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Design excesses
Design Notes
Citroen SM: A surprisingly conventional next step
(EXPANDED FROM 12/4/2020) In a post on the Saab 99, we mentioned how in the late-60s and early-70s a handful of iconoclastic automakers tried to mainstream their basic designs. A case in point was Citroën. […]
Literature
Once upon a time, car wheels were 36-to-42 inches in diameter
(UPDATED FROM 1/3/2023) Indie Auto’s latest Sponsor of the Week is the legendary Auto & Debt magazine, whose June 2025 issue road tests the hot new 36-inch wheels. Of course, this is a fake ad […]
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Drive-By Musings
1970 Mercury Montego had a last-of-the-wine quality
In a number of respects the 1970 Mercury Montego exuded a last-of-the-wine vibe. For one thing, it was the final reskinning of the mid-sized platform that the Ford Motor Company introduced in 1962. Let’s just […]
Design Notes
1971-73 Buick Riviera: The last stand against the broughamization of Detroit
(EXPANDED FROM 5/2/2022) Whatever else one might say about the 1971-73 Buick Riviera, its styling did represent a heroic level of resistance to the brougham look then sweeping through the U.S. auto industry. Instead of […]
Design Notes
The 1958 Packard went too far in styling, size and pricing
(EXPANDED ON 9/30/2022) Indie Auto doesn’t generally dwell on collectible cars, but a restoration of a 1958 Packard shed light on what I have found to be one of the bigger peculiarities of the postwar […]
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Photo Essay
Old-fashioned Skamania may have anticipated the automobile’s future
How small is the hamlet of Skamania? So small that its focal point appears to be a general store that doesn’t have much food, there is only one gas pump, and the restroom consists of […]
Links
Knudsen’s favored 1972 Mark IV design borrowed from the Eldorado
(EXPANDED FROM 8/5/2022) A few years ago Dean’s Garage posted a fascinating story about the battle over the 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV’s styling. Jim and Cheryl Farrell (2022) described how a design proposal championed […]