Full-sized cars
Did a rumor cause the downsized 1962 Plymouth and Dodge?
A few years ago Paul Niedermeyer (2017a) questioned the conventional wisdom that the downsized 1962 Plymouth and Dodge were an 11th-hour accident of history. In an epic essay, the Curbside Classic publisher poked holes in […]
Jose Delgadillo: Yesterday’s big Cadillac is today’s big truck?
“Today I put on 75 miles driving around the South Bay. What did I see on the road? Expedition after Expedition, Suburban XLs, Escalades, Full size, quad cab pick ups of every marque and plenty […]
1974 AMC Ambassador: Was its styling ruined by bumper regs?
Readers of Indie Auto can offer feedback either by commenting or by sending a direct message here. Recently a reader used the latter route to defend the looks of the 1974 AMC Ambassador, calling it […]
1974 AMC Ambassador: GM envy to the ZiL degree
The 1974 Ambassador’s ZiL-like styling shows how AMC had succumbed to “GM envy” in the 1970s. This car was so big and ugly that it was doomed to failure. Yet American Motors wasted scarce resources […]
George Romney made eight big mistakes at AMC
George Romney may have been one of the U.S. auto industry’s best post-war leaders, but he made eight big mistakes while leading AMC from 1954-62. Some of his bad moves were costly enough to almost […]
Chrysler’s Lynn Townsend in 1973: Even a compact is too small
“The subcompacts are just too small. The American people won’t climb into them. They have to give up too much in creature comfort. I think even a compact’s a little small. I would think that […]
How American Motors abandoned its uniqueness in the second half of the 1960s
The most strikingly quality of American Motors’ car designs developed in the mid-60s was how quickly the automaker ditched the Rambler look in favor of styling mostly indistinguishable from the Big Three. This was a […]