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1950s
Media Analysis
Motor Trend’s take on AMC’s decline shows limitations of auto punditry
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 […]
Data Dive
Ford got crushed in 1960s mid-sized field despite early entrance
(EXPANDED FROM 3/31/2023) Compacts and personal coupes generated an outsized amount of media attention during the 1960s, but the most important emerging market segment turned out to be mid-sized cars. Sales rose steadily to the […]
History
1971 interview with GM’s top designers shows automaker’s struggle to adapt
Top General Motors’ designers William Mitchell and Chuck Jordan showed glimmers of adaptiveness in an interview with Motor Trend (1971) magazine. However, the luxury of hindsight allows us to see some of the blinders that […]
Gallery
1953 Hudson Hornet was both peak ‘step down’ and the beginning of the end
(EXPANDED FROM 1/15/2021) The 1953 Hudson Hornet’s styling strikes me as being peak “step down.” As a case in point, this was the last year for the rounded rear end. It looked dated compared to […]
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 […]
Quotes
How a ‘cockamamie’ corporate structure resulted in the 1957 Ford
Former Ford Motor Company executive Donald Frey explained to David Crippen (1986) why he thought that the automaker’s “cockamamie” decision-making structure led to major quality-control problems with the 1957 Ford. “As it turned out, preceding […]
Readings
Charles K. Hyde wrote a useful but superficial history of the Chrysler Corp.
I am ambivalent about Charles K. Hyde’s book, Riding the Roller Coaster: A History of the Chrysler Corporation. The American automotive history field desperately needs more scholarly books, and Hyde is a relatively rare academic […]
Data Dive
Chrysler’s collapse in premium-priced field was a bigger deal than Edsel’s
(EXPANDED FROM 6/23/2023) A while back Indie Auto reader Geeber asked about what happened to Chrysler Corporation’s market share in the premium-priced field after Dodge went downmarket in 1960. He was referring to a major […]
Data Dive
What if Robert McNamara had killed the Lincoln brand?
(EXPANDED FROM 6/16/2023) A few years ago Jim and Cheryl Farrell’s articles about the 1961 Continental’s development got me thinking about what might have happened if Robert McNamara had succeeded in killing the Lincoln brand. […]