Packard “P” Car Grille Soft Enamel 5/8" Lapel Pin

About the Lapel Pin

The timeless Packard grille shell, a yoke shape with curved-inward upper corners, has indeed been around for a great many years. Specifically, the basic contours date back to the Model L of 1904. For all of Packard’s towering reputation as a great American automobile, its early appearance was very strongly European. When Packard was founded in Warren, Ohio, its first chief stylist was Charles Schmidt, who, despite his surname, was a Frenchman. Many very early Packards, built between 1900 and 1904, had a Renault-like sloped hood. Schmidt came to Packard from Mors, the Parisian carmaker to the pre-World War I aristocracy of France that went bust in the following decade and landed in Citroën’s pocket. Look at a Mors of the same era, and its radiator shell’s resemblance to a Packard’s is apparent. CREDIT: hemmings.com

Mors was an early French car manufacturer. It was one of the first to take part in car racing, beginning in 1897, due to the belief of the company founder, Émile Mors, in racing's technical and promotional benefits. In 1925, André Citroën bought Mors outright and closed it down, using its factory for the production of his automobiles.