Friday's Packard-driving Sweetheart of the Rodeo

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There’s no mystery about what this car is. It’s clearly a Packard; we would say a 1939 Packard Six convertible coupé. The Six was introduced in 1937 to serve as the entry-level Packard, while the extravagant eight- and 12-cylinder models were retained as the flagships of the fleet. The Six and the low-priced eight-cylinder 120 were not obscenely expensive compared to Fords and Chevrolets and they sold extremely well with middle-class businessmen. It was by thus economising that Packard was in a strong position by the end of the 1930s, while rivals Peerless and Pierce-Arrow couldn’t survive the Depression. What isn’t clear, though, is exactly what this one is doing in a game of cowboys and Indians.

We can only guess that it must be some sort of publicity photograph, although what it could be promoting is anyone’s guess. A Western film, perhaps? Is there a Hollywood starlet riding in the car somewhere? We can’t think of any films in which a Packard was so strangely employed. Maybe it’s promoting some sort of rodeo event? Again, it seems unlikely.

If you’ve got any other ideas, please do tell us.

Words: Zack Stiling

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