business. But several factors caused business to decline. First of all, they chose not to have separate styling for their more expensive models. It was now very hard to tell a Six from and Eight. They also continued to move downmarket, producing models for cab drivers. Grenville's grandfather owned one similar to this model used in his South Orange, NJ taxi business.

Looking at the details on these museum cars, we noticed that most of the Packards featured a distinctive hood ornament. Checking online, I learned that auto historians credit Packard Motor Car Co. with patenting 28 hood ornaments (or mascots) — more than any other American car maker.  


The Goddess of Speed ornament is shown with arms outstretched holding a disc, symbolic of a tire. It was one of automotive's "Flying Lady" ornaments crafted in the Art Deco style, designed in 1938 and based on Nike, the divine charioteer of Greek mythology. This hood ornament adorned hoods of the most distinctive Packard automobiles.

The “bird” hood ornament was introduced as a deluxe hood ornament in the early 1930s and used until 1957. Originally depicted with wings upright, it went through several design changes; wings went from an upright position to a swept back, stylized form in the 1950s. 

As evidence that these hood ornaments are still collectible, this earlier model "bird" hood ornament was seen on a Chevrolet truck advertising, appropriately enough, a scrap metal business. This photo was taken at a gas stop in KY.

The American Packard Museum isn't the only one in the state of OH. There's another one, the National Packard Museum is in Warren, OH, home of the Packard brothers and where they started their first company. It includes vehicles owned by the Packard family, and is housed in a more conventional and modern facility. We would have enjoyed touring it, but didn't have time for the 4-hour drive. Hopefully, it's a future road trip stop. (Of course, there will be future road trips.)