1957 Packard Clipper
For the 1957 model year, Studebaker-Packard took its top-of-the-line model, the President, and added a revised grille and taillights along with a machine-turned look dashboard and called the car the Packard Clipper. Two models were produced in 1957, a four-door Town Sedan and a station wagon Clipper Country Sedan. Taillights were borrowed from the 1956 Clipper, while the headlight 'eyebrows', hubcaps, dashboard and interior were all Packard styled (In fact, most were merely styled to give the "Packard look" while fitting onto a Studebaker, but a few actually were leftover Packard parts).
When Packard dealers saw the resulting car at regional previews, the response was quick, angry and loud. Many dealers felt the Clipper was too similar to the Studebaker on which it was based and dropped Packard completely. Sales were a low 4,809, almost all of which were the Town Sedan. Critics bestowed the less than positive name "Packardbaker" on the cars.
In order to produce 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 (and likewise used in the Studebaker Golden Hawk). 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.
Writer and auto historian Richard Langworth has noted that while these cars weren't truly Packards, they were, however, very good Studebakers.
Read more about this topic: 1957 And 1958 Packards