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Year: 2023
Media Analysis
Peter DeLorenzo draws questionable lessons from automotive history
Peter DeLorenzo (2023) recently raised a useful point: Too many of today’s auto industry executives “have no concept of historical perspective at all.” His full column is worth a read, but here’s a key passage: […]
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Fake Design
The 1938-40 Graham didn’t just fail because of ‘sharknose’ styling
(EXPANDED FROM 1/15/2021) The 1938-40 Graham is a popular topic in the auto history media because of the car’s infamous “sharknose” styling. What gets little, if any, attention is that even if the design had […]
Media Analysis
Accounts of Brooks Stevens’s Studebaker Sceptre and siblings can vary
Dean’s Garage has reposted a Hemmings story about a number of proposed Studebakers designed by Brooks Stevens. Daniel Strohl (2023) primarily focused on the Sceptre, a replacement for the ancient Hawk. I find the photographs […]
Current Events
Will history repeat itself by punishing automakers for their big SUV binge?
It’s an old trick in the U.S. auto industry to blame consumers for bad corporate behavior. Automotive News (2022) recently lent a helping hand by playing the victim card to justify the lack of improvement […]
Readings
James Nance bio, ‘Spellbinder,’ shows promise and pitfalls of self publishing
Stuart R. Blond’s biography of Packard head James Nance is among the most unusual books in my automotive library. For one thing, Spellbinder: The Life of James J. Nance, is a two-volume set that stretches […]
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Letters to the Editor
Reader offers his perspective on why Packard died
Indie Auto has received a pair of comments from a reader we will call D.B. His first comment was in response to our story, “The 1955 Packard’s styling was an evolutionary dead end.” D.B.’s second […]
Links
Brazilian Volkswagens show automaker’s struggle for a post-Beetle look
Paul Niedermeyer’s (2023) recently reposted story about Volkwagens of Brazil offers a helpful addendum to our Scirocco discussion. The automaker’s Brazilian arm went the farthest in giving the Beetle chassis a variety of more modern […]