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Media Analysis
1959 Studebaker: Was it really design theft?
(EXPANDED FROM 4/2/2017) Richard M. Langworth has authored more auto histories than just about anyone. Yet he was strikingly humble when beginning to discuss the controversial topic of who was responsible for the 1947 Studebaker’s styling. “I am […]
Quotes
John Z. DeLorean: Downsizing GM cars for 1973 was opposed by Mitchell
“The K-Car program proposed a common body and chassis for all the GM cars in the intermediate and compact car classes. On the Chevrolet lines alone this meant building the Chevelle, Camaro and Nova, which […]
Design Notes
How would a facelifted Hudson have fared in 1955?
(EXPANDED FROM 1/2/2021) Hudson as been a popular topic with readers this week so I have expanded a story that takes a different angle: What might have happened if Hudson had managed to remain an […]
Multimedia
Satire of a 1960 VW ad essentially mimics marketing for U.S. compacts
(UPDATED 3/20/2023) Back in 1963, advertising executive Fred Manley presented a slide show parody about how to improve Volkswagen’s legendary “Think small” ad. The “best practices” he presented look hilariously misguided when applied to this […]
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 […]
Letters to the Editor
AMC’s Roy Abernethy should have invested more in mid-sized cars
CJ recently wrote an exceptionally thoughtful comment that I would like to highlight on the front page as a letter to the editor. This missive was in response to the story, “Historians differ on origins […]
Fake Design
Brooks Stevens’s 1965 Studebaker Lark concept: Almost a baby Continental
(UPDATED FROM 2/1/2020) Brooks Stevens’s proposed redesign of the Studebaker Lark four-door sedan came off pretty weird. That’s too bad, because the concept car could have been a baby 1961-63 Lincoln Continental. The proposed design […]
Auto Paedia
‘Lower! Longer! Wider!’ fixation of US automakers left opening for imports
(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 […]
Fake Design
1959 Studebaker: Throwing the baby out with the bath water
(EXPANDED FROM 5/22/2015) The 1959 Studebaker Lark’s design was initially so successful that it was described by historian Robert Ebert as a “miracle” (2013, p. 55). Studebaker-Packard Corporation, which was on the verge of liquidating […]