In the Classic Era the 3 P’s (Packard, Peerless, and Pierce Arrow) were counted among the greatest automobiles. James Ward Packard, a successful manufacturer, purchased a Winton automobile in 1898 and was dissatisfied with it. He thought he could do better designing his own automobile. With the help of two men from Winton, the first Packard was completed on November 6th 1899. James Packard started the Ohio Automobile company in 1900 and began building Packards.
In the fall of 1901 the slogan was “ask the man who owns one”. John D. Rockefellar became a fan of Packards after buying his first two at the NY Auto show in 1900. Exhibited at this show was the 1901 Model C with wheeled steering. Early Packard’s pioneered the automatic spark advance and “H” shift pattern, which would become standard automobile practice years later.
In 1902 the Ohio Automobile Company became the Packard Motor Car Company and in 1903 the company moved to Detroit Michigan. In the summer of 1903 Tom Fetch drove a 4 cylinder Model F nicknamed “Old Pacific” across the country in 61 days breaking the record previously set by Winton.
