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HomeFord

Ford

1960 VW versus US compact car ads
Multimedia

Satire of a 1960 VW ad essentially mimics marketing for U.S. compacts

August 14, 2025 Steve 3

(EXPANDED FROM 3/20/2023) Back in 1963, advertising executive Fred Manley presented a slide show parody about how to improve Volkswagen’s legendary “Think small” ad. The “best practices” he presented look hilariously misguided when applied to […]

1969 Ford design film clay model
History

Late-1960s Ford car design film shows US automakers losing it

August 13, 2025 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 4/28/2023) A late-1960s Ford promotional film offers a fascinating glimpse into the car and truck designs being worked on at the time. Perhaps more than intended, The Design Makers — Inside Ford Design, […]

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1
Data Dive

1960s marked the beginning of the fastback’s slow revival in the U.S.

August 12, 2025 Steve 4

(EXPANDED FROM 8/7/2023) Today fastbacks are so mainstream that you can find them on the most conservative family sedans. Indeed, the rakishness of their rooflines can be more extreme than even the sportiest American cars […]

1972 Ford Thunderbird
Design Notes

How did Bunkie Knudsen influence the 1972 Ford Thunderbird?

August 8, 2025 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 8/12/2022) For 1972 the Ford Thunderbird brochure tried to get extra fancy with see-through paper. And on inside pages the text gushed that the only way to change the car was to “Make […]

1963 Buick Riviera interior
Drive-By Musings

What are the top-10 coolest American car interiors from 1955-70?

August 6, 2025 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 6/6/2024) Top-10 lists strike me as rather clickbaity, but I am not above presenting them if they illustrate an important historical theme. Last year I was motivated to create this list after seeing […]

1968 Mercury Brougham 4-door hardtop
Data Dive

1968 full-sized Mercury: A pioneer of brougham was overshadowed

July 25, 2025 Steve 12

(EXPANDED FROM 12/8/2023) One of my lingering questions from a Collectible Automobile story about the Mercury Park Lane was why it didn’t sell better in 1968 (Biel, 2021). This was arguably the first year that […]

1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1
Photo Essay

Mid-1930s-to-70s design evolution shown at LeMay event

July 20, 2025 Steve 3

(EXPANDED FROM 1/1/2020) The Tacoma, Washington area has two car museums that are often confused. America’s Car Museum is located downtown in a fairly new building whereas the LeMay Collections at Marymount is eight miles […]

1952 Kaiser Henry J
Quotes

Why Ford rejected small cars in late-40s and early-50s

July 19, 2025 Steve 5

Debate within the Ford Motor Company about whether it should come out with a smaller, more economical car was discussed at a number of points in a corporate history by Allan Nevins and Frank Ernest […]

1999 Pontiac Firebird 30th Anniversary Trans Am
Design Notes

Obesity won even when it lost with pony cars

July 16, 2025 Steve 3

(EXPANDED FROM 9/16/2021) The failure of the fourth-generation Chevrolet Camaro and Firebird wasn’t supposed to happen. General Motors’ F-body siblings had a much more modern — and arguably more stylish — design than their sole competitor, […]

1955 Studebaker President left rear close
Design Notes

1955 Studebaker President hardtop hints at a road not taken

July 14, 2025 Steve 15

(EXPANDED FROM 11/3/2021) This may not be a very popular perspective, but I would suggest that the so-called Loewy coupes were at their best in 1955. Although the styling wasn’t as clean as the 1953-54 […]

Posts pagination

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  • 1950 Nash Rambler hood ornament
    Speedreaders.info is a rare source of book reviews, but quality varies
    June 3, 2026 0
  • 1958 Lincoln
    1958-60 Lincoln: Failing to beat GM at its own game
    June 2, 2026 12
  • 1957 Nash Ambassador
    Three videos: The death of car culture, rich people’s cars and the 1957 Nash
    May 29, 2026 6
  • 1963 Mercury Marauder
    1963 Mercury Marauder: Ford tries to do a premium-priced car on the cheap
    May 27, 2026 11
  • Did 1964 Ramblers share more parts between size classes than competitors?
    May 26, 2026 1
  • 1976 Tatra T-613
    Tatra was yet another automaker that deemphasized aerodynamics by 1970s
    May 22, 2026 12
  • Patrick Foster shows how International Harvester failed to adapt
    May 13, 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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