Packard first road testIn 1899, James Packardand his brother, William Doud Packard, had finished building a car of their own design, and gave it a road test on the streets of Warren, Ohio. As a mechanical engineer, when he was dissatisfied the Winton car he had had bought, and gave his criticsms to the manufacturer, it is said that Alexander Winton gave him a curt reply suggesting that he build his own, if he thought he could do better. It took fourteen months for the Packard brothers, with two men hired from Winton, to produce what became known as the Packard Model A. It had high wire wheels, was steered by a tiller rather than a wheel, and was powered by a single-cylinder engine under the seat. Packard had invented the automatic spark advance as an improvement. He sold the car for $1250, and thus began in business.« |
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