The History of Classic Convertible Wine Tours
& the Packard Motor Company
In 1989, Tab Borge had the vision of a classic car company offering tours
to the wineries of the Napa Valley. Wedding Transportation was also a plan.
It started with one hard top limousine that was later customized to a convertible.
He has personally restored the cars and has learned from trial and error
what needed improving and what worked. With a degree from Davis in viticulture
and eight years experience in the wine industry his knowledge of the wineries
and wine making was a perfect match with his knowledge of automobiles.
This little idea has become a thriving business over the years with four
convertible vehicles and hundreds of repeat customers. These automobiles
were featured on The Travel Channel, Travel Café, and a few commercials.
As with any car enthusiast, another car is on the assembly line waiting
to join the fleet. Stay tuned!
The Packard began in the early 1890's when James Ward Packard first got
the idea to build a motor car. In 1903 the Packard Motor Car Company was
established in Warren, Ohio and then later moved to Detroit, Michigan until
the last car came off the assembly line in 1958.
By 1909 Packard was one of the major automobile manufactures in America. By
1925 Packard was the indisputable leader in the field of prestige automobiles. In
the early years James Packard didn’t believe in talking about Packard;
best left to the owners. The story goes that in 1901, when his secretary
asked for a sales brochure, Packard replied “Ask the man who owns one”,
and the slogan stuck.
By 1941 the traditional Packard lines were replaced with the introduction of the Packard Clipper. The 1947 Clipper model returned to production after WWII and approximately 1,200 limousine models were made between the years 1946 and 1947.
