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HomeDesign Notes

Design Notes

1976 Tatra T-613
Design Notes

Tatra was yet another automaker that deemphasized aerodynamics by 1970s

May 22, 2026 Steve 12

(EXPANDED FROM 8/23/2023) A few years ago Curbside Classic reposted a story about the Tatra T-613 (Shafer, 2023). What struck me about that car, which was designed in the late-60s but did not reach production […]

1966 Mercury Colony Park rear quarter
Design Notes

1966 Mercury Colony Park wagon was an unsung bright spot for the brand

May 11, 2026 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 10/7/2022) Mercury’s Colony Park never got much attention, but it saw steadily increasing sales through the second half of the 1960s. For example, in 1966 almost 19,000 of the top-of-line Mercury wagons were […]

1967 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible grille closeup
Design Notes

1967 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible didn’t catch on

April 23, 2026 Steve 14

(EXPANDED FROM 9/1/2023) Albert Fredrick Godwin stopped by to point out that our featured 1967 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible was his car. He had displayed it at an annual auto show hosted by LeMay Collections […]

1975 Ford Thunderbird
Design Notes

Ford design in the 1970s was a real step down from the previous decade

April 10, 2026 Steve 25

In a comment thread we have been debating Ford design in the 1970s (go here). That sparked me to think in greater depth about how that automaker’s styling chops were a real step down from […]

2018 Honda Odyssey
Design Notes

Somebody’s going to hell for the 2018-26 Honda Odyssey

April 1, 2026 Steve 7

(EXPANDED FROM 7/9/2018) The headline may seem overly dramatic. After all, ugly car design doesn’t have nearly the negative consequences of, say, melting the polar ice caps. However, visual blight has been proven to increase […]

Design Notes

Ford gets back into the mid-sized game with redesigned 1966 Fairlane

March 13, 2026 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 11/15/2023) Even though Ford came out with one of the first mid-sized cars in 1962, only three years later it was pummeled by General Motors and Chrysler. In 1965 even American Motors’ mid-sized […]

1941 Studebaker Commander 2-door coupe
Design Notes

1941 Studebaker Commander: Ending its big cars on a high note

February 26, 2026 Steve 11

(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 […]

1970 Buick Riviera
Design Notes

The 11 worst single-year redesigns of postwar American cars

January 16, 2026 Steve 36

(EXPANDED FROM 7/14/2023) I grant you that top-whatever rankings can be clickbaity, but I decided to do this story for a specific reason. In the postwar years Detroit tended to assume that rapid-fire restylings were […]

1961 Buick LeSabre
Design Notes

The 1961 Buick was a pivot point for GM’s troubled brand

December 19, 2025 Steve 3

(EXPANDED FROM 12/23/2022) The 1961 Buick represented a pivot point for General Motors’ troubled premium-priced brand. The car’s styling lurched from the swaggering flamboyance of the 1950s to the utilitarian conservatism of the 1962-64 models. […]

1951 Kaiser hood ornament
Design Notes

The redesigned 1951 Kaiser was not quite anatomically correct

December 4, 2025 Steve 13

(EXPANDED FROM 4/20/2023) The 1951 Kaiser was trumpeted as having “anatomic design” — that is, it was made to fit the needs of the human anatomy. Although the car’s unusually taunt body had some aesthetic […]

Posts pagination

1 2 … 9 »
  • 1950 Nash Rambler hood ornament
    Speedreaders.info is a rare source of book reviews, but quality varies
    June 3, 2026 0
  • 1958 Lincoln
    1958-60 Lincoln: Failing to beat GM at its own game
    June 2, 2026 12
  • 1957 Nash Ambassador
    Three videos: The death of car culture, rich people’s cars and the 1957 Nash
    May 29, 2026 6
  • 1963 Mercury Marauder
    1963 Mercury Marauder: Ford tries to do a premium-priced car on the cheap
    May 27, 2026 11
  • Did 1964 Ramblers share more parts between size classes than competitors?
    May 26, 2026 1
  • 1976 Tatra T-613
    Tatra was yet another automaker that deemphasized aerodynamics by 1970s
    May 22, 2026 12
  • Patrick Foster shows how International Harvester failed to adapt
    May 13, 2026 5
  • 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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