Packard’s straight-eight preference in the 1920s was a dominating influence among luxury car makers. The choice in that bygone era was based on reasons of simplicity, economy of lesser moving parts than a V-8 engine, ease of assembly and power. The likes of other adherents, such as Duesenberg, cast an additional luxury aura around the inline configuration.
Still, from the late 1930s onward, Packard’s history was practically pricked and plagued by a growing urge to relinquish its inline for the more modern V-8 format that dominated high-end sales