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2010s
Media Analysis
Frank Peiler’s ‘what if’ drawings illustrate the dumbing down of auto history
Our friends at Collectible Automobile have just recycled another Frank Peiler (2018) “what if” post on their Twitter feed. This particular article answers the question: What if other U.S. automakers had grafted the design elements […]
Current Events
Auto industry analyst Maryann Keller was a key critic of ‘Detroit Mind’
I think it is important to acknowledge the death of automotive analyst Maryann Keller for two reasons. First, because she offered one of the most prescient perspectives on the U.S. auto industry’s decline. Second, because […]
Current Events
Lexus should ditch its ‘retronyms’ and hire a poet
(UPDATED FROM 1/8/2021) Did you know that the alphabetical names for Lexus products actually stand for something? As a case in point, the IS means “Intelligent Sports,” the CT is short for “Creative Touring,” RX […]
Media Analysis
Successful automotive journalists need to master these two rules
(ORIGINALLY POSTED 5/24/2014) Many are called but few are chosen to be professional automotive writers. Some things you can’t control, like technological change and media consolidation. However, aspiring writers can increase their odds of success by […]
Satire
VIP SURVEY: What do you see here?
(UPDATED FROM 10/1/2019) We asked the above question to the most powerful people we know in and around the automobile industry and media. The photograph shows a parking lot in Olympia, Washington, circa 2015. Here are […]
Quotes
Is Teutonic car design obsolete?
“Maybe. Then again . . . maybe not. Perhaps this is all just temporary. Consider what happened to American car design in the wake of the 1958 recession. Suddenly, all the jet-aged, tail-finned, twin-turbined, dynaflowed […]
Links
‘Driven To Write’ offers European take on a noncommercial auto website
I have mentioned before that monitoring the American automotive media reminds me of the Bruce Springsteen song, “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On).” The buff magazines and websites spend so much time trying to mimic each […]
History
What is the right size for a Ford Mustang?
(UPDATED FROM 10/9/2020) Did Ford deviate too much from the original Ford Mustang’s size before finally getting it right once again in 2005? That year was pivotal because it was the first time in a quarter […]
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