The Packard 180 was introduced in 1940 by the Packard Motor Car Company to replace the discontinued V-12 as their top-of-the-line luxury model.

The "180" or "One-Eighty" featured an in-line eight cylinder, 356-cubic-inch (5,830 cc) engine that developed 160 horsepower. It was advertised as the most powerful eight cylinder engine offered by any automobile manufacturer in 1940. (By contrast, the Cadillac 346 cubic inch V-8 developed 150 hp) Packard also used this new engine in their mid-range "160" models.

Packards of all series (110, 120, 160, 180) shared similar body styling in 1940 (which some later said led to a "cheapening" of the once-exclusive luxury marque.) However, the 180's featured finer interior detailing, fabrics and carpeting. There were minor styling changes in the 1941 and 1942 models.

The final 180s rolled off the Packard assembly line in February, 1942, as World War II brought a halt to civilian automobile production. There have been rumors that machinery was transferred to the Soviet Union, and production continued until 1959 as the ZIS-110. However, according in James Ward's The Fall of Packard, page 46, he found no supporting evidence in the Packard archives of such a transfer. Also, the ZIS-110 shares no sheet metal with any Packard, despite the fact that its external decor elements were intentionally designed to heavily resemble pre-war Packards, favoured by Stalin.

They were the first car to have power windows.

05272011