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HomeDesign

Design

Willys and Brooks Stevens 1947
Design Notes

How Brooks Stevens’s designs for a postwar compact Willys evolved

April 24, 2025 Steve 8

(EXPANDED FROM 4/15/2022) Lately we have been talking about early-50s compacts, so I thought it was a good time to expand on aborted proposals from Willys. Prior to World War II this automaker had the […]

Parody ads about the auto industry and media
Our Sponsors

Subaru is trying to make a very big splash with new Outback design

April 22, 2025 Steve 0
Circa 2002 Ford Thunderbird taillight
Fake Design

Was the 2002-5 Ford Thunderbird two-seater inspired or stupid?

April 22, 2025 Steve 13

I have mixed feelings about the 2002-5 Ford Thunderbird. I am glad the automaker brought back the storied nameplate and think that this generation had a few interesting design touches. That said, the car strikes […]

Skamania bus
Photo Essay

Old-fashioned Skamania may have anticipated the automobile’s future

April 20, 2025 Steve 0

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 […]

Quotes

Commentators explain how a fat Corvette stops space aliens

April 19, 2025 Steve 0

Some of the web’s most important writing is buried in auto blog comment sections. One of my all-time favorites is a soliloquy by Truth About Cars commentator Petezeiss (2014). In response to criticisms of the 2015 Corvette Z06’s weight gain, […]

1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV
Links

Knudsen’s favored 1972 Mark IV design borrowed from the Eldorado

April 16, 2025 Steve 10

(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 […]

1951 Nash Rambler grille
Data Dive

Implosion of early-1950s compacts hints at product-proliferation dangers

April 15, 2025 Steve 12

The most significant postwar trend among independent automakers was a rush to compact cars. Between 1950 and 1953 four automakers came out with new entries. This would prove to be a double-edged sword. On the […]

1960 Saab 93
Gallery

Why didn’t the Saab 93 catch on like the Volkswagen Beetle?

April 11, 2025 Steve 6

The Volkswagen Beetle was so popular in the United States during the 1960s that it can be viewed with an aura of inevitability. Even so, one could argue that the VW benefitted by being in […]

1954 Packard Clipper
History

1954 Packard Clipper: The car that ended the automaker’s independence

April 9, 2025 Steve 69

(EXPANDED FROM 7/15/2022) I can’t usually tell in advance whether an article will hit a nerve. As a case in point, I didn’t think this one about the 1954 Packard Clipper would generate much notice. […]

Multimedia

Richard Teague interview hints at why he needed stronger oversight at AMC

April 8, 2025 Steve 12

Lately I have been listening to an interview David Crippen did with Richard Teague in 1985. This was a few years after Teague retired from leading the design staff of American Motors (Wikipedia, 2025). The […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 12 13 14 … 43 »
  • 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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