Packards Motor Car Company Firsts
| 1900 |
- The H-pattern gear shift arrangement
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| 1900 |
- Automatic ignition spark advance to give smoother and more efficient engine operation
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| 1901 |
- The use of a steering wheel instead of a tiller for steering, on the 1901 Packard model C
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| 1913 |
- Spiral bevel differential gears, for a quieter car
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| 1915 |
- A mass-produced V-12 powered automobile
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| 1919 |
- A special Packard race car with a 905 cubic inch Packard Liberty aircraft engine, driven by Ralph DePalma, set a land speed record of 149.72 mph
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Henry Ford rode to his grave in Packard hearse
| 1923 |
- First volume producer of automobiles to introduce 4-wheel brakes
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| 1923 |
- Hypoid differential gears, which allowed a lower floor and lower vehicle height
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| 1923 |
- First Neon signs in America - two "Packard" signs put up by a dealer in Los Angeles. The signs stopped traffic!!!
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| 1940 |
- Air Conditioning as an option, price $275.00
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| 1950 |
- The only independent automobile manufacturer to engineer and manufacture their own automatic transmission
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| 1955 |
- 4-Wheel torsion bar suspension, with automatic leveling
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