Boasting revised styling for 1948, sales of the Twenty-Second Series Packards were buoyed by a public hungry for new cars following World War II. The New York Fashion Academy presented Packard with its “Fashion Car of the Year Award.” Packard ads described it as “Designed by the Wizards of Ah’s!” Despite initial rave reviews, the styling based on the prewar Phantom/Brown Bomber show car designed by Ed McCauley in time, was rather unflatteringly referred to it as a “pregnant elephant” by the media. By using the old Clipper-based body, heavy pieces of metal were tacked onto the body structure to create a flowing fender effect adding about 200 pounds to the car and yielding the chubby shape. The styling quickly grew out of fancy with the buying public, especially compared to Cadillac’s P-38 Lightning-inspired tailfins and sleek sheetmetal that was the awe of the automobile industry.

Packard celebrated its Golden Anniversary in 1949 by introducing its Twenty-Third Series cars in May 1949. This was Packard’s top-of-the line model and its most expensive car for 1949 at $4,295. And, one of its heaviest at 4,530 pounds. Just 60 Custom Eight Convertible Victorias were produced for the model year.