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Year: 2021
Media Analysis
Do you have the stamina to write 10,500 words per week?
A job description for a news reporter opening at GM Authority sheds light on the brave new world of automotive journalism. The lucky person hired is expected to write seven, 300-word articles per day. That’s […]
Design Notes
1964 Studebaker: Brooks Stevens hammered final nail in the coffin
In retrospect, Studebaker shouldn’t have assigned Brooks Stevens to restyle its Lark for 1964. He may have had a more mainstream design sensibility than Raymond Loewy, but Stevens was also the guy who coined the […]
Quotes
Patrick Foster: International failed to grow with truck market
“(T)he truck market was going to break out of its previous boundaries and begin a historic climb in which it would eventually surpass automobiles in total sales. In time trucks would become the biggest and […]
Satire
Could you give feedback on my sample article for hotcars.com?
Doing Indie Auto’s been fun, but it’s not making me rich. So when I heard that hotcars.com was hiring freelancers, I thought: Here’s my ticket! Thank you, Automotive Books and Periodicals, for posting their “We’re […]
History
Did Chrysler’s 1953 purchase of Briggs kill Hudson?
(EXPANDED ON 1/27/2023) In doing research on our “unresolved postwar mysteries” story, I came across a piece of information that challenged one of my long-held assumptions. George Hamlin and Dwight Heinmuller stated that the Briggs […]
Quotes
Leo Levine was an aggressive p.r. guy for Mercedes
“Levine prolifically wined and dined the trade press, but he also took what he considered any disrespect for the brand personally. (And if he didn’t take it personally, he certainly acted as if he did.) […]
Fake Design
1969-71 Chrysler: An Exner idea fumbled again
(EXPANDED 8/3/2022) The 1969-71 Chrysler was an unfortunate example of a promising design that went sideways because of a few bad decisions. The Chrysler was exceptionally clean and purposeful for an American premium-priced car of […]
Bird Chatter
History
Five (arguably) unresolved mysteries of postwar independent automakers
(EXPANDED ON 1/27/2023) Many books, magazine articles and blog posts have been written about the independent automakers’ struggle to survive in the 1950s. Even so, I have come across a number of unresolved mysteries relevant […]