Christian manz
The pressure to create a special version on a very low budget that would attract attention at various auto shows forced Packard's new chief designer, Richard A. Teague, to invent something new. He then created a type of hardtop -hard roof- that protected an inverted rear window; Or, to put it in other words, he devised a rear window protected by a roof that protruded overhead as if it were a cornice. Quite the opposite of conventional solutions in which an enveloping and outwardly curved glass was used.
Richard A. Teague replaced his predecessor John Reinhart in 1951. He was both a genius designer and a marketer who had previously worked for Kaiser, where he drew a pre-Henry J economy car, and also for General Motors. On the other hand, he used his time to make drawings and illustrations for magazines, thus making it on the cover of famous publications such as Road & Track.
The Packard years were lived between excitement and disappointment, as the company, once the creator of unique and world-renowned automobiles, was in serious financial trouble. As a rule, he had to adjust his creativity. Packard worked with very low budgets, although without ceasing to demand the maximum from its designers who had to create novelties with little money. Teague knew that it was important to stand out with new, groundbreaking concepts, as it was essential to continue attracting customers to the battered American house.
At that time, although the Caribbean model was already underway, the luxury brand was on the hunt for a show car that, on the same basis, might attract attention. Faced with this desire, the designer created the Balboa prototype through which he intended to refresh the hardtop niche. The car would be the typical concept car, not intended for mass production but tremendously attractive at trade shows and shows. A eye catcher in every rule, and it is that already in those years the manufacturer that could not show a prototype did not sell equally the models that it did sell.
Marketing also helped fulfill the mission: Packard created a special Balboa catalog - now a highly sought after piece - and added the magical letter X to its name simply because of its attractive and challenging sound. It was emphasized that the saloon car had been chosen as a candidate for the car with the best design, safety and comfort by Fawcett Publications, one of the country's authorities in terms of modern lifestyle and avant-garde design.
Packard also spoke in his facsimile of all the great advantages of his unique rear window: It extolled the greater height of the rear seats, the reduction in heating inside the cabin due to the protection against the sun's rays and the fact that it was also impossible for snow to accumulate on top. Another incentive, which although it was not even put into practice in the prototype, was that of superior ventilation thanks to its folding or simply tilt-and-turn character.
Three years later Teague would repeat this “cornice” concept in another show car, the Predictor, 5,64 meters long, only two doors and 1,37 meters high. With this car it was wanted to show that Packard was still an emblem of luxury, even despite its recent merger with Studebaker, which in turn was sold to the Curtiss-Wright consortium in the process of concentration to which small North American brands were subjected. in the fifties.
The inverted rear window, protected by a large hard roof -which was certainly not the most striking part of the model-, could be lowered en route, and the entrance to such a singular thing was facilitated by the rotation of the seats once the door was opened. and by segments located on the roof that slid backwards. A whole foresight… what the Packard, unfortunately, never had.
It was necessary to wait until 1959 to see the Z line again - which was what the new moon was called - in two vehicles totally opposite in character. On the one hand Lincoln, the premium division of Ford America, decided that its 1960 model would take it in the sumptuous Sedan, Continental Landau and Continental Coupé versions. It consisted of three pieces: a central one, very large, and two small, one on each side. The first could be lowered with the push of a button on the dashboard, thereby dramatically increasing passenger compartment ventilation.
