Indie Auto
header-advert
  • Home
  • About
    • Introduction
    • Editor’s Notes
    • Story Ideas Bank
    • Why All The Data?
    • Fake Stuff
    • About Those Photos
    • Talk Legal To Me
    • Privacy Policy
  • All Our Features
    • Ad Nauseam
    • Bird Chatter
    • Calendar
    • Current Events
    • Data Dives
    • Design Notes
    • Drive-By Musings
    • Fake Designs
    • Gallery
    • Histories
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Links
    • Literature
    • Media Analysis
    • Multimedia
    • Our Sponsors
    • Photo Essays
    • Quotes
    • Random Shots
    • Satire
  • Look It Up
    • In Auto Paedia
    • By author
    • By automaker or brand
    • By time period
    • By topic
    • By vehicle type
  • Readings
    • General Reference
    • Specific Brands & Automakers
    • Auto Culture, Policy & Business Strategy
    • Bibliography
    • Where To Buy Your Books
    • Recently-Posted Readings
  • Links
    • Bibliography of Links
  • Contact
    • Emails & Newsletter
    • Rejected Comments
  • Donate
HomeLynn Townsend

Lynn Townsend

1968 Dodge Monaco
Gallery

Was Lynn Townsend’s first major failure the 1967-68 full-sized Dodge?

March 31, 2025 Steve 7

Lynn Townsend led a remarkably quick turnaround of the Chrysler Corporation, but he started to lose altitude in the late-60s. One might debate what were key turning points, but I would suggest that the 1967-68 […]

1973 Dodge Dart
Drive-By Musings

Chrysler’s Lynn Townsend in 1973: Even a compact is too small

November 1, 2024 Steve 18

CEO Lynn Townsend hinted at why the Chrysler Corporation arguably neglected its aging line of compacts in the first half of the 1970s. Townsend told Forbes in 1973, “The subcompacts are just too small. The […]

1962 Plymouth Sport Fury
History

Defense of Virgil Exner’s 1962 Plymouth doesn’t add up

June 10, 2024 Steve 5

(EXPANDED FROM 4/23/2021) Once in a while a work of automotive history is smacked down by a critic who sanctimoniously points to alleged inaccuracies. Sometimes these kind of critiques are on target (if unduly indignant). […]

1970 Chrysler 300 2-door hardtop
Quotes

Lynn Townsend’s hubris led to Chrysler’s decline in 1969-70

July 24, 2023 Steve 1

“It has become fashionable to assume that when a company does a multibillion-dollar business, there is little that one man — even the man at the top — can do to sway its fortunes. ‘These […]

1969 Dodge Charger
Quotes

Chrysler’s Lynn Townsend giveth and taketh on warranties

August 26, 2022 Steve 5

“Hard-eyed Townsend caught the industry with its pants down in 1962 when Chrysler suddenly offered its customers a five-year or 50,000-mile warranty on principal engine and power-train components on new cars. Industry practice at the […]

1967 Dodge Coronet 500
Letters to the Editor

Lynn Townsend failed to solve Chrysler’s warfare between divisions

November 23, 2021 Steve 4

Reader James E. Duvall offered a thoughtful take on our 1966-67 Chrysler B-Body story that deserves more prominence as a stand-alone letter. While I believe the Elwood Engel’s styling department was on-track and that Lynn […]

Quotes
Quotes

How Elwood Engel viewed Chrysler’s styling

December 26, 2020 Steve 0

“. . . Townsend first made personnel changes of urgent concern. He stole away from Ford its stylist, Elwood Engel. Looking at Chrysler interior designs shortly after his arrival, Engel yelped: ‘Ye Gods, this out […]

  • 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
Society of Automotive Historian award to Indie Auto

Recent Comments

  • Jeff Kennedy on Ford design in the 1970s was a real step down from the previous decade
  • Lori H. on 1954 Chevrolet was beginning of the end for GM’s brand hierarchy
  • Stéphane Dumas on Ford design in the 1970s was a real step down from the previous decade
  • Steve on 1967 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible didn’t catch on
  • Philco Ford on 1954 Chevrolet was beginning of the end for GM’s brand hierarchy
  • Steve on 1954 Chevrolet was beginning of the end for GM’s brand hierarchy
  • Anthony Boddy on 1954 Chevrolet was beginning of the end for GM’s brand hierarchy
  • Albert Fredrick Godwin on 1967 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible didn’t catch on
  • Randerson on Bigger didn’t prove to be better for General Motors in late-70s and 80s
  • SCAMPMAN on Bigger didn’t prove to be better for General Motors in late-70s and 80s
  • SCAMPMAN on Bigger didn’t prove to be better for General Motors in late-70s and 80s
  • Terrance Smith on Even Motor Trend complained about the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado’s brakes
  • SCAMPMAN on 1954 Chevrolet was beginning of the end for GM’s brand hierarchy
  • BoBoston on Ford design in the 1970s was a real step down from the previous decade
  • Charles Jones on 1954 Chevrolet was beginning of the end for GM’s brand hierarchy

Archives

Categories

Tags

1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s American Motors Auto culture Auto history media Auto media Automotive News Automotive Views Business strategies Chevrolet Compact cars Curbside Classic Design Design excesses Dodge Electric vehicles Engineering Fake advertising Ford Ford Motor Co. Full-sized cars General Motors Journalism standards Luxury cars Management culture Marketing Mid-sized cars Parody Patrick R. Foster Plymouth Premium-priced cars Public policies Rambler Reader comments Richard M. Langworth Stellantis Studebaker
Follow Us
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed
Search
Archives
Categories
Help keep the lights on
Quinault at night

Copyright © 2022 Olympia, Earth Media, LLC | All rights reserved