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HomeMid-sized cars

Mid-sized cars

Data Dive

Compact cars became the neglected stepchildren of U.S. automakers

June 26, 2024 Steve 19

(EXPANDED FROM 6/17/2022) Compact cars represented a dramatic change for U.S. automakers when they were introduced in the early-1960s. After spending the previous decade making its “standard-sized” cars bigger, glitzier and more powerful, Detroit responded […]

1991 Avanti 4-door touring sedan
Design Notes

1990-91 Avanti four-door sedan points to the road Studebaker could have taken

June 24, 2024 Steve 8

We have had a burst of discussion in a comment thread about the Avanti four-door sedan (go here), so let’s take a quick look at that tragic car. In its dying years Studebaker had developed […]

1948 Hudson rear
History

1948 Hudson ‘step-down’ was a brilliant car with tragic flaws

June 17, 2024 Steve 26

(EXPANDED FROM 2/10/2022) In the early post-war period Hudson came the closest to being an American Mercedes-Benz. The new-for-1948 “step-downs” had engineering advances that most other automakers would not pick up on for years. So […]

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). […]

1967 Mercury Comet Caliente convertible
Design Notes

Did stylistic penny pinching undercut the 1966-67 Mercury Comet?

May 22, 2024 Steve 11

As mysteries go it’s a small one, but I have long been curious as to why the 1965-67 Mercury Comet switched from horizontal to stacked headlights. The new look wasn’t in alignment with any of […]

Chevrolet Malibu
Current Events

GM’s discontinuing of the Chevrolet Malibu is criticized as short sighted

May 15, 2024 Steve 22

Fast Company’s David Zipper (2024) took General Motors to task for announcing that General Motors would discontinue the Chevrolet Malibu in November. With the long-running nameplate’s demise, GM will no longer sell an affordable sedan […]

1974 AMC Matador 4-door sedan
Editor's Note

Reader says ‘armchair critics’ of the 1974 AMC Matador sedan are wrong

April 29, 2024 Steve 7

LL stopped by to respond to our story, “Joe Ligo is overly kind in Nash/AMC Ambassador film.” Here’s what he had to say: “I have a 1972 Matador and a 1974 Matador and without a […]

Data Dive

The 1965-73 Ford LTD may not have impacted Mercury very much

April 11, 2024 Steve 10

(EXPANDED FROM 1/28/2022) Indie Auto commentator Geeber recently discussed how premium-priced big cars did better than their lower-priced brethren as the 1970s progressed. His comment, which is worth reading in full (go here), spurred me […]

Links

Car Life tries not to yawn when road testing the 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle

April 2, 2024 Steve 7

Car Life wasn’t hugely excited about the 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle. Even so, the magazine tried to present the new nameplate in a positive light: “At this writing, Chevelle accounts for 18% of Chevrolet sales and […]

1967 Plymouth GTX
Design Notes

1966-67 Plymouth Satellite was most anonymous-looking car of its era

March 25, 2024 Steve 10

(EXPANDED FROM 11/10/2021) I hereby nominate the 1966-67 mid-sized Plymouth as the most anonymous-looking car of the mid-1960s. At least to my eyes, the Belvedere line — which included top-end Satellite and GTX models — […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 5 6 7 … 10 »
  • Why did American Motors fire Wells Rich and Greene in 1972?
    March 6, 2026 6
  • 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 13
  • 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
  • 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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