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HomeDavid Crippen

David Crippen

1965 Ford Mustang
Quotes

Donald Frey tells how he knew the 1965 Ford Mustang would be approved

October 16, 2025 Steve 6

Ford executive Donald N. Frey shared with David Crippen (1986) how he found out from Henry Ford II that the 1965 Mustang would be approved. “I remember one day I was in the styling studio, we […]

1959 Cadillac
Quotes

Reader complains about our criticism of the 1959 Cadillac

September 27, 2025 Steve 0

Jane stopped by to complain about our criticism of the 1959 Cadillac in a recent story (go here). She wrote: “Deride the ’59 Cadillac all you want but it’s considered an iconic American car and […]

1959 Cadillac
Gallery

1959 Cadillac epitomized what was wrong with U.S. car styling

September 16, 2025 Steve 13

The 1959 Cadillac may not have been the most excessive design to come out of the late-50s and early-60s, but I still think that it epitomized what was wrong with U.S. car styling. The new […]

Quotes

Virgil Exner Jr.’s oral history discusses Studebaker Lark and 1962 Chryslers

March 29, 2025 Steve 3

I checked out David Crippen’s (1989) oral history of Virgil Exner Jr. to see if he offered any useful factual details about two lingering historical debates — why the Studebaker Lark as well as the […]

1969 Ford Club Wagon
Quotes

How Ford responded to safety issues with the original Econoline van

March 15, 2025 Steve 5

Indie Auto reader James E. Duvall recently commented about how the Falcon-based Econoline van and truck had such a front-end weight bias that they could flip on their front end under intense braking unless there […]

1957 Ford Skyliner
Quotes

How a ‘cockamamie’ corporate structure resulted in the 1957 Ford

February 22, 2025 Steve 11

Former Ford Motor Company executive Donald Frey explained to David Crippen (1986) why he thought that the automaker’s “cockamamie” decision-making structure led to major quality-control problems with the 1957 Ford. “As it turned out, preceding […]

1968 Dodge Charger
History

1968-70 Dodge Charger: Who should get credit?

January 14, 2025 Steve 10

(EXPANDED FROM 12/29/2023) This is another Indie Auto story that has received a fair amount of blowback. For example, one presumably former reader alleged that I was a “Chevy fanboy” because I called the 1968-70 […]

1951 Studebaker nose
Quotes

Imagine the 1951 Studebaker with a lighted nose

January 4, 2025 Steve 1

“. . . We (started facelifting) the ’51, which was a terrible looking spinner job. It had a transparent, plastic spinner inside, and, God, they were terrible looking cars. . . . I remember how that […]

1965 Ford Taunus P4
Quotes

Gordon Buehrig on Ford’s attitude about small cars circa 1960

April 3, 2023 Steve 0

“Fred Hooven was a very good friend of mine and had a much bigger job at Ford than I did. He worked for Mike Ference. Henry Ford asked Ference — this was in 1960. He […]

1960 Ford Falcon 4-door sedan and wagon
Quotes

Eugene Bordinat: Robert McNamara was too logical

July 12, 2022 Steve 6

“[P]robably the guy that was most admired [by Ford Motor Company executive Lewis Crusoe] was [Robert] McNamara. He was a very concise speaker, he was a logician and prided himself that he was. He knew how […]

Posts pagination

1 2 »
  • 1965 Studebaker Cruiser proposal
    Car Life speculates about why Studebaker shut down its South Bend plant
    July 17, 2026 8
  • 1956 Lincoln
    The 1956 Lincoln’s styling proved to be a one-year wonder
    July 17, 2026 18
  • 1975 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL
    1975 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL lacked the taut brilliance of its predecessor
    July 14, 2026 6
  • 1988 Oldsmobile Toronado
    Did GM go too far in downsizing the 1986 Riviera, Toronado and Eldorado?
    July 10, 2026 16
  • J. 'Kelly' Flory Jr.
    J. ‘Kelly’ Flory Jr.’s American Cars series is pricey but valuable
    July 10, 2026 4
  • 1968 Pontiac Firebird green convertible
    1967-72 Pontiac Firebird shows limits of ad illustrations
    July 7, 2026 10
  • Miscellaneous ramblings about being on the road
    June 25, 2026 5
  • 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 141
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