(EXPANDED FROM 12/8/2023) One of my lingering questions from a Collectible Automobile story about the Mercury Park Lane was why it didn’t sell better in 1968 (Biel, 2021). This was arguably the first year that […]
(EXPANDED FROM 1/1/2020) The Tacoma, Washington area has two car museums that are often confused. America’s Car Museum is located downtown in a fairly new building whereas the LeMay Collections at Marymount is eight miles […]
(EXPANDED FROM 12/15/2023) I don’t think one can fully understand why the 1963-65 Buick Riviera wasn’t as successful as commonly argued in automotive histories without considering its relationship to the Electra 225. So let’s do […]
(EXPANDED FROM 1/24/2024) Last year Paul Niedermeyer (2024a) discussed the decline of premium-priced big cars in the late-1950s. One of the points of contention in the comment thread was the degree to which these cars […]
(EXPANDED FROM 5/2/2022) Whatever else one might say about the 1971-73 Buick Riviera, its styling did represent a heroic level of resistance to the brougham look then sweeping through the U.S. auto industry. Instead of […]
(EXPANDED FROM 7/21/2023) General Motors had one of those “be careful what you ask for” problems. In 1962 the automaker captured three-fourths of the premium-priced, big-car market. This was a key reason why GM sold […]
(UPDATED FROM 3/30/2023) Newly declassified intelligence documents show how a crash program by American automakers to switch to eggcrate grilles for their 1972-73 models thwarted a space alien invasion. The strategy worked so well that […]
(EXPANDED FROM 3/3/2023) The 1956 Mercury represented the end — at least for the next four years — of Edsel Ford’s original conception of the brand. Since it was introduced 1939, Mercury had been positioned […]
(EXPANDED FROM 15/8/2023) General Motors’ 1973 mid-sized cars were a major focus of our discussion about William Mitchell’s tenure as head of design. Thus, I thought it would be a good time to expand on […]
William Mitchell was vice president of design at General Motors from December 1958 through July 1977 (Wikipedia, 2025). I have previously raised the question of whether he stayed in his position too long (go here). […]
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