I always liked the story of the final disposition of the "Black Bess" 1957 Packard prototype. Constructed more as an engineering rather than a styling prototype, it was never much to look at. Basically "Built on an anvil", the fit and finish were really pretty crude. As it became apparent that the 1957 Packards it was meant to represent would never see the light of day, plans were made to scrap "unnecessary" materials, including Bess. Packard Styling Studio chief Richard Teague called in Red Lux, an old welder in the studio who had been there since the cornerstone. There were two or three other cars besides Black Bess. . . including another black one, a 1956-style Clipper. Teague said, 'Okay Red, it's official, cut the black one up.' Teague came back around 4 p.m. and Red was just finishing. The pieces were lying all around like a bomb had gone off. To hear Teague tell the story, "It was probably the dirtiest trick I ever played, but I said, 'My God, Red, what have you done? Not this one, man, the one over in the corner!'. . . . His face drained, and when I told him I was just kidding, he chased me around the room. You've got to have a sense of humor in this business."
