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Home1970s

1970s

Olympia traffic at dusk
Quotes

1969 prediction: Traffic jams could lead to caps on auto production

January 4, 2022 Steve 0

“That bell you hear tolling ominously in the background could be for the automobile and driving as we know them. An ever-increasing number of individuals and organizations are expressing alarm over the proliferation of cars. […]

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 […]

1967 GM mid-sized cars
Letters to the Editor

Market fragmentation drove GM actions more than antitrust fears

December 22, 2021 Steve 3

Geeber’s comment on our antitrust story significantly adds to the discussion so I’m elevating it to the front page as a letter to the editor: GM had been pushing to centralize more functions at the […]

Patrick Foster's 2013 AMC book
Readings

Patrick Foster’s 2013 American Motors book has more color, less analysis

December 13, 2021 Steve 0

(EXPANDED FROM 1/4/2014) American Motors Corporation: The Rise and Fall of America’s Last Independent, is an update of sorts for a book Patrick Foster published 20 years earlier. However, Foster’s newer book includes quite a […]

1960 Dodge Dart
Letters to the Editor

Chrysler’s dysfunctional dealer networks were rooted in early decisions

December 2, 2021 Steve 3

Geeber recently wrote one of the best overviews I have ever seen about why Chrysler’s dealer networks became so dysfunctional. His comment (below) was in response to, “Lynn Townsend failed to solve Chrysler’s warfare between […]

1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 front quarter
Media Analysis

Older Ford Mustangs got too big but not the newer ones?

November 12, 2021 Steve 2

(EXPANDED FROM 5/11/2020) Automobile magazine is dead but its Facebook page continues to recycle old articles. Yesterday the one million followers of this page were blessed with a reposted history of the Ford Mustang. Aaron […]

1990 Dodge Caravan
Letters to the Editor

Reader argues that Lee Iacocca ‘worked a miracle’ at Chrysler

November 8, 2021 Steve 0

Below is a reader’s response to my critique of Lee Iacocca’s tenure at Chrysler (go here and here). Anybody can be a Monday morning quarterback. Yes to a degree I agree HOWEVER the minivan was […]

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

More on whether Lee Iacocca was a great automotive executive

October 20, 2021 Steve 10

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 he did well. […]

1959 Cadillac front end
Design Notes

What’s the most excessive American car design of all time?

October 18, 2021 Steve 5

(UPDATED FROM 5/1/2020) American automakers have always had a penchant for extravagant designs that can look overwrought compared to imports. Of course, this has been changing of late as foreign automakers — particularly the Japanese […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 28 29 30 … 40 »
  • The Decline and Fall of the American Automobile Industry
    Brock Yates brilliantly analyzed fall of U.S. auto industry
    June 17, 2025 0
  • A query, a thank you and an update on miscellaneous stuff
    April 4, 2025 0
  • A sad reason bridges aren’t just used for driving over
    June 15, 2025 1
  • 1964 Studebaker Challenger
    Brooks Stevens’s rejection of brand continuity was bad for small automakers
    June 14, 2025 0
  • EVs need a George Romney to champion them in the next few years
    June 13, 2025 16
  • Citroen SM
    Citroen SM: A surprisingly conventional next step
    June 12, 2025 5
  • 1936-37 Cord 810/812 tried to do too much at once
    June 11, 2025 10
  • 1963 Studebaker Daytona convertible
    Classic film shows human side of Studebaker’s end
    June 10, 2025 15
  • Once upon a time, car wheels were 36-to-42 inches in diameter
    June 9, 2025 5
  • Brooks Stevens’s 1965 Studebaker Lark concept: Almost a baby Continental
    June 6, 2025 5
  • 1949 Packard Super Eight
    Packard kept a bigger foothold in the luxury-car field than commonly assumed
    June 5, 2025 9
  • 983 AMC Eagle wagon
    Would anything have ‘saved’ American Motors?
    June 16, 2025 9
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 124
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