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Home2025

Year: 2025

1949 Packard Super 8
Data Dive

Packard kept a bigger foothold in the luxury-car field than commonly assumed

June 5, 2025 Steve 9

Our discussion in the comment thread about the 1956 Packard Executive story all but inevitably brought up one of the most common criticisms of the automaker’s management — that it did not do enough in […]

2024 Rivian R1T
Current Events

Laurence Iliff’s Automotive News story on EV truck sales lacks nuance and balance

June 4, 2025 Steve 4

Automotive News recently asked why electric-powered trucks have sold in much smaller numbers than initial hype promised. Reporter Laurence Iliff (2025) offered some background before concluding that high prices and inadequate range have limited EV […]

Exner bio offers mostly positive take on controversial car designer
Readings

Peter Grist views car designer Virgil Exner through rose-tinted glasses

June 3, 2025 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 12/6/2022) Peter Grist stated that he tried to make this authorized biography of car designer Virgil Exner “as unbiased as possible” (p. 5). Even so, Visioneer has a family scrapbook quality, replete with childhood photos and […]

1970 Mercury Cyclone
Drive-By Musings

1970 Mercury Montego had a last-of-the-wine quality

June 2, 2025 Steve 2

In a number of respects the 1970 Mercury Montego exuded a last-of-the-wine vibe. For one thing, it was the final reskinning of the mid-sized platform that the Ford Motor Company introduced in 1962. Let’s just […]

Pet bumper stickers like this one are dorky
Photo Essay

Bumper stickers about pets and kids can get really dorky

June 1, 2025 Steve 1

(UPDATED FROM 11/13/2020) It makes sense that parents — both of kids and pets — would stick with PG-rated bumper stickers. But why are they so dorky? The obsessiveness of pet parents is amply displayed in […]

Joan Crawford in 1969
Quotes

Auto history: A bastion of older white male privilege?

May 31, 2025 Steve 18

My perception is that there has been a fairly good gender balance at the auto shows I regularly attend at the LeMay Collections at Marymount. Thus, I wonder why so few women appear to participate […]

Parody ads about the auto industry and media
Our Sponsors

Automotive Views: Balancing the federal budget will require sacrifices at some point

May 31, 2025 Steve 0
Media Analysis

Automotive News staff struggle to transcend paper’s checkered past

May 30, 2025 Steve 2

The May 19th print edition of Automotive News ran two commentaries that debated California’s ability regulate pollution caused by the automobile industry. In the first commentary, Reporter Larry P. Vellequette (2025) acknowledged that the industry […]

1956 Packard Executive
History

Did the 1956 Packard Executive represent a strategic shift?

May 29, 2025 Steve 23

(EXPANDED FROM 2/1/2022) Back in 2021 Patrick Foster suggested that a 1956 1/2 Packard model called the Executive could have “saved” the brand if it had been introduced a year or so earlier. In contrast, […]

AMC Pacer clay model
Multimedia

Why does Joe Ligo’s PBS series sanewash AMC’s mid-70s recklessness?

May 28, 2025 Steve 7

I have mixed reactions to Joe Ligo’s (2025) fourth episode of his six-part television series on American Motors. This 30-minute program focuses on the automaker’s two final big-ticket redesigns before losing its independence: the 1974 […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 17 18 19 … 35 »
  • Ward Packard
    James Ward offers more nuanced take on Packard’s fall than other auto histories
    July 23, 2026 35
  • Budd XR-400
    The XR-400 wouldn’t have ‘saved’ AMC but it pointed in a useful direction
    July 22, 2026 6
  • 1965 Studebaker Cruiser proposal
    Car Life speculates about why Studebaker shut down its South Bend plant
    July 17, 2026 9
  • 1956 Lincoln
    The 1956 Lincoln’s styling proved to be a one-year wonder
    July 17, 2026 18
  • 1975 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL
    1975 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL lacked the taut brilliance of its predecessor
    July 14, 2026 10
  • 1988 Oldsmobile Toronado
    Did GM go too far in downsizing the 1986 Riviera, Toronado and Eldorado?
    July 10, 2026 16
  • 1968 Pontiac Firebird green convertible
    1967-72 Pontiac Firebird shows limits of ad illustrations
    July 7, 2026 10
  • Internet problems reminded me of U.S. automakers in the 1970s
    May 2, 2026 1
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 141
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