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HomeMedia Analysis

Media Analysis

Automotive News
Media Analysis

Does Automotive News have a realistic plan for fighting Trump’s tariffs?

April 17, 2025 Steve 1

Automotive News (2025) recently displayed an eye-opening strategy when endorsing a U.S. Senate bill that would strengthen Congress’s role in overseeing the president’s tariff policies. For one thing, the unsigned editorial emphasized in the headline […]

2025 Chevrolet Silverado
Media Analysis

Automotive News does a poor job of assessing U.S. traffic death growth

April 10, 2025 Steve 0

In celebration of its 100-year anniversary, Automotive News has been running a series of news articles that “honor our legacy by connecting topics of today with our historical coverage as we look ahead to the […]

1966 AMC Ambassador DPL
Media Analysis

Motor Trend’s take on AMC’s decline shows limitations of auto punditry

March 13, 2025 Steve 3

The May 1966 issue of Motor Trend included an unusually long article about the woes of American Motors. The piece was written by Editor Donald Mac Donald, so presumably it displayed the magazine’s most sophisticated […]

1956 Chevrolet
Media Analysis

Why does knowledge advance sooo slowly in the U.S. auto history field?

March 6, 2025 Steve 0

Indie Auto has previously explored this question, but I would like to offer some updated and expanded thoughts. The basic problem is that the U.S. auto history field all too often feels like it was […]

1965 Chevrolet Corvair
Media Analysis

Why hasn’t Consumer Guide Automotive fixed a discredited anti-Nader rant?

February 4, 2025 Steve 4

(EXPANDED FROM 11/1/2019) One way auto history websites can squeeze more profits from their content is to endlessly repost stories. That’s not a bad thing if the information is accurate, but it strikes me as […]

Media Analysis

How to deal with rumors about struggling automotive media outlets?

January 25, 2025 Steve 2

Indie Auto has recently received two comments stating that another auto media outlet “is in debt and may go under in 2025.” That would be meaningful news if it proved to be true, but the […]

2024 Tesla Cybertruck
Media Analysis

Automotive News gets surprisingly negative on Tesla Cybertruck

January 16, 2025 Steve 2

Automotive News isn’t noted for tough-minded journalism, so I was surprised by the negative tone of a recent Tesla Cybertruck story. It started with the provocative headline: “Cyberflop? Tesla discounts Cybertruck as demand cools for […]

1974 AMC Matador coupes
Media Analysis

Bob Nixon interview left questions about 1974 AMC Matador and 1965 Marlin

December 26, 2024 Steve 0

(EXPANDED FROM 10/4/2014) We have previously critiqued American Motors designer Bob Nixon’s recollections about the Pacer (go here). Now let’s discuss his take on the 1974 Matador and 1965 Marlin. This portion of his Collectible […]

Oldsmobile's ads were more innovative than the cars
Media Analysis

Did Oldsmobile revolutionize the car industry?

December 17, 2024 Steve 21

(EXPANDED FROM 10/31/2022) The automotive media tends to treat orphaned American brands with extra enthusiastic pom-pom waving. An example of the genre is Mark J. McCourt’s (2020) Hemmings article about Oldsmobile. He breathlessly insisted that […]

1976 AMC Pacer X
Media Analysis

Designer Bob Nixon distanced himself from the ill-fated AMC Pacer

December 2, 2024 Steve 7

(UPDATED FROM 10/4/2014) Collectible Automobile’s interviews can be a valuable means of documenting automotive history, but they can also lead us astray due to inaccuracies. For one thing, the memories of key participants can fade […]

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3 4 … 13 »
  • 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
    Was the 1966 Olds Cutlass Supreme the first mid-sized brougham model?
    March 5, 2026 21
  • 1976 Plymouth Volare 2-door coupe
    Splashy new cars often were the biggest disasters during the postwar period
    March 3, 2026 1
  • Reader questions Chrysler’s future as it passes 100th anniversary
    March 2, 2026 12
  • 1968 Chevrolet C10 pickup
    Was the 1967-68 Chevrolet C10 the ‘first modern pickup’?
    February 27, 2026 7
  • 1941 Studebaker Commander 2-door coupe
    1941 Studebaker Commander: Ending its big cars on a high note
    February 26, 2026 11
  • 1961 De Soto
    Video histories of DeSoto and American Motors aren’t as good as books
    February 24, 2026 3
  • 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk front with hood open
    Four lingering questions about Aaron Severson’s take on the 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk
    February 20, 2026 6
  • Thank yous, power outages and format changes
    October 31, 2025 0
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 134
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