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Home2023April

Month: April 2023

Automotive History Preservation Society website
Drive-By Musings

Automotive History Preservation Society’s new website isn’t always better

April 28, 2023 Steve 2

When I was updating a story today I noticed that the Automotive History Preservation Society has changed its URL. The organization’s website can now be found at autohistorypreservationsociety.org. Indie Auto links when possible to its […]

Late-60s Ford designers look at T-Bird proposal
History

Late-1960s Ford car design film shows US automakers losing it

April 28, 2023 Steve 6

(EXPANDED FROM 10/8/2021) A late-1960s Ford promotional film offers a fascinating glimpse into the car and truck designs being worked on at the time. Perhaps more than intended, The Design Makers — Inside Ford Design, […]

1951 Ford convertible
Design Notes

Was the 1951 Ford the end of the sensibly-sized ‘standard’ American car?

April 26, 2023 Steve 1

Reasonable people can debate when the Big Three automakers stopped building sensibly-sized cars during the postwar period. For example, one might point to the 1956 Ford because it was only slightly larger than its postwar […]

Media Analysis

Road & Track magazine’s 1972 Nader attack was disingenuous propaganda

April 24, 2023 Steve 2

(EXPANDED FROM 10/30/2020) When Road & Track decided to go after Ralph Nader in 1972, the magazine took unusual measures. Even before an “evaluation” of a Nader report hit the newsstands, Road & Track held […]

Parody ads about the auto industry and media
Our Sponsors

Automotive Views: AutoMaxy’s new app speeds buyers finding a car they can’t afford

April 23, 2023 Steve 0
1950 Nash Rambler hood ornament
Links

Speedreaders.info is a rare source of book reviews, but quality varies

April 21, 2023 Steve 0

(EXPANDED FROM 3/19/2021) Auto history books get surprisingly little attention in the buff media. If a newly published book is mentioned at all, it tends to be done with a modestly rewritten press release. Analytically […]

1951 Kaiser hood ornament
Design Notes

The redesigned 1951 Kaiser was not quite anatomically correct

April 20, 2023 Steve 12

The 1951 Kaiser was trumpeted as having “anatomic design” — that is, it was made to fit the needs of the human anatomy. Although the car’s unusually taunt body had some aesthetic appeal, it didn’t […]

1962 Volkswagen Beetle
Current Events

What should a simple modern car look like?

April 14, 2023 Steve 22

(EXPANDED FROM 3/1/2020) Once upon a time a Truth About Cars commentator lauded the simplicity of the then-new Jeep Renegade. “Well, I for one am yearning for a simpler time, and this vehicle suggests that,” […]

1991 Chevrolet Caprice - Motor Trend's Car of Year
Quotes

Maryann Keller: General Motors once again punished its media critics

April 13, 2023 Steve 5

“GM’s old critics were sharpening their knives. In January [1992] David E. Davis, editor and publication director of Automobile magazine, gave a biting speech to the Washington Auto Press Association in which he blasted past […]

Editor's Note

Should a nonprofit auto history group create a credible data bank?

April 12, 2023 Steve 6

(EXPANDED FROM 4/16/2021) One of the challenges of working with automotive sales and production data is that the most easily-available sources don’t always appear to be accurate. Thus, it felt validating to come across a […]

Posts pagination

1 2 »
  • 1964 Studebaker Challenger
    Brooks Stevens’s rejection of brand continuity was bad for small automakers
    June 14, 2025 0
  • EVs need a George Romney to champion them in the next few years
    June 13, 2025 15
  • Citroen SM
    Citroen SM: A surprisingly conventional next step
    June 12, 2025 5
  • 1936-37 Cord 810/812 tried to do too much at once
    June 11, 2025 10
  • 1963 Studebaker Daytona convertible
    Classic film shows human side of Studebaker’s end
    June 10, 2025 15
  • Once upon a time, car wheels were 36-to-42 inches in diameter
    June 9, 2025 5
  • Ram customized pickup
    What would you think if it was 1965 and you could magically see this truck?
    June 8, 2025 1
  • Brooks Stevens’s 1965 Studebaker Lark concept: Almost a baby Continental
    June 6, 2025 5
  • 1949 Packard Super Eight
    Packard kept a bigger foothold in the luxury-car field than commonly assumed
    June 5, 2025 9
  • Exner bio offers mostly positive take on controversial car designer
    Peter Grist views car designer Virgil Exner through rose-tinted glasses
    June 3, 2025 9
  • 1970 Mercury Cyclone
    1970 Mercury Montego had a last-of-the-wine quality
    June 2, 2025 2
  • A query, a thank you and an update on miscellaneous stuff
    April 4, 2025 0
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 124
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