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HomeCompact cars

Compact cars

1975 AMC Pacer X
Links

Popular Mechanics gives AMC one last chance to spin the Pacer before its launch

August 2, 2024 Steve 4

The January 1975 issue of Popular Mechanics offered a breathless peek at a new generation of smaller cars that would supposedly be “big on the inside but small outside.” Although the story included sketches of […]

Media Analysis

Aaron Severson’s Ford Cardinal story challenges auto history field

July 26, 2024 Steve 9

A few days ago Aaron Severson (2024) posted an epic story about the aborted Ford Cardinal. His 22,000-word piece deepens the dialogue about this important car. In a moment we will debate some of his […]

Data Dive

Compact cars became the neglected stepchildren of U.S. automakers

June 26, 2024 Steve 19

(EXPANDED FROM 6/17/2022) Compact cars represented a dramatic change for U.S. automakers when they were introduced in the early-1960s. After spending the previous decade making its “standard-sized” cars bigger, glitzier and more powerful, Detroit responded […]

1948 Hudson rear
History

1948 Hudson ‘step-down’ was a brilliant car with tragic flaws

June 17, 2024 Steve 26

(EXPANDED FROM 2/10/2022) In the early post-war period Hudson came the closest to being an American Mercedes-Benz. The new-for-1948 “step-downs” had engineering advances that most other automakers would not pick up on for years. So […]

1967 Mercury Comet Caliente convertible
Design Notes

Did stylistic penny pinching undercut the 1966-67 Mercury Comet?

May 22, 2024 Steve 11

As mysteries go it’s a small one, but I have long been curious as to why the 1965-67 Mercury Comet switched from horizontal to stacked headlights. The new look wasn’t in alignment with any of […]

1953 Hudson hood emblem
History

Would Hudson have been Packard’s best merger partner?

May 15, 2024 Steve 15

(EXPANDED FROM 10/13/2021) A decade ago Curbside Classic commentator Steve (2014) offered one of the more thoughtful merger scenarios for Packard: He concluded that Hudson would have been the best choice. I think that Steve’s […]

Links

Car and Driver says Ford Mustang will ‘murder’ the 1964 Plymouth Barracuda

April 10, 2024 Steve 9

A Car and Driver article on the just-introduced 1964 Plymouth Barracuda adopted an unusual format — a transcript of a conversation with a Chrysler official. When a road tester complained that the car’s underpinnings didn’t […]

Links

Car Life tries not to yawn when road testing the 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle

April 2, 2024 Steve 7

Car Life wasn’t hugely excited about the 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle. Even so, the magazine tried to present the new nameplate in a positive light: “At this writing, Chevelle accounts for 18% of Chevrolet sales and […]

Would you pick the 1970 Ford Falcon
Satire

If you had to pick one . . . ?

April 1, 2024 Steve 4

The year 1970 was a particularly good one if you fancied ‘rithmetic. Take this Ford Falcon Futura Club Coupe — it saves money in so many ways. Yet you don’t have to give up spaciousness […]

1970 American Motors ad with Chapin
Links

Car and Driver gives Roy D. Chapin royal treatment in 1970 AMC Hornet story

March 26, 2024 Steve 0

Car and Driver under David E. Davis gave the royal treatment to American Motors’ head Roy D. Chapin Jr. A case in point was a story about the 1970 AMC Hornet, which treated Chapin’s marketing […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 6 7 8 … 13 »
  • Why did American Motors fire Wells Rich and Greene in 1972?
    March 6, 2026 6
  • 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
    Was the 1966 Olds Cutlass Supreme the first mid-sized brougham model?
    March 5, 2026 21
  • 1976 Plymouth Volare 2-door coupe
    Splashy new cars often were the biggest disasters during the postwar period
    March 3, 2026 1
  • Reader questions Chrysler’s future as it passes 100th anniversary
    March 2, 2026 13
  • 1968 Chevrolet C10 pickup
    Was the 1967-68 Chevrolet C10 the ‘first modern pickup’?
    February 27, 2026 7
  • 1941 Studebaker Commander 2-door coupe
    1941 Studebaker Commander: Ending its big cars on a high note
    February 26, 2026 11
  • 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk front with hood open
    Four lingering questions about Aaron Severson’s take on the 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk
    February 20, 2026 6
  • Thank yous, power outages and format changes
    October 31, 2025 0
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 134
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