1948 Packard Eight Station Sedan
Where most postwar woodies bolted wooden passenger compartments to a separate chassis, the Station Sedan worked differently: Briggs Manufacturing converted four-door Eight sedans from the production line, reworking the roofline into a distinctive semi-fastback and cladding the doors and upper body with birch-framed ash panels over steel.
The only structural woodwork was the tailgate assembly, which introduced the two-piece liftgate-over-gate arrangement that most American wagons would adopt by the mid-1950s.
The model took “Fashion Car of the Year” honors from the New York Fashion Academy in 1948, and the standard appointments reflected the upscale intent: Deluxe Eight equipment throughout, including a clock, trip odometer, chrome horn ring, and front courtesy lights.
Power came from the 288 cu in L-head inline-eight producing 130 hp, paired with a three-speed column-shift gearbox. The Electromatic clutch, which permitted clutchless upshifts between second and third, was optional.
At $3,425 in 1948, the Station Sedan found few buyers. Production ran through 1950, with the bulk of an approximately 3,900-unit run built that first year; unsold 1948 examples were renumbered to sell as 1949 and 1950 models.
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