Leanne Harrison – program manager for Heartland Acres Agribiton Center in Independence, IA recently hosted a class of international students from Upper Iowa University in Fayette, IA as part of their English class. The students came from South America, Mongolia, China, Japan and Eastern Europe.
The students were given the opportunity to take a break from their English studies and learn something about Iowa agriculture. The variety of vintage tractors caught their interest. But what seemed to draw their interest the most was the antique car collection. Of special interest was the 1929 Packard 645 Deluxe Eight, Dual Cowl Phaeton. The car stood out mostly due to the exceptional pearl white color and the beautiful condition which lead it to winning an Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) award. More information about AACA can be found at www.aaca.org
In 1929 as the Packard 645 was being built, America was about to begin its financial struggles which temporarily reduced the demand for cars of this caliber. Packard made it through the depression and went on to design many more unique cars with innovative features and were always known to have powerful motors. Unfortunately, Packard automobile production ended completely in 1964 as financial losses from 1963 totaled $16.9 million. Packard could not make it through financial losses of this magnitude.
Today the 1929 645 Packard is on display at Heartland Acers Agribition Center in the Classic Car museum to be enjoyed by visitors from around the world.
