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HomeDesign excesses

Design excesses

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 […]

2020 Toyota 4Runner
Quotes

Peter DeLorenzo: Automakers have gone overboard on ‘all-terrain’ vehicles

September 9, 2021 Steve 0

“As I’ve said repeatedly since founding this website, the automobile business is first and foremost a fashion business. It is consumed by trends, fads and what’s perceived as ‘hot’ at the moment. And before we’re […]

1976 AMC Pacer rear
Media Analysis

The downside of auto historians writing about their friends

September 1, 2021 Steve 0

(EXPANDED FROM 7/17/2020) One of the hazards of any kind of writing is that you can get too close to your subjects. In anthropology this has been called “going native.” Because we are human, we […]

Parody ads about the auto industry and media
Our Sponsors

Automotive Views: Cadillac styling goes wild

August 20, 2021 Steve 0
Parody ads about the auto industry and media
Our Sponsors

Auto Nostalgist: Today’s car design Bill Mitchell would have really liked

August 13, 2021 Steve 1
1974 AMC Matador and other cars
Media Analysis

Was Mac’s Motor City Garage wrong about the 1974-78 Matador coupe?

August 9, 2021 Steve 3

Fred (2018), a Mac’s Motor City Garage commentator, argued that a story about the 1974-78 AMC Matador coupe was riddled with “typical mistakes that get repeated again and again” by “one hack Internet report after […]

Chevrolet truck
Design Notes

Yes, but WHY do today’s automobiles look so similar?

July 26, 2021 Steve 7

(EXPANDED FROM 10/2/2020) Auto Extremist has reposted a Peter DeLorenzo (2021) column which argues that the auto industry has “reached the nadir of design. And it isn’t pretty.” The big reason why: Cars look so […]

Parody ads about the auto industry and media
Our Sponsors

Automotive Views: Toyota unveils trendsetting grille for 2022 Tundra

June 25, 2021 Steve 0
1955 Packard hood
Letters to the Editor

Mid-50s Packard design fit the space-age-inspired times

June 25, 2021 Steve 1

This letter is a response to our story, “The 1955 Packard’s styling was an evolutionary dead end.” Your need to read more thoroughly what actually happened in the mid-1950s. In that era, Cadillac was the […]

2018 Honda Odyssey
Letters to the Editor

Excessive styling may not be right approach for minivans

June 25, 2021 Steve 0

The following letter is in response to our story, “2018 Honda Odyssey: Somebody’s going to hell.” It appears that the Japanese manufacturers have decided to produce the “expressive” models of minivans. Honda to greater degree […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 16 17 18 … 20 »
  • 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 12
  • 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
  • 1961 De Soto
    Video histories of DeSoto and American Motors aren’t as good as books
    February 24, 2026 3
  • 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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