Work in Progress; 1928 Packard testing site sees restoration.(Studebaker-Packard's site to be renovated by Ford Motor Co.)

Byline: BROOKS BRIERLEY

Back in the mid-1920s, when Packard was the leading American luxury automobile, the company built a proving grounds near Utica, Michigan, about 20 miles north of its Detroit factory. Prolific architect Albert Kahn, whose automotive work included clients as diverse as Ford and Pierce-Arrow, designed the complex around a splendid Tudor-style lodge (right) and a 2.5-mile oval test track.

There were two garages on site, one for 10 cars attached to the lodge and an adjacent 6500-square-foot garage where engineering analysis was performed. The site's opening in 1928 was a great event: Race car driver Leon Duray set the world's closed-course record of 148.2 mph (driving a Miller).

More everyday proving grounds events could be just as interesting, such as driving the Depression-era inline 12-cylinder and front-wheel-drive prototypes. Testing the 1935 production cars at 90 mph for 25,000 miles, running continuously night and day, was another part of the million miles run on the cement track each year. Chrysler used the site during World War II for testing tanks and other armored vehicles, and erected a laboratory-style building that still survives.

Packard liked to hold model-year previews at the proving grounds. The last big event was in December 1954 when president James Nance introduced the 1955 V8 as the most powerful American automobile engine. The new ...