Karl Ludvigsen (2026) stopped by to “humbly put forward” his book, Porsche: Excellence Was Expected, as the “quintessence of an auto history.” In a comment, he noted that the book first came out “in 1978 […]
One of the more persistent narratives floating around the American auto history media is that there is a “Jeep curse.” Jack Stewart (2016) of Consumer Guide Automotive summed up what this means: “ownership of the […]
(EXPANDED FROM 1/2/2024) A few years ago Michael Karesh (2023) of TrueDelta asked, “Which cars (model and year) from the Detroit Three since 1980 do you feel qualify as design icons?” I would invite you […]
(EXPANDED FROM 7/31/2023) American Motors’ purchase of a four-cylinder engine from Volkswagen was one of CEO Roy D. Chapin Jr.’s last big decisions during his 10-year leadership of the automaker — and arguably his final […]
(EXPANDED FROM 7/18/2023) Our discussion about the Ford Maverick got me thinking about Lee Iacocca. More than any other car, the Maverick reflected how Iacocca’s sensibility differed from that of Robert McNamara, the father of […]
(EXPANDED FROM 5/21/2024) A drive through a lovely rural area in Oregon reminded me of a Volkswagen Cabrio commercial from decades ago. The spot did an unusually good job of showing the sensuousness of driving. […]
EXPANDED FROM 3/14/2022) In a Hemmings post about a 1971 Saab 96 for sale, Mike McNessor (2014) described the car as “irresistible and timeless as the VW Beetle or the Mini.” He went on to wonder […]
In conjunction with his recent Public Broadcasting series on American Motors, Joe Ligo (2025) wrote a provocative article for Hagerty. He wondered whether AMC might have survived for at least a while longer if it […]
In the late-1970s the U.S. and France had roughly similar traffic-death rates. However, in recent years the two countries have diverged to such as degree that by 2021 French people were three times less likely […]
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