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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 »
  • 1954 Chevrolet was beginning of the end for GM’s brand hierarchy
    April 21, 2026 17
  • 1980 Pontiac Phoenix 5-door hatch
    Bigger didn’t prove to be better for General Motors in late-70s and 80s
    April 17, 2026 39
  • 1963 Ford Galaxie
    Might Detroit have embraced front-wheel drive earlier if McNamara had stayed at Ford?
    April 16, 2026 7
  • Cheap dealer car
    How much do Trump policies have to hurt auto industry before it supports Dems?
    April 14, 2026 19
  • 1975 Ford Thunderbird
    Ford design in the 1970s was a real step down from the previous decade
    April 10, 2026 24
  • 1981 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
    The sad story about buying a 1981 Monte Carlo right out of college
    April 9, 2026 2
  • Why the 1968-69 Javelin was not Richard Teague’s best AMC sporty coupe
    April 6, 2026 9
  • Mitsubishi dealer in Spokane
    Indie Auto is moving — although you may barely notice
    April 8, 2026 4
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 136
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