Brooks Stevens was a complicated character. For example, he championed ultra-simple car designs but also coined the term “planned obsolescence” to describe an industrial designer’s mission (Adamson, 2003; p. 129). One way that played out […]
(EXPANDED FROM 12/10/2021) Brooks Stevens apparently was convinced that he could come up with a new-generation Studebaker Lark design that would top the work of Raymond Loewy’s team, which was then working on an Avanti-inspired […]
(EXPANDED FROM 6/14/2023) For good or ill, Brooks Stevens was one of the most influential independent U.S. auto design consultants of the postwar era. Despite some shaky analysis and factual lapses, the best book about […]
Dean’s Garage has reposted a Hemmings story about a number of proposed Studebakers designed by Brooks Stevens. Daniel Strohl (2023) primarily focused on the Sceptre, a replacement for the ancient Hawk. I find the photographs […]
I have mentioned before that monitoring the American automotive media reminds me of the Bruce Springsteen song, “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On).” The buff magazines and websites spend so much time trying to mimic each […]
The above image apparently shows an early design proposal by Brooks Stevens for a reskinned AMC Ambassador planned for 1972-73. The design has a resemblance to mockups pictured in a Patrick Foster (2013) book. These […]
Last summer a Jalopnik review of the Mazda MX-30 led to a debate in the comment thread about what is adequate acceleration. Writer Ken Saito (2021) had just concluded that the electric crossover’s 0-60 time […]
(EXPANDED FROM 10/2/2020) Auto Extremist has reposted a Peter DeLorenzo (2021) column which argues that the auto industry has “reached the nadir of design. And it isn’t pretty.” The big reason why: Cars look so […]
In retrospect, Studebaker shouldn’t have assigned Brooks Stevens to restyle its Lark for 1964. He may have had a more mainstream design sensibility than Raymond Loewy, but Stevens was also the guy who coined the […]
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