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Elon Musk discusses climate change when introducing Tesla Model 3
Current Events

EVs need a George Romney to champion them in the next few years

June 13, 2025 Steve 17

With the Republicans likely to slash support for electric vehicles at every turn (Ferry, 2025), automakers will need to work much harder to market their wares in the next few years. What would be particularly […]

1956 Packard Executive
History

Did the 1956 Packard Executive represent a strategic shift?

May 29, 2025 Steve 23

(EXPANDED FROM 2/1/2022) Back in 2021 Patrick Foster suggested that a 1956 1/2 Packard model called the Executive could have “saved” the brand if it had been introduced a year or so earlier. In contrast, […]

1968 Chevrolet Corvette convertible
Ad Nauseam

A 1968 Chevrolet Corvette and a manly man. Alone.

May 23, 2025 Steve 0

David E. Numm liked to remind himself that he was fairly comfortable — and that things could be much worse. At least he was assigned to be a copy writer for the Chevrolet Corvette rather […]

Media Analysis

Do car ads need to talk down to people in order to be engaging?

May 22, 2025 Steve 6

One of the laziest kinds of clickbait in the auto history media are posts of old advertisements, commercials and various types of marketing videos. All too often the text that accompanies the ads could be […]

1968 GM premium big cars
Data Dive

1965-68 GM big cars: The end of different strokes

April 28, 2025 Steve 13

(EXPANDED FROM 7/21/2023) General Motors had one of those “be careful what you ask for” problems. In 1962 the automaker captured three-fourths of the premium-priced, big-car market. This was a key reason why GM sold […]

Kalaloch Beach woman at sunset
Photo Essay

National parks: As American as baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Chevrolet

March 2, 2025 Steve 1

Last week we talked about how cars are for going places. Remember the slogan Chevrolet used in its advertising: “See the USA in your Chevrolet”? National parks were sometimes shown because they are as American […]

Skagit Valley sunrise
Random Shots

Sunrise over a country road evokes a classic 1923 Jordan ad

February 23, 2025 Steve 6

The car-buff media is so oriented toward the gear that it tends to neglect one of the biggest reasons people drive automobiles — to go somewhere interesting. We could talk about that in scholarly terms. […]

1971 Dodge Demon
Gallery

1971-72 Dodge Demon shows Chrysler both at its best and worst

February 13, 2025 Steve 2

The 1971-72 Dodge Demon is a weird historical anomaly in that it showed the Chrysler Corp. at both its best and worst. Giving the compact A-body an entry-level sporty coupe turned out to be the […]

1965 Pontiac Grand Prix
Links

Road Test columnist attacks Motor Trend for Car of Year awards to Pontiac

February 6, 2025 Steve 16

(EXPANDED FROM 6/26/2023) The June 1968 issue of Road Test magazine took its rival, Motor Trend, to task for anointing the Pontiac GTO as Car of the Year. Columnist Byron Bloch argued that the award […]

1967 Mercury Cyclone GT
Ad Nauseam

What happened to Mercury’s 1967 ‘Man’s Car’ ad campaign

February 3, 2025 Steve 6

Mercury’s ad agency, Weiner, Cox & Baltz, thought that it had come up with a clever solution to a lingering problem: the brand’s cars were primarily bought by women. “Our data shows that women are […]

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3 4 … 9 »
  • 1965 Studebaker Cruiser proposal
    Car Life speculates about why Studebaker shut down its South Bend plant
    July 17, 2026 8
  • 1956 Lincoln
    The 1956 Lincoln’s styling proved to be a one-year wonder
    July 17, 2026 18
  • 1975 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL
    1975 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL lacked the taut brilliance of its predecessor
    July 14, 2026 6
  • 1988 Oldsmobile Toronado
    Did GM go too far in downsizing the 1986 Riviera, Toronado and Eldorado?
    July 10, 2026 16
  • J. 'Kelly' Flory Jr.
    J. ‘Kelly’ Flory Jr.’s American Cars series is pricey but valuable
    July 10, 2026 4
  • 1968 Pontiac Firebird green convertible
    1967-72 Pontiac Firebird shows limits of ad illustrations
    July 7, 2026 10
  • Miscellaneous ramblings about being on the road
    June 25, 2026 5
  • Internet problems reminded me of U.S. automakers in the 1970s
    May 2, 2026 1
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 141
Society of Automotive Historian award to Indie Auto

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