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Year: 2026
Design Notes
1941 Studebaker Commander: Ending its big cars on a high note
(EXPANDED FROM 10/1/2024) The 1941 Studebaker Commander is noteworthy partly because of its lovely art deco styling, but also because it represents close to the last of the automaker’s big premium-priced cars. In 1939 Studebaker […]
Multimedia
Video histories of DeSoto and American Motors aren’t as good as books
YouTube videos may bring auto history to a broader range of people, but they generally still aren’t as good as books. As a case in point, let’s take a look at a video about the […]
Letters to the Editor
Reader lauds Virgil Exner and says Ralph Nader ‘destroyed style forever’
CW stopped by to respond to our story, “1959 Cadillac epitomized what was wrong with U.S. car styling.” Yes I get all this but it was [Virgil] Exner the visionary who put style in cars […]
Media Analysis
Four lingering questions about Aaron Severson’s take on the 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk
Recently Aaron Severson (2026) raised questions about whether the 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk weighed more due to its Packard drivetrain. As usual, he offered a thoughtful analysis, but I still come away with four lingering […]
The Worst of Indie Auto
A story about George Romney’s family that draws upon all of AMC’s nameplates
(UPDATED FROM 8/30/2022) A few years ago a commentator on a political blog joked that Mitt Romney’s parents “did a lot of rambling in those days, but oddly enough none ever served as an ambassador.” […]
History
1970 Mercury ‘El Gato’ Cougar raises intriguing questions
(EXPANDED FROM 1/23/2024) Bill McGuire’s (2021b) story about the Mercury El Gato got me thinking about Ford’s conflicted design direction in the early-70s. The concept car hinted at what the 1969-70 Cougar might have looked […]
Literature
1969 Ford LTD attacked GM’s hierarchy of brands in multiple ways
(EXPANDED FROM 7/5/2023) The LTD was one of the Ford Motor Company’s biggest successes in the 1970s because it attacked General Motors’ hierarchy of brands in multiple ways. After failing to beat the popular Impala […]
Drive-By Musings
What is the quintessential automotive history book?
Karl Ludvigsen (2026) stopped by to “humbly put forward” his book, Porsche: Excellence Was Expected, as the “quintessence of an auto history.” In a comment, he noted that the book first came out “in 1978 […]
Links
Consumer Reports holds false hope more ‘light’ cars would be offered after WWII
(EXPANDED FROM 11/29/2023) A while back Indie Auto reader Jim Volgarino suggested that I check out the Internet Archive for hard-to-find automotive literature. That was terrific advice. One publication I have explored is Consumer Reports […]