Classic vehicles will surround the National Packard Museum on Saturday for its annual car show, and visitors who venture inside will see some new attractions as well.

On display will be the latest addition to the museum’s permanent collection, a 1956 Packard Clipper Super that was donated to the museum by William Beck, a Pennsylvania collector.

“The original plan was to have it delivered to us upon his death,” said Packard Executive Director Mary Ann Porinchak, but his children encouraged him to do it while he was alive after his health deteriorated and he wouldn’t be able to drive the car as he had in the past. “He loaded it on a hauler and sent it this way. He said he misses it everyday but he is so glad he did it this way because now he gets to see pictures of it here. It’s a beautiful car.”

The Super is the midlevel of the three versions of the Clipper — between the base model Deluxe and the top level Custom — that Packard produced in 1956, which many collectors consider the final year for the true Packard automobile. The manufacturer continued to produce cars in partnership with Studebaker in 1957 and ’58, but the partnership was a failure.

“What they didn’t count on was Studebaker people are loyal to Studebakers, and Packard people are fiercely loyal to Packards, so no one wanted to buy those mishmashes,” Porinchak said. “Even today we hear collectors say, ‘I don’t want any Stude-Packards.They have some other names for them that I will not repeat.”

While visitors will be able to see the car now, it will play a pivotal role in 2026, when the museum plans to recreate the 1956 Packard showroom with the other vehicles from that model year that are in the collection.

“We’re now able to tell the whole story of ’56 since we have this vehicle,” she said.

The museum also will unveil a new touchscreen exhibit that will spotlight William Doud Packard’s philanthropic contributions to Warren, which include Packard Park, Packard Music Hall and the W.D. Packard Concert Band.

“It’s a vital part of W.D. Packard’s legacy, and it was a story we hadn’t told in one place completely,” Porinchak said.

It was made possible through a donation by Thomas Groth, executive director of the band. Groth said he created a trust following the death of his wife, Brenda, and the trust has donated to projects related to cats, which were one of his wife’s passions, as well as music events.

“I thought it was a good project to donate to,” Groth said. “I remind the crowd in my opening announcements for every concert that they’re brought to you courtesy of W.D. Packard and the trust he set up to bring music and free concerts to the people of Warren for their edification and entertainment, so I think it’s important to keep letting people know that.”

After being known as the “Corvettes and Classics Car Show” in recent years, the 2025 edition is simply called “A Classic Car Show.”

Porinchak said the museum still is partnering with the Mahoning Valley Corvettes club, but they changed the name to avoid any confusion that the event was only for Corvettes.

“They’ve decided that we are the nonprofit that they’re going to support, and we couldn’t be more grateful,” she said. “We’re just not calling it ‘Corvettes and Classics’ because they felt that might discourage some other classics people from coming.”

The event traditionally attracts about 200 vehicles and runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday with registration until 11:30 a.m. and awards announced at 2:30 p.m. The registration fee is $10 for vehicle owners and includes one free admission to the museum. Outdoor events are free to spectators and include music by the Packard Dixieland Band, directed by Daniel Carioti, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Inside the museum, Charles Ohlin, director of education and historical research, will present a program on “The Adventures of Tom Fetch” at 10 a.m. E.T. “Tom” Fetch was the first person to complete a cross-country automobile trip, making the trek in a Warren-built Packard Model F in 1903. Last year the great-grandnephew of Fetch donated the memorabilia the family had compiled on their ancestor to the National Packard Museum.

Ohlin will share rarely seen photographs of Fetch’s journey as well as information about his subsequent celebrity status as the trip attracted nationwide newspaper coverage.

The scrapbooks with newspaper clippings occasionally are accompanied by notes Fetch wrote in the margins, Ohlin said, such as writing “not true” next to some of the stories.

The program is free with museum admission.

If you go …

WHAT: A Classic Car Show

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday with registration from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and awards at 2:30 p.m

WHERE: National Packard Museum, 1899 Mahoning Ave. NW, Warren

HOW MUCH: $10 entry fee for vehicle owners (includes one museum admission) and outdoor activities are free for spectators. For more information, go to packardmuseum.org or call 330-394-1899.

ALSO: Charles Ohlin, director of education and historical research at the museum will present a program on “The Adventures of Tom Fetch” at 10 a.m. Saturday. The program is free with museum admission.

Staff photo / Andy Gray
Mary Ann Porinchak, executive director of the National Packard Museum in Warren, talks about the latest addition to its collection, a 1956 Packard Super. BELOW: The 1956 Packard Super features a different style of hood ornament than most people associate with Packar