Donald Bruce Kaufman (1922 – 1983) was an American home builder and entrepreneur who with Eli Broad co-founded Kaufman & Broad, now known as KB Home (NYSE: KBH), in 1957.
112-597: Donald Bruce Kaufman was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1922, the third child of immigrant parents from Russia. His father was a finish carpenter and his mother was ill most of her life with tuberculosis. Donald was moved around to live with different family members most of his young life. At the end of World War II he joined the Air Force and became a cadet. Though he never saw action, he did learn to fly an airplane. After his service, he gathered some of his friends and started
224-891: A wealth tax . Eli and Edythe Broad created the Broad Foundations, which include the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Broad Art Foundation. These organizations have assets of $ 2.5 billion. In the same year as its founding in 2010, the Broads signed onto the Giving Pledge , a commitment for wealthy individuals to give at least half of their wealth to charity. The Broads personally committed to giving 75% of their wealth away. As of October 2017,
336-492: A "cultural capital of the world". In August 2010, Eli Broad announced that he would build a contemporary art museum in Los Angeles. Diller Scofidio + Renfro were chosen through an architectural competition to design the approximately 120,000-square-foot museum, which includes exhibition space, offices, and a parking garage. In February 2015, a public preview of a special installation attracted some 3,500 visitors while
448-413: A 127 in (3,226 mm) wheelbase. The 200-series models were low-end models and now included a business coupe. The new appearance had similarities to Oldsmobiles , which were more moderately priced and sold in greater numbers. The 250, 300, and 400/Patricians were Packard's flagship models and comprised the majority of the production for that year. The Patrician was now the premium Packard, replacing
560-655: A Packard. Impressed by its reliability, he visited the Packards and soon enlisted a group of investors, including Truman Handy Newberry and Russell A. Alger Jr. On October 2, 1902, this group refinanced and renamed the New York and Ohio Automobile Company as the Packard Motor Car Company, with James Packard as president. Alger later served as vice president. Packard moved operations to Detroit soon after, and Joy became general manager (later chairman of
672-461: A backlog on war orders of $ 568,000,000. By the end of World War II, Packard was in excellent financial condition with assets of around $ 33 million, but several management mistakes became more apparent with time. Like other US automobile companies, Packard resumed civilian car production in late 1945, labeling them as 1946 models by modestly updating their 1942 models. As only tooling for the Clipper
784-568: A better horseless carriage than the Winton cars owned by Weiss, an important Winton stockholder, after Packard complained to Alexander Winton and offered suggestions for improvement, which were ignored. Winton replied to the suggestions by essentially telling Packard to "go build your own car". Packard's first car was built in Warren, Ohio , on November 6, 1899. Henry Bourne Joy , a member of one of Detroit 's oldest and wealthiest families, bought
896-703: A business framing houses in Detroit. He later started a contracting company he called ABCO, named so as it would be the first company listed under contractors in the telephone book. The business received a lot of work after the Korean war, with men returning to the States and needing homes for their growing families. He later renamed the business Cordell Construction Co. In 1957, Kaufman joined with Eli Broad and co-founded Kaufman & Broad, now known as KB Home (NYSE: KBH). With limited resources, Kaufman handled production, purchasing quality, and material control and Broad did
1008-447: A few years later). Ultramatic did not compare to GM's Hydramatic for smoothness of shifting, acceleration, or reliability. The resources spent on Ultramatic deprived Packard of the opportunity to develop a modern V8 engine. Also, when a new body style was added in addition to standard sedans, coupes, and convertibles, Packard introduced a station wagon instead of a two-door hardtop in response to Cadillac's Coupe DeVille. The Station Sedan ,
1120-616: A great deal more hand labor and traditional craftsmanship. Although Packard almost certainly could not have survived the Depression without the highly successful Junior models, they did have the effect of diminishing the Senior models' exclusive image among those few who could still afford a luxury car. The 120 models were more modern in basic design than the Senior models. For example, the 1935 Packard 120 featured independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes, features that did not appear on
1232-444: A house painter, and his mother as a dressmaker. His family moved to Detroit , Michigan , when he was six years old. In Detroit, his father was a union organizer and owned five-and-dime stores . Broad attended Detroit Public Schools and graduated from Detroit Central High School in 1951. Broad attended Michigan State University , majoring in accounting with a minor in economics and graduating cum laude in 1954. Among
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#17327977670721344-472: A kind of overdrive , claimed able to reduce engine speed 27.8%; it could be engaged at any speed over 30 mph (48 km/h). The same year, the company introduced a fifth, transverse shock absorber and made column shift (known as Handishift) available on the 120 and Six. A new body shape was introduced for the 1941 model year, the Packard Clipper . It was available only as a four-door model on
1456-550: A luxury car. Model year sales only climbed back to 55,000 units in 1955, including Clipper, in what was a strong year across the industry. As the 1955 models went into production, an old problem flared up. Back in 1941, Packard had outsourced its bodies to Briggs Manufacturing Company . Briggs founder Walter Briggs had died in early 1952 and his family decided to sell the company to pay estate taxes. Chrysler promptly purchased Briggs and notified Packard that they would cease supplying bodies after Packard's contract with Briggs expired at
1568-495: A one-piece windshield, a wrap-around rear window, small tailfins on the long-wheelbase models, a full-width grille (replacing the traditional Packard upright design), and blunt "guideline fenders" with the hood and front fenders at the same height. The 122 in (3,099 mm) wheelbase was used on the 200-series standard and Deluxe two- and four-doors, 250-series Mayfair two-door hardtops (Packard's first), and convertibles. The higher-end 300 and Patrician 400 models were built on
1680-582: A plane crash January 4, 1983. In 1994, Glorya Kaufman, family members, and friends made donations for the construction of the 10,040-square-foot Donald Bruce Kaufman branch of the Los Angeles Public Library in Brentwood, Los Angeles. Eli Broad Eli Broad ( / b r oʊ d / BROHD ; June 6, 1933 – April 30, 2021) was an American businessman and philanthropist. In June 2019, Forbes ranked him as
1792-541: A position occupied by Plácido Domingo until his resignation from the post in 2019. The Broads contributed $ 10 million in 2008 for a programming endowment for a music and performing arts center at Santa Monica College , the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, and an adjacent black box performance space , the Edye. In total, the Broads have pledged roughly $ 1 billion to Los Angeles art institutions. Broad called Los Angeles
1904-510: A record he held until 2010. Broad worked as an accountant for two years and taught night classes at the Detroit Institute of Technology as an assistant professor of accounting in 1956. Wanting to work on his own, he founded his own accounting firm and was offered office space by the husband of his wife's cousin, Donald Bruce Kaufman , in return for doing the books for Kaufman's small homebuilding and subcontracting business. Doing
2016-408: A ride that was soft yet controlled. Additionally, this suspension featured an electro-mechanical compensator or "levilizer" that kept the car level regardless of passenger or trunk loading. As of October 1, 1954, Packard Motor Car Company bought the failing Studebaker Corporation to form America's fourth-largest automobile company, but without full knowledge of their circumstances or consideration of
2128-434: A single production line. By maintaining a single line and interchangeability between models, Packard was able to maintain low costs. Packard did not change models as often as other manufacturers. Rather than introducing new models annually, Packard began using its own "Series" formula for differentiating its model changeovers in 1923 borrowing a strategy from GM called planned obsolescence . The new model series did not debut on
2240-405: A strictly annual basis, with some series lasting nearly two years, and others lasting as brief as seven months. In the long run, Packard averaged approximately one new series per year. By 1930, Packard automobiles were considered part of its Seventh Series. By 1942, Packard was in its Twentieth Series. The "Thirteenth Series" was omitted due to the western superstition about the number 13. To meet
2352-515: A strong hand to the business that started here and grew into a nationwide, multi-million dollar operation in only eight years." Detroit News went on to state how Kaufman could build a three bedroom house with a basement in the cold winter, plowing thru the ice in Detroit Michigan and on the seventh day, customers were talking to the salesmen while walking through a new, furnished home. Several years later Kaufman eliminated basements and built
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#17327977670722464-532: A three-ton load drove from New York City to San Francisco between July 8 and August 24, 1912. In the same year, Packard had service depots in 104 cities. The Packard Motor Corporation Building at Philadelphia , also designed by Albert Kahn, was built in 1910–1911. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. By 1931, Packards were also being produced in Canada. Entering
2576-463: A version. The Packard inline eight, despite being an older design that lacked the power of Cadillac's engines, produced no vibration. When combined with an Ultramatic transmission, the drivetrain made for a quiet and smooth experience on the road. Packard could not keep up with the horsepower race, which was increasingly moving to high compression, short-stroke engines capable of sustained driving at speeds above 55 mph (89 km/h). Packard's image
2688-454: A wagon-like body that was mostly steel, with a good deal of decorative wood in the back. A total of 3,864 were sold over its three years of production. The Packards of the late 1940s and early 1950s were built with traditional craftsmanship and the best materials, but the combination of the lower-priced Packards leading sales and impacting the prestige of their higher-end models and some questionable marketing decisions, Packard's crown as "king" of
2800-545: The Los Angeles Times obtained a secret 44-page proposal drafted by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and other charter advocates that was designed to charterize 50% of Los Angeles public schools. The result was the creation of Great Public Schools Now, a nonprofit organization. Broad was the founding chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 1979 and chaired the board until 1984. He recruited
2912-694: The American International Group (AIG) for $ 17.8 billion after three weeks of secret negotiations. Broad continued as CEO of SunAmerica until 1999, when he left to focus on philanthropy full-time. In 2012, Broad's book, The Art of Being Unreasonable: Lessons in Unconventional Thinking , was published by Wiley and Sons and debuted as a New York Times , Wall Street Journal , USA Today , and Washington Post bestseller. In June 2019, The New York Times published an op-ed authored by Broad advocating for
3024-585: The Caribbean convertible. Competing directly with the other specialty convertibles marketed that year, ( Buick Skylark , Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta , Cadillac Eldorado , and Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe ), it was equally well-received and outsold its competition. Nevertheless, overall sales declined in 1953. While the limited edition luxury models such as the Caribbean convertible and the Patrician 400 Sedan, and
3136-788: The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California after a long illness, at age 87. Broad was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1994 was named Chevalier in the National Order of the Legion of Honor by the Republic of France . In 1998, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement . From 2004 to 2009, he served as a regent of
3248-530: The Clipper became a separate make, with Clipper Custom and Deluxe models available. Now the Packard-Clipper business model was a mirror to Lincoln-Mercury. "Senior" Packards were built in four body styles, each with a unique model name. Patrician was used for the four-door top-of-the-line sedans, Four Hundred for the hardtop coupes, and the Caribbean for the convertible and vinyl-roof two-door hardtop. In
3360-520: The Cole 30 and Cole Runabout were $ 1,500, Packard concentrated on cars with prices starting at $ 2,600. The marque developed a following among wealthy purchasers in the United States and abroad, competing with European marques like Rolls-Royce , Renault , Isotta Fraschini , and Mercedes-Benz . The 3,500,000 sq ft (330,000 m ) Packard plant on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit
3472-491: The Derham custom formal sedan brought back some prestige from past Packards, the "high pocket" styling introduced two model years prior was no longer drawing buyers for Packer's volume models. Furthermore, Packard's build quality also began slipping during this period as employee morale decreased. While American independent manufacturers like Packard did well during the early postwar period, supply had caught up with demand and by
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3584-554: The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management with $ 20 million for a full-time MBA program at his alma mater, Michigan State University (MSU). The Broads gave $ 5 million to endow the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Dean of Business Chair. In 2000, Broad gave $ 23.2 million for the Broad Art Center at UCLA , designed by Richard Meier . Eli and Edythe Broad donated $ 28 million to MSU for the construction of
3696-760: The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum , designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize -winning architect Zaha Hadid . The museum opened in November 2012. In 2014, the Broad Foundation announced a $ 5 million gift to the Broad Art Museum at MSU to support exhibitions. That same year, the Broads also announced a $ 25 million grant to expand the Eli Broad College of Business, bringing the couples total giving to MSU to nearly $ 100 million. The Broad Foundation's first major investment in scientific and medical research
3808-976: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. In the same year, they received the American Federation of the Arts Cultural Leadership award. In 2019, they received honorary degrees from the University of Southern California . Packard Packard (formerly the Packard Motor Car Company ) was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit , Michigan . The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and
3920-534: The Keck School of Medicine of USC , and the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, which donated $ 30 million in 2006. In 2007, the Broads also donated $ 20 million to the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). One year later, they gave a major gift to the University of California, San Francisco for the new headquarters of
4032-533: The New York Stock Exchange . In 1974, Broad stepped down as CEO . In 1971, Broad acquired Sun Life Insurance Company of America, a family-owned insurance company founded in Baltimore in 1890, for $ 52 million. Broad transformed Sun Life into the retirement savings powerhouse SunAmerica . SunAmerica went public in 1989, with a remaining share of 42% for Broad. In 1998, he sold SunAmerica to
4144-609: The President of the Colorado Senate John Morse and Senator Angela Giron , who were being recalled for their support of gun control measures, including a ban on magazines of 15 rounds or more. Broad served on the advisory committee for gun control group Everytown For Gun Safety when it launched in 2014. In 2018, he pledged $ 1 million to the group. Eli Broad was drawn into the art world by his wife Edythe's interest in collecting. Their first major purchase
4256-916: The Smithsonian Institution . He received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2007 and the David Rockefeller Award from the Museum of Modern Art in March 2009. In October 2013, the Broads were awarded the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership by Philanthropy Roundtable . Broad served on the board of the Future Generation Art Prize. He was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2016. In 2018, Broad and his wife were named Distinguished Philanthropists at
4368-525: The Twin Six , designed by Chief engineer Jesse G. Vincent, was introduced for 1932, with prices starting at US$ 3,650 (equivalent to $ 81,511 in 2023) ; in 1933, it would be renamed the Packard Twelve , a name it retained for the remainder of its run (through 1939). Also in 1931, Packard pioneered a system it called Ride Control, which made the hydraulic shock absorbers adjustable from within
4480-614: The "Cadillac of the Skies" by GIs in WWII. Packard also built 1350-, 1400-, and 1500-hp V-12 marine engines for American PT boats (each boat used three) and some of Britain's patrol boats . Packard ranked 18th among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. By the end of the war in Europe, Packard Motor Car Company had produced over 55,000 combat engines. Sales in 1944 were $ 455,118,600. By May 6, 1945, Packard had
4592-429: The "Packard Six", priced at around $ 1200 ($ 25,433 in 2023 dollars ), was in time for the 1938 recession. This model also tagged Packards as something less exclusive than they had been in the public's mind and in the long run hurt Packard's reputation of building some of America's finest luxury cars. The Six, redesignated 110 in 1940–41, continued for three years after the war. In 1939, Packard introduced Econo-Drive,
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4704-497: The $ 100 million founding gift to create the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, which aims to improve human health by using genomics to advance the understanding of the biology of human disease and lay the groundwork for a new generation of therapies. The following year, they gave another $ 100 million, and in 2009, they gave another $ 400 million to create an endowment and make the institute an independent nonprofit. In 2013,
4816-405: The 120, Packard built a separate factory. By 1936, Packard's labor force was divided nearly evenly between the high-priced "Senior" lines (Twelve, Super Eight, and Eight) and the medium-priced "Junior" models, although more than 10 times more Juniors were produced than Seniors. This was because the 120 models were built using thoroughly modern mass production techniques, while the senior Packards used
4928-579: The 127 in (3,226 mm) wheelbase of the 160, but powered by 125 hp (93 kW; 127 PS) version of straight-8 engine used the 120. In 1942, the Packard Motor Car Company converted to 100% war production. During World War II , Packard again built airplane engines, licensing the Merlin engine from Rolls-Royce as the V-1650 , which powered the P-51 Mustang fighter, ironically known as
5040-460: The 1930s, Packard attempted to beat the stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression by manufacturing ever more opulent and expensive cars than it had prior to October 1929, and began offering different platforms that focused on different price points allowing the company to offer more products and remain competitive. While the Eight five-seater sedan had been the company's top-seller for years,
5152-558: The 1930s. The Adonis hood ornament was briefly used in the late 1920s. In the 1920s, Packard exported more cars than any other in its price class, and in 1930, sold almost twice as many abroad as any other marque priced over US$ 2,000 (equivalent to $ 36,478 in 2023) . In 1931, 10 Packards were owned by the Imperial House of Japan . Between 1924 and 1930, Packard was also the top-selling luxury brand. In addition to luxury cars, Packard built trucks. A Packard truck carrying
5264-620: The 2,490 cu in (40.8 L) versions of the Liberty L-12 V-12 engine. This updated engine powered United States Navy PT boats . After the Second World War, Packard struggled to survive as an independent automaker against the domestic Big Three (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler). Packard merged with Studebaker in 1953 and formed the Studebaker-Packard Corporation . This merger
5376-562: The 233rd-wealthiest person in the world and the 78th-wealthiest in the United States, with an estimated net worth of $ 6.7 billion. He was known for his philanthropic commitment to transforming public K–12 education to a charter school model, scientific and medical research, and the visual and performing arts. Broad was born on June 6, 1933, in the Bronx , New York City, the son of Rebecca (Jacobson) and Leo Broad, Lithuanian Jewish immigrants who met in New York. His father worked as
5488-437: The 356, the move was seen by some as further denigrating Packard's image as a luxury car. Since 1951 offered little new from other manufacturers, Packard's redesigned lineup sold nearly 101,000 cars. The 1951 Packards were a mixture of the modern (automatic transmissions) and old (using flathead inline eights when OHV V8 engines were becoming the norm). No domestic car lines had OHV V8s in 1948, but by 1955, every car line offered
5600-728: The Broad Academy and the Broad Residency in Urban Education. The Broad Academy supports current and aspiring superintendents of urban public school districts, public charter school networks, and state departments of education as they work to grow their organizations' effectiveness and increase their impact. The Broad Residency in Urban Education is a two-year program that matches early- to mid-career professionals with management roles in urban public school systems while earning an accredited masters in education. In 2015,
5712-462: The Broad Center, a nonprofit focused on developing school system leaders. From 2002 to 2014, the Broad Foundation awarded an annual $ 1 million Broad Prize for Urban Education . The Broad Prize recognized the large urban school districts in America that have made the greatest improvement in student achievement while narrowing achievement gaps among low-income students and students of color. In 2012,
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#17327977670725824-435: The Broads announced an additional $ 100 million gift to the institute. The Broad Institute now connects more than 4,000 scientists with an annual budget of more than $ 400 million. The Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of Southern California (USC) is the product of a public-private partnership between the voter-created California Institute of Regenerative Medicine ,
5936-401: The Broads had given more than $ 4 billion to support K-12 public schools, advance scientific and medical research, and bring contemporary art to as wide an audience as possible. In 2017, Broad announced his retirement from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, passing responsibility to its president, Gerun Riley. Broad said he would remain as a trustee of the foundation, and continue to serve on
6048-563: The Broads pledged $ 5 million to Caltech to endow a professorial chair in honor of Caltech President Emeritus David Baltimore . Starting in 2009, the Broad Foundation funded research on firearm violence and loopholes in gun-safety laws at the Violence Prevention Research Program at the UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center. In August 2013, Broad donated $ 250,000 to oppose the recalls of
6160-461: The Custom Eight line. Original plans were to equip it with a 356 cu in (5.8 L) engine, but the company decided that sales would not be sufficient to justify producing the larger, more expensive engine, and so the de-bored 327 cu in (5.4 L) (previously the middle engine) was used. While the smaller engine offered nearly equal performance in the new Packards to that of
6272-497: The Detroit economy was too dependent on the automotive business, they moved to Phoenix, Arizona . In 1961, Kaufman and Broad Home Corporation (now KB Home ) went public on the American Stock Exchange . In 1963, Broad moved the company to Los Angeles . Soon after, Kaufman retired and he and his wife Glorya Kaufman went on to become noted philanthropists. By 1969, KB Home was the first homebuilder listed on
6384-662: The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, which opened in February 2011. Eli Broad was also a life member of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Board of Trustees where he funded the Broad Center for the Biological Sciences. In 2009, the Broads gave $ 5 million to fund the Joint Center for Translational Medicine at Caltech and UCLA . In 2018,
6496-429: The Senior Packards until 1937. During this time, Packards were built in Windsor, Ontario by the Packard Motor Company of Canada to benefit from Imperial Preference as well as to build right-hand-drive cars for export. Production started in 1931, with the best year being 1937, with just over 2,500 cars built. Parts manufactured in Canada included tires, upholstery, radiator cores, headlamps, springs, and wheels, while
6608-404: The U.S. market, and a convertible was added. These new designs hid their relationship with the Clipper. Even that name was dropped for a while. The design chosen was a "bathtub" type, commonly called ponton . While this was considered futuristic during the war and the concept was taken further with the 1949 Nash , and survived for decades in the Saab 92–96 in Europe, the 1948–1950 Packard styling
6720-421: The accounting department, did not want the job and quickly made it clear that he was serving on a temporary basis until a permanent company president could be found. The 1951 Packards were redesigned. Designer John Reinhart introduced a high-waisted, more squared-off profile fitting the contemporary styling trends — very different from the traditional flowing design of the postwar era. New styling features included
6832-412: The accounting for Kaufman's small business led Broad to decide to enter homebuilding himself. In 1956, Broad and Kaufman decided to partner and build homes together. Borrowing $ 12,500 from his wife's parents, Broad put up half the capital in their first venture together, building two model homes in the Northeast Detroit suburbs where a new generation of first-time home buyers were flocking. By streamlining
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#17327977670726944-399: The board of the Broad Museum. Broad said he was in good health and felt like it was time to "step back". The stated mission of the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation's education work is to expand learning opportunities to students from underserved communities so they can reach their full potential. The foundation has made $ 650 million in grants since it launched in 1999. In 2001, Broad founded
7056-440: The board). An original Packard, reputedly the first manufactured, was donated by a grateful James Packard to his alma mater , Lehigh University , and is preserved there in the Packard Laboratory. Another is on display at the Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio. While the Black Motor Company 's Black went as low as $ 375, Western Tool Works ' Gale Model A roadster was $ 500, the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout went for $ 650, and
7168-414: The bread-and-butter Clipper line (the 250 series was dropped), Mayfair hardtop coupes and convertibles, and a new entry-level long-wheelbase sedan named Cavalier. Among the Clippers was a novelty pillared coupe, the Sportster, styled to resemble a hardtop. With time and money lacking, 1954 styling was unchanged except for modified headlights and taillights, essentially trim items. A new hardtop named Pacific
7280-430: The car. For one year only, 1932, Packard fielded an upper-medium-priced car, the Light Eight , at a base price of $ 1,750 ($ 39,080 in 2023 dollars ), or $ 735 ($ 16,414 in 2023 dollars ) less than the Standard Eight. Packard rivals Cadillac and Lincoln benefited from the huge support structure of GM and Ford. Packard could not match the two new automotive giants for resources. The 1920s had proven extremely profitable for
7392-446: The challenge of the Depression, Packard started producing more affordable cars in the medium price range. This was a necessary step as the demand for hand-built luxury cars had diminished sharply and people who could afford such vehicles were reluctant to be seen in them when unemployment was over 20%. In 1935, the company introduced its first car under $ 1000, the 120 . Sales more than tripled that year and doubled again in 1936. To produce
7504-488: The company and it had assets of approximately $ 20 million in 1932 ($ 447,000,000 in 2023 dollars ) while many luxury car manufacturers were almost broke. Peerless ceased production in 1932, converting the Cleveland manufacturing plant automobile production to brewing for Carling Black Label Beer. By 1938, Franklin , Marmon , Ruxton , Stearns-Knight , Stutz , Duesenberg , and Pierce-Arrow had all closed. Packard had one advantage that some other luxury automakers did not:
7616-434: The company. One of James Nance's first actions as president was creating a pension plan to induce Packard executives to retire. Nance worked to snag Korean War military contracts and turn around Packard's badly diluted image. He declared that Packard would cease producing mid-priced cars and build only luxury models to compete with Cadillac. As part of this strategy, Nance unveiled a low-production (only 750 made) model for 1953,
7728-418: The construction process and eliminating basements, offering a carport instead, they could price the houses so the monthly mortgage would be less than the rent for a two-bedroom apartment. Kaufman and Broad named this model the "Award Winner" and priced it at $ 13,700. After one weekend, seventeen were sold and within two years, Kaufman and Broad had built 600 homes in the Detroit suburbs. In 1960, fearing that
7840-442: The death of Mason, the new president of AMC, George W. Romney , announced "there are no mergers under way either directly or indirectly". Romney continued with Mason's commitment to buy components from SPC. Although Mason and Nance had previously agreed that SPC would purchase parts from AMC, it did not do so. Packard's engines and transmissions were comparatively expensive, so AMC began development of its own V8 engine , and replaced
7952-503: The early 1950s they were increasingly challenged as the domestic "Big Three"— General Motors , Ford , and Chrysler —battled intensely for sales in the economy, medium-priced, and luxury markets. Those independents that remained in business in the early 1950s, merged. In 1953, Kaiser merged with Willys to become Kaiser-Willys. Nash and Hudson became American Motors Corporation (AMC). The strategy for these mergers included cutting costs and strengthening their sales organizations to meet
8064-451: The end of 1953. Packard was forced to move body production to an undersized plant on Connor Avenue in Detroit. The facility proved too small and caused endless tie-ups and quality problems. Bad quality control hurt the company's image and caused sales to plummet for 1956, though the problems had largely been resolved by that point. Additionally, a "brain drain" of talent away from Packard was underway, including John Z. DeLorean . For 1956,
8176-620: The engines were locally assembled. Production ended in 1939, although the company maintained an office in Windsor for many years. Packard was still the premier luxury automobile, even though the majority of cars being built were the Packard One-Twenty and Super Eight model ranges. Hoping to catch still more of the market, Packard issued the Packard 115C in 1937, powered by a Packard six-cylinder engine. The decision to introduce
8288-581: The financial detail and administration work. Kaufman also devised a method to build homes on cement slabs, which enabled the firm to make a heavy impact on the Detroit market at a time of dwindling demand and high competition for home buyers. The company expanded to Arizona in 1962 and into California in 1963 and was the first U.S. homebuilder to expand into France in 1967. In 1965, the Detroit News noted: "Detroit’s building boom has brought Donald Kaufman out of semi-retirement and back from California to lend
8400-481: The financial implications. Studebaker-Packard's Nance refused to consider merging with AMC unless he could take the top command position (Mason and Nance were former competitors as heads of the Kelvinator and Hotpoint appliance companies, respectively), but Mason's grand vision of a Big Four American auto industry ended on October 8, 1954, with his sudden death from acute pancreatitis and pneumonia. A week after
8512-655: The foundation launched the Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools, which awarded $ 250,000 to the top charter management organization in the country. Over the course of 17 years, prize money totaling nearly $ 18 million went to support college scholarships and college readiness programs. Both prizes were officially sunsetted in 2019. The Broad Center identifies, develops, and supports outstanding leaders who are inspired to work towards transforming public education into an engine of excellence and equity. The nonprofit includes two highly selective professional development programs,
8624-583: The founding director of the museum and negotiated the acquisition of the Panza Collection for the museum. In 2008, the Broad Foundation donated $ 30 million to the museum. The foundation's donation was contingent on the museum remaining independent and not merging with Los Angeles County Museum of Art . Broad was a life trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In 2003, the Broad Foundation gave $ 60 million to
8736-536: The goal of making their extensive contemporary art collection more accessible to the public. The Broads have two collections focusing on postwar and contemporary art—a personal collection with nearly 600 works and the Broad Art Foundation's collection, which has approximately 1,500 works. About 40% of their collection was bought via dealer Larry Gagosian . In the early 1990s, the Broads commissioned Frank O. Gehry to design their primary residence in Brentwood . It
8848-400: The impossible figure of 250,000 cars annually to break even. Due diligence was placed behind "merger fever", and the deal was rushed. It became clear after the merger that Studebaker's deteriorating financial situation put Packard's survival at risk. Nance had hoped for a total redesign in 1954, but the necessary time and money were lacking. Packard that year (total production 89,796) comprised
8960-554: The intense competition from the Big Three. In 1953–54, Ford and GM waged a brutal sales war, cutting prices and forcing cars on dealers. While this had little effect on either company, it damaged independent automakers. Nash's president George W. Mason thus proposed that the four major independents (Nash, Hudson, Packard, and Studebaker) merge into one firm American Motors Corporation (AMC). Mason held informal discussions with Nance to outline his strategic vision , and an agreement
9072-400: The jobs Broad held in college were selling women's shoes, selling garbage disposals door-to-door, and working as a drill press operator at Packard Motor , where he was a member of United Auto Workers . The same year, 21-year-old Broad married 18-year-old Edythe "Edye" Lawson . Broad became the youngest Michigan resident to attain the credentials of Certified Public Accountant (CPA),
9184-468: The last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana , in 1958. One of the "Three Ps" – alongside Peerless Motor Company and Pierce-Arrow – the company was known for building high-quality luxury automobiles before World War II. Owning a Packard was considered prestigious, and surviving examples are often found in museums and automobile collections. Packard vehicles featured innovations, including
9296-400: The luxury car market was at risk. In 1950, sales dropped to 42,000 cars for the model year. When Packard's president George T. Christopher set the course for an evolutionary styling approach with a facelift for 1951, others wanted a radical new design. Christopher resigned and Packard treasurer Hugh Ferry became president and demanded a new direction. Ferry, who had spent his career at Packard in
9408-836: The midrange volume models. During this time, Cadillac was among the earliest US makers to offer an automatic transmission (the Hydramatic in 1941). Packard caught up with the Ultramatic , offered on top models in 1949 and all models from 1950 onward, but its perceived market reputation now had it as a competitor to Buick . Designed and built by Packard, the Ultramatic featured a lockup torque converter with two speeds. Early Ultramatics normally operated only in "high", with "low" having to be selected manually. Beginning in late 1954, it could be set to operate only in "high" or to start in "low" and automatically shift into "high". "High"
9520-538: The modern steering wheel , air-conditioning in a passenger car, and one of the first production 12-cylinder engines, adapted from developing the Liberty L-12 engine used during World War I to power warplanes. During World War II , Packard produced 55,523 units of the two-stage/two-speed supercharger equipped 1,650 cu in (27.0 L) Merlin V-12s engines under contract with Rolls-Royce. Packard also made
9632-561: The museum as part of its renovation campaign to create the Broad Contemporary Art Museum and for an art acquisition fund. The Broads donated $ 6 million to the Los Angeles Opera to bring Richard Wagner 's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen to Los Angeles for the 2009–10 season. In June 2013, the Broads gave $ 7 million to continue funding the Eli and Edythe Broad general director at L.A. Opera,
9744-631: The museum was still under construction. The Broad was opened by the Broads on Sunday, September 20, 2015. To date, it has received more than 2.5 million visitors. In 2000, Broad founded the Grand Avenue Committee, which coordinated and oversaw further development of Grand Avenue in Los Angeles. He was involved in the fundraising campaign to build the Walt Disney Concert Hall , which opened in October 2003. Broad
9856-458: The new design was Packard's new overhead-valve V8 , displacing 352 cu in (5.8 L), replacing the straight-eight that had been used for decades. Packard offered a variety of power, comfort, and convenience features, such as power steering and brakes as well as electric window lifts. Air conditioning was available on all car makes by the mid-1950s, but it was installed on only a handful of cars in 1955 and 1956 despite Packard's status as
9968-461: The new houses on cement slabs. This lowered the cost of the homes and Kaufman and Broad became the most successful home builders in the United States and France. Kaufman and Broad Home Corporation went on to become the first publicly traded home building company on the NYSE. In 1954, Kaufman married Glorya Kaufman (Pinkis). They had four children. Donald and his son-in-law, Eyal Horwitz, both died in
10080-401: The outsourced unit by mid-1956. Although Nash and Hudson merged, the four-way merger Mason had hoped for, which would have joined Nash, Hudson, Studebaker, and Packard, did not materialize. The S-P marriage (really a Packard buyout) proved to be a crippling mistake. Although Packard was in fair financial condition, Studebaker was not, struggling with high overhead and production costs and needing
10192-458: The separation of the Clipper line from Packard. As late as the cars' introduction to the market was, there was reasoning for in 1957 this car was to be continued. It then became a baseline Packard on the all-new 1957 Senior shell. Clippers would share bodies with Studebaker from 1957. The new 1955 Packard design did not affect Cadillac's continuing to lead the luxury market segment, followed by Lincoln, Packard, and Imperial. Reliability problems with
10304-557: The spring of 1956, the Executive was introduced. In a four-door sedan and a two-door hardtop, the Executive was aimed at the buyer who wanted a luxury car but could not justify Packard's pricing. It was an intermediate model using the Packard name and the Senior models' front end, but using the Clipper platform and rear fenders. This was to some confusion and went against what James Nance had been attempting for several years to accomplish,
10416-558: The war ended in 1953 and the new Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson began cutting defense contracts from all automotive manufacturers other than GM, where he had been president. Packard's last major development was the Torsion-Level suspension by Bill Allison, dubbed Torsion Level Ride . The front and rear suspensions on each side of the car side are interconnected by a long torsion bar. This design reduced pitching while allowing for low spring rates, which imbued Packards with
10528-419: Was added to the flagship Patrician series and all higher-end Packards featured a bored-out 359 cu in (5.9 L) engine. Air conditioning became available for the first time since 1942 although Packard introduced air conditioning in the 1930s. Clippers (which comprised over 80% of production) became available in a hardtop model, Super Panama, but sales fell to 31,000 cars. The new model Nance hoped for
10640-675: Was also responsible for the iconic Packard slogan, "Ask the Man Who Owns One". The Packard Six was initially introduced as a senior-level luxury platform for three years starting in 1913, then upgraded to the Packard Twin Six starting in 1916. The first appearance of the Packard "Goddess of Speed" hood ornament was in 1925 on the Packard Eight and soon adorned all models, while the Cormorant or Swan appeared in
10752-538: Was at hand, the Senior-series cars were not rescheduled. One version of the story is that the Senior dies were left outdoors to rust and were not usable. Another tale is that Roosevelt gave Stalin the dies for the Senior series, but the ZiS-110 state limousines were a separate design. The Clipper became outdated as the new envelope bodies started appearing, led by Studebaker and Kaiser-Frazer. Although Packard
10864-453: Was built by the architecture firm Langdon Wilson based on Gehry's initial designs. In the late 1990s, Broad paid $ 5.65 million for two parcels in Malibu and commissioned Richard Meier to design a waterfront home of roughly 5,400 square feet (500 square metres), which was completed in 2002. Two months after Broad's death, the home sold for $ 51.65 million. Broad died on April 30, 2021, at
10976-442: Was delayed until 1955, partially because of Packard's merger with Studebaker. Packard stylist Dick Teague was called upon by Nance to design the 1955 line, and to Teague's credit, the 1955 Packard was well received. Not only was the body completely updated and modernized, but the suspension was new, with torsion bars front and rear, along with an electric control that kept the car level regardless of load or road conditions. Along with
11088-463: Was extremely high, and nearly any vehicle would sell. Attempting to maintain strong sales beyond this point would prove more problematic. Cadillac's new 1948 cars had sleek, aircraft-inspired styling that immediately made Packard's "bathtub" styling seem old-fashioned. Cadillac also debuted a brand-new OHV V8 engine in 1949 whereas Packard's lack of a modern engine became an increasing liability. Packard outsold Cadillac until circa 1950; most sales were
11200-631: Was guided by its president and General Manager James Alvan Macauley , who served as President of the National Automobile Manufacturers Association. Inducted into the Automobile Hall of Fame, Macauley made Packard the number one designer and producer of luxury automobiles in the United States. The marque was also competitive abroad, with markets in 61 countries. Gross income for the company was $ 21,889,000 in 1928 ($ 388,402,000 in 2023 dollars ). Macauley
11312-402: Was in good financial condition as the war ended, they had not sold enough cars to pay the cost of tooling for the 1941 design. While most automakers were able to introduce new vehicles for 1948 and 1949, Packard could not until 1951. The company updated cars by adding new sheet metal to the existing body (which added 200 lb (91 kg) of curb weight). Six-cylinder cars were discontinued for
11424-541: Was in the field of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Since then, the foundation has expanded its scope to focus on genomics and stem cell research . In 2001, the Broads created the Broad Medical Research Program to fund innovative research to advance the treatment of IBD. The program was merged with the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America in 2013. In 2003, Eli and Edythe Broad gave
11536-703: Was increasingly seen as dowdy and old-fashioned, unappealing to younger customers. Surveys found that nearly 75% of Packard customers had owned previous Packards and few new buyers were attracted to the make. Compounding this problem was the company's geriatric leadership. The Packard board of directors by the early 1950s had an average age of 67. In 1948, Alvin Macauley, born during the Grant Administration , had stepped down as chairman. Hugh Ferry decided to hire an outsider as president. He recruited James Nance from appliance manufacturer Hotpoint. At 52, Nance
11648-487: Was instrumental in securing the $ 50 million deposit from the project developer, Related Companies, that opened Grand Park in summer 2012. Broad's first civic board membership and significant investment in education was a $ 10 million commitment to Pitzer College in 1970. In 1973, he was named chairman of the board of the educational institution. In 1991, Broad endowed the Eli Broad College of Business and
11760-490: Was intended for normal driving and "Low" was mainly for navigating hills. The Ultramatic made Packard the only American automotive manufacturer other than GM to develop an automatic transmission completely in-house. Ford had chosen to outsource their design to Borg-Warner (Ford had attempted to purchase Ultramatics from Packard to install in Lincolns, but bought Hydramatics until Lincoln developed its own automatic transmission
11872-728: Was intended to be temporary while an eventual consolidation with American Motors Company (AMC) was planned. Disagreements among the firms' executives thwarted these plans, so Studebaker-Packard remained a separate company. The Packard brand was phased out in 1959 after two years of declining sales of the Studebaker-built 1957 and 1958 model year Packards. Packard was founded by James Ward Packard , his brother William , and their partner, George Lewis Weiss, in Warren, Ohio , where 400 Packard automobiles were built at their factory on 408 Dana Street Northeast, from 1899 until 1903. A mechanical engineer, James Packard believed they could build
11984-495: Was located on over 40 acres (16 ha) of land. Designed by Albert Kahn Associates , it included an early use of reinforced concrete for an automotive factory when building #10 opened in 1906. Its craftsmen practised over 80 trades. The dilapidated plant stood until demolition commenced in September 2022, despite repeated fires. The factory is in close proximity to the current General Motors Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly , which
12096-419: Was made in 1973, when he and Edye first acquired a Van Gogh drawing entitled Cabanes a Saintes-Maries , 1888. Art collector and MCA executive Taft Schreiber became their mentor. The Broads' early acquisitions included notable works by Miró , Picasso , and Matisse . Eventually, the pair began to concentrate on post–World War II art. Eli and Edythe Broad established the Broad Art Foundation in 1984 with
12208-412: Was more than a decade younger than the youngest Packard executive. One reason for the aged leadership of Packard was the company's lack of a pension plan for executives (rank-and-file workers had a pension plan per their UAW contract). As a result, Packard executives were reluctant to retire with no source of income other than a Social Security payment, thus blocking younger men from coming to power in
12320-472: Was polarizing. To some, it was sleek and blended classic with modern. Others nicknamed it the "pregnant elephant". Test driver for Modern Mechanix , Tom McCahill , referred to the newly designed Packard as "a goat" and "a dowager in a Queen Mary hat" in the January 1948 issue. Packard sold 2,000 vehicles in 1948 and a total of 116,000 of the 1949 models. In the early post-WWII years, the demand for new cars
12432-446: Was reached for AMC to buy Packard's Ultramatic transmissions and V8 engines. They were used in 1955 Hudsons and Nashes . It did not help that Chrysler and Ford waged a campaign of "stealing" Packard dealerships during the early 1950s. Consequently, Packard's dealer network became smaller and more scattered which made it even more difficult to sell Packard vehicles. Although Korean War defense contracts brought in badly-needed revenue,
12544-743: Was the former site of the Dodge Vehicle factory from 1910 until 1980. Architect Kahn also designed the Packard Proving Grounds in Shelby Township, Michigan . From this beginning, through and beyond the 1930s, Packard-built vehicles were perceived as highly competitive among high-priced luxury American automobiles. The company was commonly referred to as being one of the "Three Ps" of American motordom royalty, along with Pierce-Arrow of Buffalo, New York , and Peerless of Cleveland, Ohio . For most of its history, Packard
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