102 “However, Feldmann’s efforts also required the talents of an aggressive and very creative young designer. Fortunately, this man had already been making intriguing proposals for Packard (via Henney) in the late 1940s. His name was Richard Arbib and one of his earlier proposals was called the Monte Carlo.” The first of these proposals was done using a 1948 Packard Custom Eight convertible as the basis. The result was an amazingly sleek, very modern pillarless two-door hardtop. Everything was done to give the car a much lower look. Front wheel openings were lowered. A wrap-around backlight with forwardlearning C-pillars was way ahead of its time. While looking at the photos of this car (the hardtop mock-up), you might imagine what you see was a fully finished car. But according to Arbib himself, this particular Monte Carlo was merely a design mock-up; plastic, wood, aluminum foil attached on a Custom Eight convertible. Just a quick and clever example of what could be done to transform a “standard” Packard. But it was certainly not a road-worthy automobile. And this mock-up, unfortunately, never made it to production. While one story said an enterprising dealer reportedly made overtures of offering a special Monte Carlo convertible, it never really got out of the box. After an example was built for show, the dealer quickly learned the hard way about the expense involved and apparently backed off. The project came to an abrupt end. But Arbib was unfazed and continued making proposals for sporty convertibles to Henney and ultimately to Packard.” Richard Arbib With His Personal 1952 Packard Pan American Sports Car
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