Packard Name On the Block

America’s automotive history features a long, nasty road littered with dead brands, from Studebaker to Oldsmobile. And now you can pick up some of the scraps.

For a mere $1.5 million, you can buy Packard, a fabled name from America’s automotive heyday. Reuters is reporting that Roy and Barbara Gullickson (the current owners) are selling off the name and trademark. Along with the marquee, you’d also get the engineering designs, tools, spare parts and supplier information that are currently collecting dust. The grand prize (and what makes this a bargain) is the hand-built prototype of the all-new (for 1998) V-12 Packard. The car is shown on the company’s website, and it looks like an unholy cross between a Jaguar S and a Morgan Aero 8.

Back in the 1930s, Packard was an ultra-luxury automaker; buying one was akin to owing a Rolls-Royce or Maybach, then it moved down-market in the ‘40s to become more like Mercedes or BMW. The brand died in the late ‘50s as horrid rebadged versions of Studebakers. Sound familiar, GM?

Three international companies are interested in the brand, but if you have the money to buy a Veyron, why not forgo that decision and buy a piece of automotive history instead?

Rights to legendary Packard up for sale (Reuters)