360° Interior

1948 Packard Eight Station Sedan

360° Exterior

This Extremely Rare Packard ‘woody’ Has Both Substance And Style

Something about those wood walls is just as Red, White, and Blue as Easter Egg hunts and baseball, and, Post World War II, Americans still had a love affair with the Woody wagons of the day.

Larger, longer vehicles – inspired by early, wooden-framed passenger carriers, i.e., ‘depot hacks’ – Woody wagons had enough space to accommodate growing families and provided more room for utility and increasingly-mobile lifestyles. But the Packard Eight Station Sedan – from Packard’s 22nd series and produced from 1948 to 1950 – shattered the wooden mold. Utility, sure…the Station Sedan could do that. But style was the word.

This period-correct, Aztec Brown 1948 Packard Eight Station Sedan wagon – of which fewer than 20 are thought to remain – is based on a wartime design by Edward Macauley.

The semi-fastback rooftop styling – combined with elegant, birch-framed ash paneling, chrome-covered wheels, white wall tires, bakelite knobs, a woodgrain-inspired dash, and its Packard Cormorant hood ornament – helped earn this model the 1948 “Fashion Car of the Year” award from the New York Fashion Academy.

Rare to the Extreme

Less than 4,000 of these Station Sedan wagons came off the line in Detroit, most with the initial 1948 run, and less than 20 are thought to remain and exist in this condition. The birch framework and hewed ash paneling required special, consistent care that was often overlooked by owners – and Mother Nature was not kind to most of these relics, over time. This Station Sedan is an extreme rarity, and we are proud to have it in the collection.

Innovation and Luxury

The Station Sedan’s two-piece tailgate is made of solid wood and pioneered the two-piece tailgate design that would become a standard feature for most American wagons at the time. Unlike many of its predecessors, the woodwork on the sides of the 1948 Station Sedan was not structural; the glamorous ash paneling is bolted to structural steel from the inside of the door.

Technically part of Packard’s Standard Eight line, the Station Sedan was also outfitted with many features that came with Packard’s luxurious Deluxe Eight line, including a clock, trip odometer, cigar lighter, chrome horn ring, and front courtesy lights.