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HomeDesign

Design

1964 Studebaker
Letters to the Editor

Reader decries a ‘hatchet job’ and the ‘worst article’ in Indie Auto

September 3, 2025 Steve 16

CR stopped by to comment on our article, “1964 Studebaker: Brooks Stevens hammered final nail in the coffin.” Absolutely this is a hatchet job on Brooks Stevens and a completely unnecessary and agenda-driven one at […]

Links

1970 Ford Maverick gets surprisingly critical take from Motor Trend

September 2, 2025 Steve 12

(EXPANDED FROM 9/25/2023) Should I be embarrassed to admit that the first car magazine I subscribed to was Motor Trend? When I was around 11 years old I was enticed by one of those promotional […]

1964 Studebaker Daytona rear quarter
Design Notes

1964 Studebaker: Brooks Stevens hammered final nail in the coffin

August 27, 2025 Steve 27

(EXPANDED FROM 4/16/2021) One of my more unpopular takes is that Studebaker shouldn’t have assigned Brooks Stevens to restyle the 1964 Lark. He may have had a more mainstream design sensibility than Raymond Loewy, but […]

1999 Volkswagen Cabrio commercial
Multimedia

What’s been lost as car drivers have become more insulated from outside

August 26, 2025 Steve 8

(EXPANDED FROM 5/21/2024) A drive through a lovely rural area in Oregon reminded me of a Volkswagen Cabrio commercial from decades ago. The spot did an unusually good job of showing the sensuousness of driving. […]

1950 Nash Ambassador
History

Did early-postwar independent automakers try too hard to be different?

August 22, 2025 Steve 11

(EXPANDED FROM 9/19/2023) The late-40s and early-50s arguably had more design and engineering variety among U.S automakers than we would ever see again. That strikes me as a mostly good thing for consumers, but there […]

1958 Ford Skyliner
Media Analysis

Is Jim and Cheryl Farrell’s critique of the 1958 Ford’s styling unfair?

August 21, 2025 Steve 17

(UPDATED FROM 10/7/2022) Did the facelifted 1958 Fords have less-attractive styling than the all-new 1957 models? Jim and Cheryl Farrell (2022) suggested in a Dean’s Garage story that the answer is yes. Indeed, they concluded […]

1967 Imperial Crown coupe
Links

Car Life’s faint praise for redesigned 1967 Imperial hints at why it wasn’t a hit

August 20, 2025 Steve 17

(EXPANDED FROM 7/11/2023) Car-buff writers didn’t know it at the time, but the new-for-1967 Imperial would be Chrysler’s last big push in the luxury-car field. Although the brand lost its exclusive platform — just like […]

1973 Saab 96
Design Notes

Should Saab have come out with a retro 96 in the 1990s?

August 19, 2025 Steve 9

EXPANDED FROM 3/14/2022) In a Hemmings post about a 1971 Saab 96 for sale, Mike McNessor (2014) described the car as “irresistible and timeless as the VW Beetle or the Mini.” He went on to wonder […]

1970 Rambler American AI fake
Fake Design

What might an ‘internationalized’ 1970 Rambler American have looked like?

August 18, 2025 Steve 18

Indie Auto reader DECG50 (2025) responded to our article about the Fiat 130 coupe by using ChatGPT to render a 1970 AMC Rambler (American) that used the 1969 floorpan but adopted styling along the lines […]

Fiat 130 coupe
Drive-By Musings

Was the 1972 Fiat 130 coupe influenced by mid-1960s Ramblers?

August 15, 2025 Steve 8

(EXPANDED FROM 10/5/2023) A few years ago Curbside Classic reposted one of my favorite articles — a magazine-length piece by Don Andreina (2023) about the 1972-77 Fiat 130 coupe. Although the car never made it […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 9 10 11 … 43 »
  • 1962 Ford Galaxie 500
    Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
    October 16, 2026 36
  • 1969 Ford Thunderbird 4-door Landau
    Was 1969 the beginning of the end for the Ford Thunderbird four-door Landau?
    October 14, 2026 7
  • Is Jaguar smart to run away from its design heritage?
    October 8, 2026 21
  • AMC Pacer clay model
    Why does Joe Ligo’s PBS series sanewash AMC’s mid-70s recklessness?
    October 6, 2026 20
  • 2026 Ram pickups
    A pyrrhic regulatory rollback and how poorly the 1978 Matador coupe sold
    October 2, 2026 12
  • 1962 Chrysler 300
    Did the 1962-65 Chrysler 300 ‘dilute’ the letter series?
    September 29, 2026 10
  • 1968 Ford Mustang
    Three rules led to a stultifying level of conformity in 1960s U.S. car design
    September 24, 2026 12
  • 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 146
Society of Automotive Historian award to Indie Auto

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