In 1914… WWI breaks out in Europe. First electric traffic light installed in Cleveland, Ohio. First successful blood transfusion made in Brussels. Cost of a new house: $3,500. Average yearly wages: $1,300. Gallon of gas: $0.12. Average cost of a new car: $500.

Packard promoted its cars with the famous slogan, “Ask The Man Who Owns One.” Customer testimonials were a constant theme in The Packard magazine, including this one in a 1914 issue.

P.J. Stough, of San Diego, California, lacks a few months of being ninety-five years old. He owns two Packards and writes thus concerning his latest “48:” “I have had a couple of weeks’ joy riding in my new Packard and I find that the car fits my needs. One day I beat the Sante Fe [railroad] from here to Los Angeles. Sometimes my boy wants to show off, but so far I have not permitted him to exceed seventy miles an hour. One day, after I had travelled two hundred miles, I laid down on the tonneau [convertible top] and has as comfortable an hour’s nap as I could have had in my bedroom. I thought that was pretty good for the car and for the ninety-four-year-old man. Don’t you?” CREDIT: The Packard.

By 1914 Packard had become synonymous with refinement and quality, as demonstrated in the 1914 Model 4-48 Runabout. Packard was proud of their new “Dominant Six,” putting the massive 525 cubic inch engine to the test running it for twelve-and-one-half days straight, through 21.7 million revolutions and 1438 gallons of fuel in a testament to their engineering. While Packard had many firsts, it was Dayton native Charles Kettering was to put the first electric starter on a Cadillac in 1911. Packard made it standard on the 1914 models introduced in April 1913. These cars boasted 37 inch tires over wood spoke wheels, electric head and side lamps, aluminum bodies, and the soon-to-standardized left hand drive.