Month: May 2024
GM’s discontinuing of the Chevrolet Malibu is criticized as short sighted
Fast Company’s David Zipper (2024) took General Motors to task for announcing that General Motors would discontinue the Chevrolet Malibu in November. With the long-running nameplate’s demise, GM will no longer sell an affordable sedan […]
Would Hudson have been Packard’s best merger partner?
(EXPANDED FROM 10/13/2021) A decade ago Curbside Classic commentator Steve (2014) offered one of the more thoughtful merger scenarios for Packard: He concluded that Hudson would have been the best choice. I think that Steve’s […]
Why did American Motors fire Wells Rich and Greene in 1972?
The recent death of ad pioneer Mary Wells Lawrence got me wondering how long her fledgling ad agency Wells Rich and Greene worked with American Motors. The short answer: from 1967 to 1972. This ad […]
Reader disagrees that 1966-67 Plymouth Satellite was anonymous looking
AN stopped by to respond to our article, “1966-67 Plymouth Satellite was most anonymous-looking car of its era.” I completely disagree with the premise of the article, “1966-67 Plymouth Satellite most anomyous-looking car of its […]
Automobile in American Life and Society is valuable but badly needs updating
(EXPANDED FROM 12/6/2021) Our discussions about Ford Motor Company internal politics drew me to reread some oral histories at a website called the Automobile in American Life and Society. Interviews with George Walker, Eugene Bordinat, […]
Why did the Ford Motor Company’s styling go downhill in the 1970s?
We’ve had an interesting discussion in a comment thread about Ford Motor Company styling in the 1970s (go here), so I wanted bring some additional information and ideas to the table. This will be a […]
Reader apparently doesn’t like something about our 1964 Thunderbird story
A reader I’ll call G stopped by to respond to our story, “Car and Driver playfully roasts a 1964 Ford Thunderbird convertible.” G wrote: “Supremely tired of hearing today’s auto ‘authorities’ comment on classic cars […]
Popular Science pans premium cars for cost cutting and impractical styling
Popular Science’s Jan P. Norbye and Jim Dunne criticized the quality and practicality of four 1972 premium-priced big cars. They road tested the Buick LeSabre, Chrysler Newport Royal, Mercury Monterey and Oldsmobile Delta 88. “It’s […]
1969-77 Plymouth: Fuselage wasn’t so bad compared to anti-fuselage
(EXPANDED FROM 5/13/2022) Ponderous styling of the so-called “fuselage” Plymouths has been pointed to as the biggest reason why sales were smaller than the well-regarded platform it replaced (e.g., auto editors of Consumer Guide, 2022). Output for […]