A proposal to write something on the history of automotive proving grounds for a meeting in Baltimore next April

 Back in the saddle again after a long respite!

Packard Co. file photograph of two 1928 Packard race cars on track at proving grounds. Inscribed on photo back: "Packard Motor Car Co. Proving Grounds 2.5 mile concrete speedway, Utica, Mich., inauguration ceremonies 14 June 1928; Leon Duray, 91-cubic inch front drive Miller special #4, & Norman Batton, #22, coming out of curve at 140-mph."

For a conference on “Spaces of Inquiry”

CFP: Spaces of Inquiry

“A Wide Open Space of Inquiry – The Packard Proving Grounds, 1926-1956”

John Heitmann, Professor Emeritus, University of Dayton

 

Nestled in Detroit suburbia, a 14.5-acre property remains of what was once a sprawling site that was the Packard Corporation Proving Grounds. Beginning in 1926 this flat, sandy farmland was transformed into a complex that featured a 2.5-mile banked oval track, 55 acres of dirt, gravel and paved roadway through hills, ponds and sand pits, and remarkable Albert Kahn designed structures.  Kahn’s buildings are unique in that they combine modern industrial design with Tudor Revival style, exemplified in the Gate House, Lodge, Repair Garage, and Engineering laboratory. Continuous automobile testing took place there to 1956. Aviation technology was also developed in an adjacent hanger.

 

While I propose to highlight the space and structures of the proving grounds, I plan to focus on the technical inquiries and testing methods done during the period. Packard was one of the first automobile firms in America, known for high standards of quality, engineering excellence, and luxury. Chief engineer Jesse G. Vincent, championed research and engineering in all aspects of automotive manufacturing. It was fitting that the proving ground’s oval track was inaugurated in June 1928 with a record setting closed track top speed record of 148 mph, a mark that was not eclipsed until 1952. Additionally, the first aviation 9- cylinder radial diesel engine was also developed there. Nevertheless, innovation alone could not save Packard after WWII. Despite the technical brilliance of the 1955 Packard Clipper, the firm’s marriage to Studebaker suggests that a union of two poor partners rarely succeeds!