Drive-By Musings
Would anything have ‘saved’ American Motors?
RF stopped by to respond to our story, “Pat Foster barks up wrong tree by lauding an AMC Gremlin GT with a 360 V8.” Well, sort of. He seemed to be more interested in answering […]
Drive-By Musings
Drive-By Musings
1970 Mercury Montego had a last-of-the-wine quality
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 […]
Drive-By Musings
How might John Z. DeLorean have done as head of AMC?
(EXPANDED FROM 7/15/2021) A few years ago Curbside Classic commentator Chris Cieslak (2021) noted that American Motors toyed with the idea of hiring John Z. DeLorean after he left General Motors. This brings up an […]
Drive-By Musings
Would U.S. automakers have done better if high tariffs had always been in place?
Automotive News has been celebrating its 100-year anniversary by running articles that offer historical context about current events. The Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs would be a particularly valuable topic for this treatment. Unfortunately, so […]
Drive-By Musings
Trump’s trade war could tempt Canada to welcome Chinese EVs
Republican attempts to “slam the brakes” on electric vehicle adoption (Rivero, 2025) combined with President Trump’s trade war with Canada could create an opening for Chinese EVs. BYD is increasingly looking like it it is […]
Drive-By Musings
Let’s grade William Mitchell’s 1970s car designs
William Mitchell was vice president of design at General Motors from December 1958 through July 1977 (Wikipedia, 2025). I have previously raised the question of whether he stayed in his position too long (go here). […]
Drive-By Musings
What were the five most successful postwar facelifts among US cars?
In the “Story Ideas Bank” Stewdi offered a topic that got me thinking: What are the most successful facelifts of all time? The power was out at Indie Auto’s world headquarters for most of the […]
Drive-By Musings
How much did postwar automakers decontent cars to keep the price down?
Indie Auto commentator Peter Wilding (2025) raised a good point when noting that he “never understood the idea of deliberately decontenting a car to be able to advertise a lower price, when hardly anyone actually […]
Drive-By Musings
How typical was car snobbery in postwar high schools?
(EXPANDED FROM 2/6/2023) A few years ago Curbside Classic reposted a comment from a guy named Rob who had a “soul-crushing experience” driving a 1959 Rambler American to high school hangouts (Niedermeyer, 2023). In 1968 […]
Drive-By Musings
Silent night (mostly)
(UPDATED FROM 12/24/2021) At pretty much all hours of the day and night I can hear the relentless drone of automobilia in the Seattle-area suburb where I live. Thus, it’s a real treat to visit […]