Find of the Week: 1951 Packard 300

James Ward Packard built the first car of many that would wear his name this week in 1899. Packard's cars would always be a little different from the mainstream, and the brand would eventually fade away, but the cars live on. Our Find of the Week this week comes from later in the company's history, but still looks great. It's a 1951 Packard 300 Touring Sedan.

James Ward Packard, along with his brother William and partner George Weiss built the company's first car November 6, 1899. Packard introduced some of the little things that made cars what they are today. Notably, the modern steering wheel. The company debuted the 12-cylinder car engine as well.

The brand started with luxury cars, with their first models competing with companies like Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Benz. A Packard cost upwards of $3,000, in an era where low-priced cars were in the $300-500 range. Between 1924 and 1930, Packard was the best-selling luxury brand in North America. Until the Great Depression started.

After World War II, Packard was in good shape financially, but no longer could build their top-end luxury cars. The tooling was damaged or gone. Depending on the rumour you believe, it was left outdoors and rusted, or was given away. That reduced the company's ability to set their top-level luxury cars apart from their mid-range cars, which devalued their top models.

Despite that, Packard still outsold Cadillac until 1950, even though those were mostly midrange cars, not top-trim models. But in 1950, the company's sales plummeted. Then-president George Christopher wanted mild changes to reverse the direction, but the rest of the board wanted all-new. The company ended up with a new president, and an all-new design.

The 1951 Packards were completely new. They changed dramatically from 1930's long, flowing styling to something much more contemporary. The cars were more squared, high-waisted, and had a one-piece windshield for the first time. There were even tailfins.

The lower trim 200 and 250 cars got a 3,099 mm wheelbase, but the premium 300 was longer. In the 1950s, expensive meant bigger, so the 300 was on a 3,226 mm wheelbase. The 300 was nearly the top, so it shared that dimension with the king of the hill 400 Patrician.

Packard still used a flathead engine that year. Not just that, but the eight cylinders were all in a row. The 5.4L straight-eight made 150 hp. Not huge numbers, but acceptable for the time.

The new cars sold well, jumping from 42,000 in 1950 to 101,000 in 1951. Almost 16,000 of those were 300 Touring Sedans like this one.

The 300 wasn't just longer than the 200 and 250, it had more features. The interior was more luxurious, with extras like a rear armrest, and "comfort-contoured cushions." It had standard vent windows for the front AND rear doors, not just the front like the baser cars. The brochures listed "hats on" headroom front and rear, which shows just how roomy this car is inside.

Our Find of the Week is for sale in Alvinston, Ontario, about an hour west of London. The 300 Touring Sedan is fitted with Packard's Ultramatic automatic transmission. It also has an AM radio, since FM didn't take off for another decade.

The seller says that this car has less than 65,000 km on the odometer. That's 40,344 miles if you're looking at the dash. The Arizona beige paint is one of the more sedate options on the colour list but still looks lovely. The interior looks immaculate, and that vintage CAA sticker looks perfect on the rear bumper.

If you're interested in a ready to go classic, and something that's different from the Fords and GM cars you see at every show, this 1951 Packard 300 could be what you're looking for.