Satire
If you had to pick one . . . ?
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 […]
Compact cars
Links
Car and Driver gives Roy D. Chapin royal treatment in 1970 AMC Hornet story
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 […]
Editor's Note
Reader of 1959 Studebaker design-theft story dismisses ‘useless exercise’
Neil stopped by to comment on our story, “1959 Studebaker: Was it really design theft?” He wrote: “I think this is a useless exercise. Tho it seems to me as the Valient came later, it’s […]
Fake Design
Was the 1973-77 Chevrolet Monte Carlo’s styling ‘honest’?
(EXPANDED FROM 12/24/2021) Curbside Classic commentator XR7Matt (2014) offered a fascinating justification for the stylistic excesses of the 1973-77 Chevrolet Monte Carlo: “Space efficiency is marketing buzz that everyone has fallen for in recent years, it’s actual day […]
Links
Car Life called the redesigned 1970 AMC Hornet stylish but not fun to drive
Car Life magazine argued that the 1970 AMC Hornet met two out of three of the automaker’s stated goals for the car. Engineering Editor David Bean wrote that American Motors thought that the compact and […]
History
Why V8 engines were less important in the 1950s than commonly believed
(UPDATED FROM 10/23/2023) One of the most pervasive myths in U.S. automotive history is that a V8 engine became essential to an automaker’s success in the first half of the 1950s. This narrative is summed […]
Design Notes
2019 Acura RDX inspired by Wavy Gravy
(EXPANDED FROM 11/1/2018) When I came upon a 2019 Acura RDX, I was reminded of Wavy Gravy. That’s the name of a Woodstock-era citizen activist who still uses silly performance art to generate visibility for […]
Media Analysis
Collectible Automobile’s 1967 Rambler Rebel SST feature is pretty but vapid
The December 2023 issue of Collectible Automobile has a photo feature of a 1967 Rambler Rebel SST hardtop. As usual, the images are first rate and the accompanying text give a nuts-and-bolts overview of the […]
Quotes
The switch to smaller cars began before the first oil embargo in late-1973
The shift to smaller cars was happening before the first oil embargo, which stretched from October 1973 through March 174 (Wikipedia, 2023). In an October 1972 column, Popular Science Automotive Editor Jan P. Norbye walked […]
Media Analysis
Is Patrick Foster right that AMC’s biggest mistake was not buying Jeep earlier?
A recent Hemmings column by Patrick Foster (2023) argues that American Motors’ biggest mistake was not buying Willys Motors — the maker of Jeep sport-utility vehicles — way back in the early-60s. Indeed, he went […]