Packards lend vintage luxury

By: SHANNON WINGARD - For the North County Times | Saturday, September 22, 2007 9:16 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ‹ For the fourth year, a parade of luxurious Packard automobiles ranging from the 1920s to 1958 drove slowly along Grand Avenue as a part of Cruisin¹ Grand Friday.

The parade, led by a Packard with Grand Marshal Don Anderson inside, passed spectators on both sides of the streets who gathered to catch a glimpse of the antique vehicles.

Henry Salazar, of Ramona, said he is a fan of vintage cars, and even owns several of his own, including a 1970 Pontiac convertible.

Salazar, who is a bodywork and paint specialist, said he enjoyed watching the parade.

"They are unique, and there aren¹t many around," he said.

After the parade, members of the Packards International Motor Car Club parked so attendees could get an up-close view of the luxury vehicles, which included convertibles and "Driving Miss Daisy"-style limousines.

Sydney Kirkland, an event volunteer who owns a 1949 Packard with her husband, said they were the "it" cars of that time.

"Packards were considered the luxury car," she said.

However, she said "only the rich could own these cars" when they were manufactured.

To put that in perspective, she said the 1949 Packard she and her husband, Mark Burnside, own would have cost about $4,500 new. In comparison, she said, the average cost of a house in 1949 was approximately $4,000.

What set the cars apart from others, Burnside said, was their roomy, luxurious interiors as well as the parts that hummed under their hoods.

"Their claim to fame was the quality of the engines," he said, adding, "This was considered a better car than a Cadillac."

Tom Moriarty of Escondido said he has attended every Cruisin¹ Grand Friday for the past few years, because he enjoys "the cars, the people, the music."

Moriarty said he became interested in antique Ford vehicles after he "discovered a Model A." Now, he said, he is reading a book on Henry Ford so he can learn more about the early cars that "are the roots of what is driving around."

For Ron Crampton of La Mesa, the event was a chance to show off one of his four Packards ‹ a 1936.

He said Packards are difficult to even compare to other luxury cars of that period.

In fact, Crampton said, he also owns a 1936 Ford Roadster, which is "fast, but a tinny piece of metal."

"Driving this car and the Ford are two completely different experiences," he said.

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