The fascinating history of American cars . . .one story at a time.
The grille on this Chevy was part of the “Diamond Crown Speedline Styling” that was new for 1937. Chevy’s tagline was “The Complete Car – Completely New,” and other innovations like all-steel unisteel bodies by Fisher and new six-cylinder high-compression valve-in-head engines were enough to make Chevrolet the best-selling automobile that year.
Packard’s production numbers soared in 1937, and with a grille like this, it’s easy to see why. The Packard was offered in four models in ’37, the Twelve, the Super Eight, the 120 and the new Packard Six.
The Twelve was powered by a 473.3 cubic inch V-block engine. Both the Super Eight and the 120 had straight-eights, with 320 and 282 cubic inches, respectively, and the new Six featured a 237 cubic inch inline-six.
The Six was the bargain of the bunch with prices starting at just $795. Prices started at $945 for the 120 and $2,335 for the Super Eight. The Twelve was the luxury model with prices beginning at $3,420 (that’s around $60,000 in today’s dollars)!
Sources:
Kimes, Beverly Rae and Henry Austin Clark, Jr. Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. Krause Publications, 1985.
“Packard Announces Four Complete Lines of Cars for 1937.” The Detroit Free Press, 6 September 1936, p. 8.
Packard. Advertisement. Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph, 18 September 1936, p. 33.
Packard. Advertisement. The Enquirer [Cincinnati], 15 November 1936, p. 12.