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HomeDesign

Design

1975 Ford Elite
Multimedia

Adam Wade’s top-10 ugliest ‘classic’ cars list is decidedly quirky

March 11, 2026 Steve 27

Top-10 lists are inherently subjective, but Adam Wade’s (2026) ugliest “classic” cars strikes me as being particularly quirky. On his YouTube channel called Rare Classic Cars & Automotive History, Wade focuses on American cars from […]

1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
History

Was the 1966 Olds Cutlass Supreme the first mid-sized brougham model?

March 5, 2026 Steve 23

(EXPANDED FROM 2/14/2024) This is one of Indie Auto’s more hotly debated stories. Here I question Paul Niedermeyer’s (2024) contention that the 1966-67 Cutlass Supreme brought the “Great Brougham Epoch” to the mid-sized field. “With […]

1976 Plymouth Volare 2-door coupe
Drive-By Musings

Splashy new cars often were the biggest disasters during the postwar period

March 3, 2026 Steve 5

One of the biggest assumptions of U.S. automakers in the postwar period was that they desperately needed splashy new cars. Yet when I think about the biggest disasters of that era, they often involved expensive […]

1968 Chevrolet C10 pickup
Gallery

Was the 1967-68 Chevrolet C10 the ‘first modern pickup’?

February 27, 2026 Steve 8

Indie Auto doesn’t focus a whole lot on trucks, but I recently photographed a 1968 Chevrolet C10. When researching this article, I came across the argument from Aldan American (2026) that this was the “first […]

Parody ads about the auto industry and media
Our Sponsors

Kia trumpets innovative approach to safety with 2027 Telluride

February 26, 2026 Steve 0
1941 Studebaker Commander 2-door coupe
Design Notes

1941 Studebaker Commander: Ending its big cars on a high note

February 26, 2026 Steve 11

(EXPANDED FROM 10/1/2024) The 1941 Studebaker Commander is noteworthy partly because of its lovely art deco styling, but also because it represents close to the last of the automaker’s big premium-priced cars. In 1939 Studebaker […]

1959 Imperial and Ralph Nader
Letters to the Editor

Reader lauds Virgil Exner and says Ralph Nader ‘destroyed style forever’

February 22, 2026 Steve 3

CW stopped by to respond to our story, “1959 Cadillac epitomized what was wrong with U.S. car styling.” Yes I get all this but it was [Virgil] Exner the visionary who put style in cars […]

1970 Mercury Cougar El Gato
History

1970 Mercury ‘El Gato’ Cougar raises intriguing questions

February 18, 2026 Steve 2

(EXPANDED FROM 1/23/2024) Bill McGuire’s (2021b) story about the Mercury El Gato got me thinking about Ford’s conflicted design direction in the early-70s. The concept car hinted at what the 1969-70 Cougar might have looked […]

1958 Packard left headlight pod
Multimedia

Jay Leno hypes the Slate Truck and the Hubcap Club criticizes the 1958 Packard

February 4, 2026 Steve 11

Let’s take a back-to-back look at two videos: a Jay Leno’s Garage episode about the forthcoming Slate Truck and a Hubcap Club take on the controversial 1958 Packard. While Leno enthusiastically hyped the forthcoming electric […]

1970 Buick Riviera
Design Notes

The 11 worst single-year redesigns of postwar American cars

January 16, 2026 Steve 36

(EXPANDED FROM 7/14/2023) I grant you that top-whatever rankings can be clickbaity, but I decided to do this story for a specific reason. In the postwar years Detroit tended to assume that rapid-fire restylings were […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 3 4 5 … 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
Society of Automotive Historian award to Indie Auto

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