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HomeCharles K. Hyde

Charles K. Hyde

Drive-By Musings

Why U.S. auto history focuses so little on the business side of manufacturing

August 12, 2024 Steve 5

Aaron Severson (2024) recently suggested that auto history counterfactuals almost always focus on design, engineering and product-planning choices rather than what he considers “far more decisive and dominant factors,” which he argues are “capital investment […]

1955 Hudson
Data Dive

Why did the Nash-based 1955 Hudson sell so poorly?

July 23, 2024 Steve 21

(EXPANDED FROM 1/13/2023) Last year a reader contributed a good question for our “Story Ideas Bank” — Why was the new-for-1955, Nash-based Hudson not successful? After all, the reader noted, the Hudson “had up-to-date and […]

1957 Lincoln four-door hardtop
History

Could the 1956-57 Lincoln have saved a dying Packard?

April 4, 2024 Steve 11

(EXPANDED FROM 7/30/2021) Stéphane Dumas has been displaying his broad knowledge of web-based sources of automotive history for quite a few years. As a case in point, back in 2015 Dumas posted a comment over at […]

1972 AMC Gremlin X
Media Analysis

Pat Foster barks up wrong tree by lauding an AMC Gremlin GT with a 360 V8

March 13, 2024 Steve 13

Since last summer’s departure of Daniel Strohl from Hemmings, I have mainly been drawn to its website because of a Pat Foster column. He has become one of the most prominent U.S. auto history book […]

Readings

Charles Hyde’s AMC book doesn’t get why automaker failed

July 8, 2022 Steve 6

(UPDATED FROM 10/16/2020) Charles K. Hyde’s history of American Motors and its constituent companies is a valuable scholarly addition to the literature. His book, Storied Independent Automakers: Nash, Hudson and American Motors, offers considerably more […]

Media Analysis

Collectible Automobile puffs up the 1971-74 AMC Javelin

September 24, 2021 Steve 8

Collectible Automobile’s overview of the 1971-74 AMC Javelin is a good example of what John A. Heitmann describes as auto history written by a car buff. Heitmann, who is the editor of the Automotive History […]

1959 Lincoln Continental
Auto Paedia

‘Lower! Longer! Wider!’ fixation of US automakers left opening for imports

September 22, 2021 Steve 13

(EXPANDED 10/24/2022) “Lower, longer, wider” was the domestic automakers’ dominant design approach until they were forced to downsize their fleet in the late-1970s due to federal fuel-economy standards. Since that time automakers have at least […]

1953 Studebaker Commander 2-door coupe
History

Five (arguably) unresolved mysteries of postwar independent automakers

April 2, 2021 Steve 24

(EXPANDED ON 1/27/2023) Many books, magazine articles and blog posts have been written about the independent automakers’ struggle to survive in the 1950s. Even so, I have come across a number of unresolved mysteries relevant […]

1988 Chrysler TC by Maserati
Current Events

How would you save the Chrysler brand?

February 12, 2021 Steve 6

Jalopnik recently took a walk on the clickbaity side by asking readers how they would save Chrysler: The brand. The post by Rory Carroll (2021) elicited the usual range of responses, from earnestly mundane to […]

1963 Rambler wagon
Auto Paedia

Counterfactuals and whether AMC had a chance of survival

February 5, 2021 Steve 4

(UPATED 3/9/2023) A few years ago Lotus Rebel (2021) drew upon our AMC Pacer story to suggest alternative approaches for that car’s design in a comment at Ate Up With Motor. That website’s publisher, Aaron […]

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3 »
  • 1962 Ford Galaxie 500
    Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
    October 16, 2026 37
  • 1969 Ford Thunderbird 4-door Landau
    Was 1969 the beginning of the end for the Ford Thunderbird four-door Landau?
    October 14, 2026 7
  • Is Jaguar smart to run away from its design heritage?
    October 8, 2026 21
  • AMC Pacer clay model
    Why does Joe Ligo’s PBS series sanewash AMC’s mid-70s recklessness?
    October 6, 2026 21
  • 2026 Ram pickups
    A pyrrhic regulatory rollback and how poorly the 1978 Matador coupe sold
    October 2, 2026 12
  • 1962 Chrysler 300
    Did the 1962-65 Chrysler 300 ‘dilute’ the letter series?
    September 29, 2026 12
  • 1968 Ford Mustang
    Three rules led to a stultifying level of conformity in 1960s U.S. car design
    September 24, 2026 12
  • Internet problems reminded me of U.S. automakers in the 1970s
    May 2, 2026 1
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 146
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