Packard

Packard's 1958 closure ended a luxury brand that once competed with Cadillac and Lincoln. The company merged with struggling Studebaker in 1954, combining weakness rather than creating strength. Packard's final years produced badge-engineered Studebakers that destroyed brand equity. The company that built cars for presidents and royalty ended making rebadged economy cars. Packard demonstrated that luxury brands diluted to mass market face extinction.