It’s been a while since we checked in on Internet sources of automotive product information, so let’s take a look under the hood. Which websites are the most useful? And where could they improve?
I originally intended to only write about archives of automotive brochures and printed ads. However, some websites have started to offer other kinds of production information — which raises interesting questions about the potential for a one-stop source.
Before proceeding I should note that this isn’t a comprehensive list (see the “Bibliography of Links” for other resources). I should also acknowledge that what is most useful to me as an auto history writer may not align with other writers, let alone the typical Indie Auto reader. So by all means share your thoughts in the comments.
Old Car Brochures/Advertisements: Still the most useful
I consider decent visuals essential to a story, so even before I start to write I may explore what photographs or graphics are available. If I haven’t taken my own photos and Wikipedia doesn’t have anything decent, then I will seek out marketing images from automakers. Unlike some other auto history websites, I don’t pull random images from the Internet because that might violate someone’s copyright.
Most of the time I will first look at the Old Car websites because they tend to have the most comprehensive source of brochures and print advertisements. They primarily cover the U.S. market but have smaller collections for other countries such as Canada, Australia, Germany and Japan.
I say they tend to be most comprehensive because they have some limitations. For example, their focus is domestic brands and their brochures usually only go up to around the year 2000, while their print ads go to the late-1980s. In addition, the quality of the reproductions isn’t always very good, e.g., some of their images are too small to read the text.
Antique Auto Club’s library: Sort-of useful
The Antique Automobile Club of America has a library and research center that includes a repository of print advertisements. The quality of the reproductions tends to be high and it includes some foreign brands.
That said, they don’t include brochures and their ad selection is often not as comprehensive as Old Car Advertisements. In addition, the AACA website has a quirky interface that can make finding content cumbersome. As a case in point, rather than a simple list of brands, one is confronted with a large page of names embedded in a sea of images. And when you click to a brand’s page, you see a large block of years listed and keywords. You have to scroll past them all to see the ads.
Once you get used to their system it works okay, but I would hope that they would come up with a more intuitive format the next time they revamp their website. Out of the entities listed here, I would guess that the AACA has access to the most resources to upgrade their collection.
Auto History Preservation Society: Less useful
For a while I was spending the most time at the Automotive History Preservation Society’s website because it included foreign brands, materials for recent model years, and the quality of the reproductions could be higher than the Old Car websites. In addition, the society has started to archive other useful content such as magazine articles and technical documents.
However, around two years ago the society switched to a new website that lost a fair amount of content. When I posted a story about that, someone associated with the group submitted a comment asking for patience “as we upload massive amounts of documents over the next few weeks” (Dawn, 2023).
Also see ‘Should a nonprofit auto history group create a credible data bank?’
I know from my own experience in rebuilding websites that it can feel like an endless amount of mind-numbing work, so I can empathize with their situation. However, my impression is that even after two years, the new website still does not have all of the content I found on the old one. That can lead to an awkward situation if I continue to use old images. My practice is to link to the source, but if an Indie Auto reader tries to find the original material on the new website they may fail to do so.
In addition, my searches for new images have come up empty so often that I now only look here if I have not been successful in finding materials at the Old Car and AACA websites.
Overdrive: An interesting idea not fully developed
Overdrive offers a variety of digital resources such as brochures, print advertisements, road tests, technical documents and other basic product information.
This is an intriguing approach because it gets closest to the ideal of a one-stop source of information. Imagine a website that has all of the product details found in the Standard catalogs but also includes marketing materials and magazine articles.
That would be a huge step forward for two reasons. First, because putting all of that content in one place would make researching a given car much easier. Second, because offering product information in digital form would make it much easier to correct errors than in the print era, when mistakes were effectively permanent because the major reference books were rarely updated.
Alas, at this point Overdrive’s potential is more theoretical than actual. Only a few brands such as Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford include a decent amount of content. As a result, this is generally the last place I will go if I am trying to track down materials on a specific car.
MotorTrend and Hot Rod archives: Goodbye?
Since a number of the above websites have started including articles from old car magazines, I should mention that MotorTrend appears to have pulled the plug on offering a digital archives of all back issues. I am not seeing an indication from their website that even paid subscribers still have access to it.
By the same token, Dean’s Garage (2025) recently posted an article about how MotorTrend’s sister magazine Hot Rod offered a digital archives of back issues. However, when I clicked on the link it went to the front page of the magazine’s website and I didn’t see any sign of an archives. Am I missing something?
If I am correct that both of these magazines no longer make available a digital archives, I think that is a mistake. One of the biggest assets of each magazine is their rich history. Making that history available to the public could cultivate more interest in their current content.
Are things going to get better or worse?
The apparent demise of MotorTrend’s archives illustrates to me the greatest danger of digital sources of information — they can go away without notice. The same could happen to any of the other websites listed in this article. This is why it is a good thing that there is a modicum of competition.
At the same time, I get the distinct impression that none of the above websites has adequate resources. Indeed, I wonder whether a merger or two might lead to a better product. For example, the Automotive History Preservation Society’s website is in many respects more functional than the AACA’s but appears to need additional staffing capacity that the AACA may possess.
Also see ‘Auto history web page leads me to new sources of information‘
I offer that brainstorm with zero insight into the internal workings of either organization, so a merger may not be practical for any number of reasons. I mainly bring it up is to remind folks that if individual organizations are having challenges now, things could look even worse down the road as more of us old farts pass from the scene. Or once the next recession hits and money gets tighter.
Automotive history is a team sport — and the work of writers like me is only as good as the sources we have access to. So I hope these groups are thinking strategically about how to best provide their services in future years.
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Dawn; 2023. Commentator in “Automotive History Preservation Society’s new website isn’t always better.” Indie Auto. Posted May 3 at 10:21 a.m.
- Dean’s Garage; 2025. “Hot Rod Magazines Online in a Flip Format.” Dean’s Garage. Posted May 30.
Another source for car images not seen as often so not as threadbare from overexposure are the Annual Report to Stockholders published every year. The annual reports from the big three were often splashy, full color magazines. There are photos of all the new cars, trucks, imports, appliances, work for NASA, whatever the company was proud of to impress stockholders.
Bill, that’s a good idea. My challenge is that so far the reports I have tried to find on the Internet have only been for sale, which can add up pretty quickly. Do you know of links for freebie sources?