Packard One-Twenty

Packard One-Twenty
1936 Packard 120 Convertible Victoria by LeBaron
Overview
Manufacturer	Packard
Model years	1935–1937 1939–1941
Assembly	Packard Automotive Plant, Detroit, Michigan, United States
Body and chassis
Class	Full-size luxury car
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive

First generation
1937 Packard One-Twenty Touring Sedan
Overview
Model years	1935–1937
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door coupé 2-door convertible 2-door sedan (1935 only) 4-door sedan
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Related	Packard Eight
Powertrain
Engine	257 cu in (4.2 L) I8 (1935) 282 cu in (4.6 L) I8 (1936–37)
Transmission	3-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	120 in (3,048.0 mm)

Second generation
1941 Packard One-Twenty Touring Sedan
Overview
Model years	1939–1941
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door coupé 2-door convertible 4-door sedan 4-door convertible 4-door station wagon (1941 only)
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Powertrain
Engine	282 cu in (4.6 L) I8
Transmission	3-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	Models Series 1701, 1801, 1901 (1939–41): 127 in (3,225.8 mm) Series 1702 (1939): 148 in (3,759.2 mm) Series 1801A Chassis (1940): 160 in (4,064.0 mm)
Length	Models Series 1701 and 1801 (1939–40): 200.75 in (5,099.0 mm) Series 1702 (1939): 221.5 in (5,626.1 mm) Series 1801A Chassis (1940): 233.75 in (5,937.2 mm) Series 1901 (1941): 206.25 in (5,238.8 mm) Series 1901 Station Wagon (1941): 216 in (5,486.4 mm)

The Packard One-Twenty (also known as the One Twenty and 120) is an automobile produced by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, from 1935 to 1937 and from 1939 through the 1941 model years. The One-Twenty model designation was replaced by the Packard 200.

The One-Twenty signified the first time that Packard had entered into the highly competitive mid-priced eight-cylinder car market. Packard enthusiasts view the production of the One-Twenty and the Six/One-Ten models as the start of Packard's losing its hold on the market as the premier American luxury automotive brand. It was a marketing strategy shared with GM's LaSalle, the Chrysler Airstream, and the Lincoln-Zephyr. It was introduced after Rolls-Royce brought to market the Rolls-Royce 20, which was manufactured between 1922 and 1929, and replaced by the Rolls-Royce 20/25 which was built between 1929-1936.

The introduction of the One-Twenty (and later the Six/One-Ten models) was a necessary move to keep Packard in business during the final years of the Great Depression, expanding on an earlier approach with the Packard Light Eight. Branding the One-Twenty a Packard afforded buyers the cachet of owning a Packard, a name long regarded as one of America's most prestigious cars. Other reasons the company decided to forgo the development of a companion brand name to sell the less expensive models may have been linked to its single production line capability at its Grand Avenue manufacturing plant or to the expense of launching a new brand of automobile. It also ushered in a novel advertising approach, commissioning an advertising "jingle" called "When Heaven Was at the Corner of Sycamore and Main".

This car introduced the independent front suspension to the Packard line. Its so-called "Safe-T-Flex" suspension was an unequal upper and lower A-arm type with the largest possible lower A-arm composed of two different arms bolted together at a ninety-degree angle.