Indie Auto
header-advert
  • Home
  • About
    • Introduction
    • Editor’s Notes
    • Story Ideas Bank
    • Why All The Data?
    • Fake Stuff
    • About Those Photos
    • Talk Legal To Me
    • Privacy Policy
  • All Our Features
    • Ad Nauseam
    • Bird Chatter
    • Calendar
    • Current Events
    • Data Dives
    • Design Notes
    • Drive-By Musings
    • Fake Designs
    • Gallery
    • Histories
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Links
    • Literature
    • Media Analysis
    • Multimedia
    • Our Sponsors
    • Photo Essays
    • Quotes
    • Random Shots
    • Satire
  • Look It Up
    • In Auto Paedia
    • By author
    • By automaker or brand
    • By time period
    • By topic
    • By vehicle type
  • Readings
    • General Reference
    • Specific Brands & Automakers
    • Auto Culture, Policy & Business Strategy
    • Bibliography
    • Where To Buy Your Books
    • Recently-Posted Readings
  • Links
    • Bibliography of Links
  • Contact
    • Emails & Newsletter
    • Rejected Comments
  • Donate
HomeReadings

Readings

Readings

Patrick Foster’s Hudson book emphasized pictures and boosterism

August 14, 2026 Steve 3

(EXPANDED FROM 3/5/2021) Patrick R. Foster’s Hudson Automobiles: An Illustrated History lives up to its title. If you are mainly interested in pictures, this is your book. The 128-page paperback is dominated by photographs, artist […]

Ward Packard
Readings

James Ward offers more nuanced take on Packard’s fall than other auto histories

July 23, 2026 Steve 36

(EXPANDED FROM 2/26/2024) James A. Ward’s Packard book, The Fall of the Packard Motor Car Company, is dwarfed by Automobile Quarterly’s epic tome edited by Beverly Rae Kimes (2002) as well as Stuart R. Blond’s […]

J. 'Kelly' Flory Jr.
Readings

J. ‘Kelly’ Flory Jr.’s American Cars series is pricey but valuable

July 10, 2026 Steve 4

(UPDATED FROM 4/18/2024) The most valuable books I have bought in recent years have been J. “Kelly” Flory Jr.’s American Cars reference guides. This multi-volume set provides wide-ranging information on U.S.-made cars during the postwar […]

Readings

Patrick Foster shows how International Harvester failed to adapt

May 13, 2026 Steve 6

(UPDATED FROM 9/4/2020) International Harvester is the post-war U.S. automaker that has received the least attention from historians. Thus, Patrick Foster’s book, International Harvester: The Complete Story, is a particularly welcome addition. The format is […]

Readings

Thomas Bonsall’s Edsel book is nuanced but suffers from groupthink

March 17, 2026 Steve 15

(EXPANDED FROM 9/27/2021) Disaster in Dearborn: The Story of the Edsel is paradoxical. On the one hand, this is a serious history book. That’s the opposite of so many of the coffee table books that […]

Readings

Langworth’s Kaiser-Frazer book still represents gold standard of auto histories

January 27, 2026 Steve 8

(EXPANDED FROM 5/7/2021) I only needed to quickly double-check a fact when I reached for Richard Langworth’s book, Kaiser-Frazer: The Last Onslaught on Detroit. A few hours later I finally pulled myself away from it. […]

Readings

Robert Ebert’s book on Studebaker head Harold Churchill shows value of a narrow focus

January 6, 2026 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 7/24/2020) Robert R. Ebert’s book about Studebaker head Harold Churchill is a good example of what we need more of in the auto history field — a scholarly treatment that is narrowly focused […]

Patrick Foster's 2013 AMC book
Readings

Patrick Foster’s 2013 American Motors book is still sort-of the best of the bunch

September 30, 2025 Steve 3

(EXPANDED FROM 12/13/2021) In recent years a number of American Motors books have been published, but Patrick Foster’s 2013 history is still the best — sort of. Foster (2024) was a co-author with Tom Glatch […]

Langworth Studebaker
Readings

Richard Langworth’s Studebaker book is dated but mostly still the best

September 9, 2025 Steve 5

(EXPANDED FROM 4/13/2013) When I am trying to track down information about Studebaker, I am most likely to first reach for Richard M. Langworth’s book. The reason why it that his journalistic approach was refreshingly […]

Readings

Ed Cray’s ‘Chrome Colossus’ offers a masterful history of General Motors

August 25, 2025 Steve 2

(EXPANDED FROM 1/2/2021) Ed Cray’s history of General Motors is one of the better automotive books in my library. A big reason why is that Chrome Colossus: General Motors and its Times eschewed the usual […]

Posts pagination

1 2 … 8 »
  • 1962 Ford Galaxie 500
    Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
    October 16, 2026 34
  • 1969 Ford Thunderbird 4-door Landau
    Was 1969 the beginning of the end for the Ford Thunderbird four-door Landau?
    October 14, 2026 7
  • Is Jaguar smart to run away from its design heritage?
    October 8, 2026 21
  • AMC Pacer clay model
    Why does Joe Ligo’s PBS series sanewash AMC’s mid-70s recklessness?
    October 6, 2026 20
  • 2026 Ram pickups
    A pyrrhic regulatory rollback and how poorly the 1978 Matador coupe sold
    October 2, 2026 12
  • 1962 Chrysler 300
    Did the 1962-65 Chrysler 300 ‘dilute’ the letter series?
    September 29, 2026 7
  • 1968 Ford Mustang
    Three rules led to a stultifying level of conformity in 1960s U.S. car design
    September 24, 2026 12
  • 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 146
Society of Automotive Historian award to Indie Auto

Recent Comments

  • Don on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
  • Scampman on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
  • Steve on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
  • Captain My Captain on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
  • Scampman on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
  • Steve on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
  • Scampman on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
  • Captain My Captain on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
  • Scampman on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
  • Captain My Captain on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
  • Scampman on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
  • Scampman on Data on imports sheds light on their dramatic gains from 1964-80
  • Scampman on Data on imports sheds light on their dramatic gains from 1964-80
  • Steve on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
  • Scampman on Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?

Archives

Categories

Tags

1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s American Motors Auto culture Auto history media Auto media Automotive News Automotive Views Business strategies Chevrolet Compact cars Curbside Classic Design Design excesses Dodge Electric vehicles Engineering Fake advertising Ford Ford Motor Co. Full-sized cars General Motors Journalism standards Luxury cars Management culture Marketing Mid-sized cars Parody Patrick R. Foster Plymouth Premium-priced cars Public policies Rambler Reader comments Richard M. Langworth Stellantis Studebaker
Follow Us
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed
Search
Archives
Categories
Help keep the lights on
Quinault at night

Copyright © 2022 Olympia, Earth Media, LLC | All rights reserved