(EXPANDED FROM 7/14/2023) I grant you that top-whatever rankings can be clickbaity, but I decided to do this story for a specific reason. In the postwar years Detroit tended to assume that rapid-fire restylings were […]
Aaron Severson (2025) recently criticized a number of automotive writers for attacking emissions regulations. This got me thinking about how we should view these writers — who are often considered some of the leading lights […]
(EXPANDED FROM 10/26/2023) One of the most underrated cars of the 1960s was the 1963-66 Dodge Dart. This “family” compact anticipated the size of the contemporary family sedan during a time when the American auto […]
(EXPANDED FROM 9/8/2023) The 1975-80 AMC Pacer may have been a memorable car, but it was also a key factor in American Motors’ demise as an independent automaker. What’s particularly tragic is that the Pacer’s […]
(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 […]
(EXPANDED FROM 12/19/2023) The November 1959 issue of Road & Track made bold predictions about what would come next after a wave of new compact cars. “Detroit Beat” writer Don Mac Donald stated that “Detroit, […]
Google said “yes” when I asked whether the 1959 Continental Mark IV sold poorly. One reason why may be that artificial intelligence drew upon Adam Wade’s (2024) video titled “One Big Flop.” I respect Wade’s […]
(EXPANDED FROM 12/23/2022) The 1961 Buick represented a pivot point for General Motors’ troubled premium-priced brand. The car’s styling lurched from the swaggering flamboyance of the 1950s to the utilitarian conservatism of the 1962-64 models. […]
(EXPANDED FROM 6/27/2022) American Motors head George Romney may not have realized it at the time, but he was onto something when he okayed the 1957 Rambler Rebel for production. This would prove to be […]
(EXPANDED FROM 10/19/2023) One could point to a number of car designs that represented the turning point where foreign automakers began to outshine Detroit in the late-60s and early-70s. The first-generation Jaguar XJ strikes me […]
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