(EXPANDED FROM 4/15/2022) Lately we have been talking about early-50s compacts, so I thought it was a good time to expand on aborted proposals from Willys. Prior to World War II this automaker had the […]
(UPDATED FROM 3/30/2023) Newly declassified intelligence documents show how a crash program by American automakers to switch to eggcrate grilles for their 1972-73 models thwarted a space alien invasion. The strategy worked so well that […]
(EXPANDED FROM 4/23/2021) A few years ago our story on Brooks Stevens’s redesign of the 1964 Studebaker generated enough debate that I decided to further flesh out an alternative scenario. To wit, Studebaker would have […]
When Jeep announced that it would revive the Wagoneer nameplate for a big sport-utility vehicle, Patrick Foster predicted that it could be as historic and game changing as the original (Bond, 2020). Those words carried […]
(EXPANDED FROM 11/9/2022) A few years ago Dean’s Garage reprinted a prescient essay Harry Bradley (2022) wrote way back in 1974 about the future of the American station wagon. His article made a number of […]
The February 2024 issue of Collectible Automobile has a story about the 1974-83 Jeep Cherokee. As is typical for this magazine, you will find lots of nice photos and a comprehensive recitation of product specifications […]
Michael Karesh (2023) of TrueDelta recently asked, “Which cars (model and year) from the Detroit Three since 1980 do you feel qualify as design icons?” I would invite you to check out the ensuing debate […]
Patrick Foster (2023) recently suggested that a merger of Hudson and Willys could have made sense — and he devoted a Hemmings column to explaining why. This is an intriguing scenario, but I have a […]
A recent Hemmings column by Patrick Foster (2023) argues that American Motors’ biggest mistake was not buying Willys Motors — the maker of Jeep sport-utility vehicles — way back in the early-60s. Indeed, he went […]
Curbside Classic recently posted a 1977 Road & Track test of an AMC Gremlin with a new four-cylinder engine. This got me thinking about how American Motors’ purchase of a power plant from Volkswagen was […]
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