Indie Auto

1967-72 Pontiac Firebird shows limits of ad illustrations

by Steve in Literature 7

(UPDATED FROM 78/2024/ Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman’s artwork in Pontiac’s advertising played an important role in the brand’s popularity during the 1960s. Others have done a thorough job of showcasing the team’s most iconic ads (e.g., Niedermeyer, 2015; Stroll, 2015). Thus, rather than duplicating efforts, I would like to offer a caveat about the [...]

Motorcade magazine’s ‘sneak peek’ of the 1969 models made up a whole lot of stuff

July 3, 2026 0

(UPDATED FROM 4/17/2024) Motorcade is among the more obscure magazines included in the Automotive History Preservation Society’s archives. A preview of the 1969 models may hint at why the magazine apparently did not survive [...]

Yes, but WHY do today’s automobiles look so similar?

July 2, 2026 9

(UPDATED FROM 7/26/2021) A few years ago Peter DeLorenzo (2021) argued that the auto industry had “reached the nadir of design. And it isn’t pretty.” The big reason why: Cars look so blandly similar that they may as well have been designed [...]

Why was Wayne Kady’s favorite design the 1971 Cadillac Eldorado?

June 30, 2026 8

(UPDATED FROM 4/24/2024) In an interview back in 2024 Wayne Kady was hesitant to name his favorite car design among those he had worked on during a 38-year stint at General Motors, saying that was like picking a favorite [...]

1960 Auto Union 1000: What happens when you cross a VW with Detroit iron

June 26, 2026 11

(UPDATED FROM 12/21/2023) Road & Track complained that for 1960 the Auto Union’s two-door hardtop was given a “crude ‘American’ touch, a clumsy wrap-around” windshield (Bond, 1959). That made this body style look even more [...]

Miscellaneous ramblings about being on the road

June 25, 2026 1

The above photo was taken two days ago during a trip across Washington state. Gas prices had come down from the previous week, when I paid a low of $4.89 and a high of $6.09 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. Those prices are [...]

Did the odd styling of the 1969 Chrysler two-door hardtop hurt its sales?

by Steve in Data Dive 6

(EXPANDED FROM 6/7/2024) Curbside Classic commentator nlpnt (2024) argued a while back that the fuselage Chrysler’s best-looking body style was the wagon. Conversely, I would add that the two-door hardtop was the least aesthetically pleasing body style. Of course, these are subjective judgments, so I wondered whether the switch to the fuselage body in 1969 [...]