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HomeHistory

History

1957 Lincoln four-door hardtop
History

Could the 1956-57 Lincoln have saved a dying Packard?

April 4, 2024 Steve 11

(EXPANDED FROM 7/30/2021) Stéphane Dumas has been displaying his broad knowledge of web-based sources of automotive history for quite a few years. As a case in point, back in 2015 Dumas posted a comment over at […]

1953 Plymouth
History

Historians fuzzy on Exner’s impact on 1953-54 Plymouths

February 7, 2024 Steve 5

(EXPANDED FROM 8/16/2021) Did Virgil Exner have any involvement with the 1953-54 Plymouth’s design? Automotive historians have tended to either dance around that question or offer varying — or even contradictory — information. As a […]

1955 Studebaker V8 emblem
History

Why V8 engines were less important in the 1950s than commonly believed

October 23, 2023 Steve 17

(UPDATED FROM 10/23/2023) One of the most pervasive myths in U.S. automotive history is that a V8 engine became essential to an automaker’s success in the first half of the 1950s. This narrative is summed […]

1956 Continental Mark II
History

Who were the five worst leaders of postwar U.S. automakers?

October 6, 2023 Steve 38

(UPDATED FROM 5/7/2021) Warren Buffett has argued that the Number 1 problem a company can face is choosing the wrong chief executive officer. Buffett, who is CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has said that over the […]

History

Four reasons why the AMC Gremlin was a bad idea

April 20, 2022 Steve 13

(UPDATED FROM 4/20/2022) The AMC Gremlin may be one of the most memorable cars of the 1970s, but it was a bad idea for four often-forgotten reasons. I grant you that what I am about […]

1965 Ford Mustang rear quarter
History

What is the right size for a Ford Mustang?

January 14, 2022 Steve 4

(UPDATED FROM 10/9/2020) Did Ford deviate too much from the original Ford Mustang’s size before finally getting it right once again in 2005? That year was pivotal because it was the first time in a quarter […]

1967 Cadillac DeVille convertible
History

It’s a big deal that Ford and GM knew about climate change in 1960s

December 29, 2021 Steve 0

(UPDATED FROM 6/6/2020) The news that Ford and General Motors knew about climate change in the 1960s raises a number of big questions. For example, might this revelation open both automakers to lawsuits similar to […]

Saab 99
History

Saab 99/900: The box that crushed a carmaker

October 29, 2021 Steve 25

(UPDATED FROM 6/26/2020) The Saab 99/900 proved to be the box that crushed the tiny Swedish carmaker. I grant you that this platform was hardly an immediate failure. Even so, the design of the 99 […]

1965 Ford Mustang
History

How Lee Iacocca contributed to the decline of Ford and Chrysler, Part 2

October 20, 2021 Steve 11

(EXPANDED FROM 10/20/2021) My essay about Lee Iacocca elicited some interesting pushback, so I would like to offer some follow-up thoughts. Some commentators have pushed back against my criticisms of Iacocca by pointing to things […]

1954 Hudson Hornet
History

Did Chrysler’s 1953 purchase of Briggs kill Hudson?

April 9, 2021 Steve 8

(EXPANDED ON 1/27/2023) In doing research on our “unresolved postwar mysteries” story, I came across a piece of information that challenged one of my long-held assumptions. George Hamlin and Dwight Heinmuller stated that the Briggs […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 6 7 8 »
  • 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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