1957 and 1958 Packards
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The 1957 and 1958 Packard lineup of automobiles were, in actual fact, Studebakers: mildly restyled, rebadged and given slightly more luxurous interiors. After the 1956 model year's production, the Packard factory was leased to the Curtiss-Wright corporation, ending the line of Packard-built cars. However, Studebaker still saw value in the Packard name, hoping that demand for a luxury car would eventually improve, and for the 1957 model year Studebaker took its top-of-the-line models, the Studebaker President, and dressed it up a little as a Packard. Taillights, headlight 'eyebrows', hubcaps, dash and interior were all Packard-styled. Two models were produced that year, a four-door Clipper Town Sedan and a station wagon Clipper Country Sedan. Sales were a low 4,809, almost all of the Town Sedan.
In order to give an engine of appropriate power for a Packard, a McCulloch supercharged version of Studebaker's 289 in³ (4.7 L) small-block V8 was used, giving 275 bhp (205 kW), equivalent to the Packard engines in use the year before. Since the Studebaker-bodied cars were quite a bit lighter than the previous year's Packards, the 1957 Packard range actually had quite exceptional performance for the time.
1958 saw the Packard line restyled to match the Studebaker changes for that year. A restyle by Duncan McRae attempted to give the Studebaker-Packard line the same exaggerated styling seen in that year's models by other manufacturers; quad headlights, tailfins, and lots of chrome. Studebaker's finances, however, dictated that these features be added as cheaply as possible, and the quad headlights were in pods affixed to the previous year's front fenders designed for two headlights. Large tailfins, differing between the Studebaker and Packard, were added to the existing styling. In addition, the 1958 Packards saw the use of a wide, low 'fishmouth' grille to further distinguish the Packards from their Studebaker cousins. Four Packard models were sold; a 4-door sedan, a 2-door hardtop coupe, a 4-door station wagon, and in addition the Packard Hawk, a modification of Studebaker's Golden Hawk with the fishmouth Packard grille. All but the Hawk had the somewhat troublesome supercharger removed.
Only 2034 of the three basic models were produced, in addition to the 558 Packard Hawks that were built. This was insufficient to keep the Packard range going, and 1958 was to be the last year of the Packard name.