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HomeIndustry consolidation

Industry consolidation

1953 Plymouth
Fake Design

Six myths about the misunderstood 1953-54 Plymouth

July 19, 2024 Steve 20

(EXPANDED FROM 5/20/2022) Let’s take the time to unpack six myths about one of the most misunderstood post-war American cars — the 1953-54 Plymouth. This an important exercise because it brings to light some key […]

Media Analysis

New way to support Ate Up With Motor and should auto media collaborate?

April 30, 2024 Steve 3

Aaron Severson has set up a Patreon account for Ate Up With Motor and is starting to provide paywalled content for donors. His first piece illustrates the thoughtfulness of his approach to automotive history — […]

Rolls Royce
Media Analysis

Could U.S. auto history field benefit by following in the footsteps of the British?

April 23, 2024 Steve 5

In 2020 Indie Auto posted a story about how to purchase back issues of Automobile Quarterly. All of the links I included are now dead, so yesterday a reader inquired: “Looking to buy prints from […]

2021 SKoda Enyaq iV
Letters to the Editor

Reader argues that Sergio was right about auto industry consolidation

December 12, 2023 Steve 3

George Denzinger wrote a comment in response to our 2043 predictions post that deserves separate treatment because of its length and focus. As little as I cared for Sergio Marchionne’s proclamations, he was correct about […]

1976 Cadillac Eldorado
Quotes

Why General Motors should have been broken in two

January 5, 2023 Steve 16

“I think if DOJ had cleaved GM into two companies (i.e., Chevrolet and GM), we would today have a more vibrant, competitive American automotive industry. Today, we have two domestic players in an industry that […]

1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz
Quotes

Halberstam: Big Three’s ‘shared monopoly’ held back innovation for years

November 4, 2022 Steve 1

“The Big Three in the auto industry stood virtually alone, possessors of what was in effect a shared monopoly, for the price of entry was too great for any start-up company. In an environment like […]

1953-54ish Cadillac rear
Letters to the Editor

Buick, Olds and Cadillac hurt the independents in the early-50s

February 15, 2022 Steve 6

Geeber offers valuable additional layers of analysis to our story, “Was the ‘Ford blitz’ to blame for the collapse of independent automakers?” Thus, I’m elevating this comment to the front page. While the focus has […]

Kestner homestead abandoned truck
Auto Paedia

Antitrust regulations: Lack of enforcement fueled U.S. industry’s decline

December 15, 2021 Steve 2

(UPDATED FROM 1/1/2019) Antitrust regulations in the United States were created in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Their goal was to support free competition in an era of increasingly large corporations — some of whom […]

Satire

MotorTrend has a firm, meaty grip on the future

July 28, 2021 Steve 0

To honor the death of Mustang 360, we are rerunning a review from June 10, 2020. The life of this legendary website was tragically cut short when it was folded into Hot Rod magazine, whose […]

1953 Studebaker Commander 2-door coupe
History

Five (arguably) unresolved mysteries of postwar independent automakers

April 2, 2021 Steve 24

(EXPANDED ON 1/27/2023) Many books, magazine articles and blog posts have been written about the independent automakers’ struggle to survive in the 1950s. Even so, I have come across a number of unresolved mysteries relevant […]

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3 4 »
  • 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
    Was the 1966 Olds Cutlass Supreme the first mid-sized brougham model?
    March 5, 2026 21
  • 1976 Plymouth Volare 2-door coupe
    Splashy new cars often were the biggest disasters during the postwar period
    March 3, 2026 1
  • Reader questions Chrysler’s future as it passes 100th anniversary
    March 2, 2026 12
  • 1968 Chevrolet C10 pickup
    Was the 1967-68 Chevrolet C10 the ‘first modern pickup’?
    February 27, 2026 7
  • 1941 Studebaker Commander 2-door coupe
    1941 Studebaker Commander: Ending its big cars on a high note
    February 26, 2026 11
  • 1961 De Soto
    Video histories of DeSoto and American Motors aren’t as good as books
    February 24, 2026 3
  • 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk front with hood open
    Four lingering questions about Aaron Severson’s take on the 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk
    February 20, 2026 6
  • Thank yous, power outages and format changes
    October 31, 2025 0
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 134
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