Paul McKeehan's "Last Packard" (TW 8-02)

[56H-Y6]

The Cadillac dealer should have recognized the Photoshopped images utilized a '90's FWD Cadillac as the basis. It was a hoax worthy of the old saw about FDR pushing Packard to transfer their Senior body dies to the Russians.......

[Warren Webb]

At the time I was working at the Torrance California Cadillac dealership & showed the article to the owner. He was a Packard dealer (so he had said) back in the day & found it interesting but said little else. Part of me wished it was real & the other part didn't. I feel the same way today. At least we still have the Predictor.

[56Golden]

Here ya' go, Mike: Note the caption, describing it as a running and driving car in South Bend at the time!


BP

Another 'tip-off' of sorts is leaves on the trees. In the 68 years I lived in South Bend I never saw leaves on trees like that in DECEMBER! On the side of credibility though; the wrought iron fence and brick building in the background are very much like at the elite Stanley Clark School in South Bend. Stanley Clark School is on the Paul G. Hoffman Estate (former Studebaker President and Chairman of the Board). The school first opened at that location for the 1964/65 school year. If one wanted to make a "huge impression" with other rich and/or famous parents when picking up your son at Stanley Clark, driving up with one of these babies would definitely do the trick!!!

[Frank Starr]

So who actually authored the article? Did McKheehan actually write it (didn't seem like his writing style), or did he just provide the story and 'someone' ghost-wrote it? And who did the Pix?


Art???

[S2DSteve]

Well the person who perpetuated the fraud was Paul McKeehan. Really sad considering he has legitimate credentials. I talked to him in '03 at Sacramento, and he was still insisting the story was legit. I'm not a psychologist, but I'm thinking he just wanted one last "big thing" to add to his legacy before checking out.

Steve Hudson
The Dalles, Oregon
1937 Dictator Flatback sedan (for sale)
1949 "GMOBaker" 1-T Dually (workhorse)
1953 Commander Convertible (show & go)
1953 Champion Starliner (custom/rod project)
1954 Champion Coupe (daily driver)
1960 Hawk (future project?)

[55s]

I was also taken in. It was a story that had a logical writer, and said a lot of logical things. Paul had made some past neat cars (58 hardop Hawk), and there was no reason to distrust the man.

Prior to this, I had also heard of a similar story about a developmental Packard.

Apparently there really was such a car, but very few pictures were taken, so someone created new pictures with photoshop. Bumpers were "airbrushed" in. Other ex-employees from the factory say there was no way that the motor could be fashioned in the way Paul said.

Kind of a sad story, because I really did want to BELIEVE.

Paul R

[JDP]

I figured it our between the mailbox and the house and e-mailed Art asking if it should have been on the April issue as a April Fool's piece. We dissected the entire photoshop scam on the Studebaker news group for a few weeks as did the Packard club.

JDP/Maryland
63 R2 SuperHawk (Caesar)
spent to date $54,758.75
64 R2 GT (Sid)
spent to date $62,439.30
63 Lark 2 door
52 Starliner
51 Commander
39 Coupe express
39 Coupe express (rod)

[jnewkirk77]

I must admit that I was ALMOST taken in by that "story." It was quite disappointing.

Jacob Newkirk - Owensboro, KY

Currently driving an '87 Ford F-150, but I dream of having a Hawk one day. Don't we all?

[Scott]

Well, sort of the last word. What we never learned was WHO perpetrated this travesty and why. I remember a promise by the powers that be (I think it was actually printed in TW) that there would be an investigation into it and that we'd know what happened. We never heard anything.[V]

[Roscomacaw]

Yes. The last word.[8]

Miscreant adrift in
the BerStuda Triangle


1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe

[bullet nose knucklehead]

oops, I just found the posts from 3-34-05 and on about this. Seems that the consensus was that this was a fake. Is this the last word on this?

1950 Kamm's Beer Staff Car Driver

[bullet nose knucklehead]

Has the existence of any of the prototype V-12 to-be 1965 Packards been ascertained? I've looked on the internet and found no mention, no pictures of these cars. Have they vanished from the face of the earth, i.e., evaporated? Is there any other reference to these anywhere besides the August '02 issue? I was at the least trying to add a picture of one of these off the internet to a different website.

1950 Kamm's Beer Staff Car Driver