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Auto history media
Media Analysis
Automotive Hall of Fame post on Robert McNamara is still riddled with fact errors
(EXPANDED FROM 1/17/2024) More than two years ago we pointed out that the Automotive Hall of Fame posted remarkably inaccurate information about former Ford Motor Company executive Robert McNamara. Their fact errors still haven’t been […]
Drive-By Musings
What is the quintessential automotive history book?
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 […]
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Media Analysis
Where do auto historians get their information?
(EXPANDED FROM 3/26/2021) The electronic forum of the Society of Automotive Historians has not managed to generate much activity, but one of its all-time, most-useful useful posts was instigated by Jvolgarino (2021). He asked how […]
Media Analysis
David Burrell’s take on the 1962 Dodge and Plymouth got only partway there
(EXPANDED FROM 5/11/2022) Back in 2019 David Burrell wrote one of the better overviews of the downsized 1962 Dodge and Plymouth. However, he went astray on some important details. Unlike some other historical accounts, Burrell (2019) […]
Data Dive
What kind of information is good enough for automotive history?
Labor Day strikes me as being the ideal time to talk about a topic that may be of greatest interest to fellow research nerds: What kind of information is good enough for American automotive history? […]
Quotes
Thomas Bonsall faced backlash for criticizing 1953 Studebaker launch
We have a lively debate going on in the 1953 Studebaker comment thread, so I thought I would add to the discussion by quoting Thomas E. Bonsall’s take on the car. In the introduction to […]
Multimedia
Two vlogs have strikingly similar takes on 1953 Studebaker Loewy coupes
I have been fairly critical of auto history YouTube channels, so I thought I would acknowledge what seemed to be a fairly good analysis of the 1953 Studebaker “Loewy coupes.” The King of Classic Cars […]
Letters to the Editor
My bad: I have gotten backed up on Indie Auto correspondence
I have been unusually busy of late so have a backlog of messages to the editor. It makes the most sense to roll them up into one post. Before sharing them, a quick FYI for […]