This is the compelling story of the puzzling decline and fall of one of America's most prestigious automobile manufacturers, a company that for most of the fifty-nine years of its history was a synonym for luxury, excellence, and corporate stability. Although many books have extolled the long, glamorous history of Packard, this book focuses on the dark, post-World War II years that led to its dissolution in 1956.

For the first time, this book gives an authoritative, deeply researched, and convincing explanation of why the Packard Motor Car Company died in the midst of one of the greatest automotive booms in history.