Rome Arnold,
65, a former investment banker living in Southampton, N.Y., on his 1953 Packard Caribbean, as told to A.J. Baime.
Unlike today, in the 1980s, there were lots of restored vintage cars that didn’t cost too much money. I was living in Manhattan, and looking for something that I could use on weekends to get to the beach. I pulled out the Standard Catalog of American Cars. That’s when I discovered the Caribbean.
It was built during an exciting time in American car design. In 1953, Packard debuted the Caribbean, Buick debuted the Skylark, and Cadillac brought out the Eldorado. All were limited-edition cars; the latter two were longtime models for the brands, but the Caribbean not so much, as the Packard brand soon disappeared.
Rome Arnold spent two years hunting for a Caribbean in the stock color Matador Maroon. He found this one in Mound, Minn.
Photo:
Gordon M. Grant for The Wall Street Journal
Mr. Arnold, near his home in Southampton, N.Y. He has used the Packard in some 15 weddings, including his own in 1991.
Photo:
Gordon M. Grant for The Wall Street Journal
To me the Caribbean was the most interesting. It was designed by a guy named
Dick Teague,
who later became famous for designing the AMC Pacer. To create the Caribbean, Teague and his team took a standard Packard convertible and heavily customized it. They broke tradition: There is no hood ornament, and the word Caribbean is nowhere to be found on the 1953 model. It had power everything, which was a big deal in 1953: power steering, brakes, convertible top, adjustable seats, retractable antenna, windows.
Finding one wasn’t going to be easy. Packard only built 750 in 1953. There were only four stock colors—Matador Maroon, Sahara Sand, Polaris Blue and Gulf Green. I only liked the Maroon. So I went on a mission to find one in this color.
The Packard’s steering wheel and dashboard. The car has a manual shifter mounted on its steering column.
Photo:
Gordon M. Grant for The Wall Street Journal
The convertible came with a 327-cubic-inch, eight-cylinder motor. The noteworthy American car designer Dick Teague was responsible for the shape.
Photo:
Gordon M. Grant for The Wall Street Journal
After a two-year hunt, I found my car in Mound, Minn., in 1986. I flew out, bought it for $17,500, and drove it home. Along the way, the generator light came on telling me the battery was not recharging. So I had range anxiety long before that was a thing. I ended up having to jump-start the car and got home OK.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you like most about this 1953 Packard? Join the conversation below.
I was living in Manhattan, and I rented a detached garage in Astoria, Queens. When I got there after my 25-hour trip, I quickly found out that the Caribbean was 2 inches longer than the garage. So that required some rethinking.
I have been driving the car regularly for 35 years. In 1989, a friend of the family asked if I would use the Caribbean to chauffeur him and his fiancée from the church to the reception on their wedding day. I said sure, not realizing that this would turn into a family tradition. The car has now participated in about 15 weddings, just for family friends, all in the Hamptons. During each one, I have had the newlyweds sign a log.
Aaron Matthew Zweig and Sunny Kneissl Zweig, among the many family friends of Rome Arnold who have used his car in their weddings, in Sagaponack, N.Y., in 2011.
Photo:
lynne brubaker photography
At one wedding two years ago, I showed a young couple the place in the log where the bride’s parents had signed 30 years earlier. I had used the Caribbean in their wedding—so two generations of the same family. I even used the car in my own wedding back in 1991.
Purchasing the Caribbean triggered a lifelong fascination with old cars. I have bought, restored and sold many. But the Caribbean is still in my garage.
Write to A.J. Baime at [email protected]
Copyright ©2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
For all the latest Life Style News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsBit.us is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
