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HomePublic policies

Public policies

Current Events

High cost of cars could make automakers exceptionally vulnerable

November 7, 2024 Steve 12

I would like to offer two additional thoughts about Paul Niedermeyer’s (2024) recent article that discusses the auto industry abandoning low-priced cars in the U.S. market. First, the election of Donald Trump as president increases […]

Tesla chargers
Current Events

Peter DeLorenzo launches a lazy attack against decarbonization mandates

February 8, 2024 Steve 7

Peter DeLorenzo has finally acknowledged that the decarbonization of the automotive fleet could be significantly driven by public-sector actions. However, he does so by spewing a bunch of lazy anti-government insults. Does this represent his […]

Media Analysis

Car and Driver endorsing Dan Gurney for prez showed auto media’s insularity

September 3, 2023 Steve 4

Journalist Bruce McCall (2002) once called Detroit a “self-isolated world” that “matches that of any West Virginia hollow for insularity.” I was reminded of his quip when reading Car and Driver magazine’s endorsement of Dan […]

George Romney talks about his AMC years in 1994
Multimedia

George Romney talked about why he gambled on the Rambler

May 31, 2023 Steve 0

(UPDATED FROM 12/18/2020) A year before he died in 1995, former American Motors head George Romney made a presentation to an AMC convention. A two-part video of the talk was filmed by Paul Lehman. The […]

1967 Pontiac Grand Prix
Quotes

Postwar U.S. auto industry was ‘largely complacent’ until forced to change

May 17, 2023 Steve 5

“The hubris of its executives related to consumer needs, an obsession with big cars, garish designs coming from its studios, the neglect of safety and air pollution matters, and rising prices all played into the […]

Media Analysis

Road & Track magazine’s 1972 Nader attack was disingenuous propaganda

April 24, 2023 Steve 2

(EXPANDED FROM 10/30/2020) When Road & Track decided to go after Ralph Nader in 1972, the magazine took unusual measures. Even before an “evaluation” of a Nader report hit the newsstands, Road & Track held […]

1983 Ford Thunderbird
Media Analysis

How accurate were Popular Mechanics’ predictions about 1980s cars?

March 16, 2023 Steve 3

For its September 1975 issue, Popular Mechanics’ Detroit Editor Robert Lund asked executives from each of the Big Four U.S. automakers to predict what cars would be like in the decade ahead. Lund started off […]

Quotes

The Economist points to origins of ‘the biggest industrial collapse ever’

February 28, 2023 Steve 15

“The problem in the 1970s was not really the arrival of better, smaller, lighter Japanese cars; it was GM’s failure to respond in kind. Rather than hitting back with superior products, the company hid behind […]

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 […]

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Automotive Views: Republican senator calls for more auto-safety regulations

May 30, 2022 Steve 4

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3 4 … 8 »
  • 1964 Studebaker Challenger
    Brooks Stevens’s rejection of brand continuity was bad for small automakers
    June 14, 2025 0
  • EVs need a George Romney to champion them in the next few years
    June 13, 2025 16
  • Citroen SM
    Citroen SM: A surprisingly conventional next step
    June 12, 2025 5
  • 1936-37 Cord 810/812 tried to do too much at once
    June 11, 2025 10
  • 1963 Studebaker Daytona convertible
    Classic film shows human side of Studebaker’s end
    June 10, 2025 15
  • Once upon a time, car wheels were 36-to-42 inches in diameter
    June 9, 2025 5
  • Ram customized pickup
    What would you think if it was 1965 and you could magically see this truck?
    June 8, 2025 1
  • Brooks Stevens’s 1965 Studebaker Lark concept: Almost a baby Continental
    June 6, 2025 5
  • 1949 Packard Super Eight
    Packard kept a bigger foothold in the luxury-car field than commonly assumed
    June 5, 2025 9
  • Exner bio offers mostly positive take on controversial car designer
    Peter Grist views car designer Virgil Exner through rose-tinted glasses
    June 3, 2025 9
  • 1970 Mercury Cyclone
    1970 Mercury Montego had a last-of-the-wine quality
    June 2, 2025 2
  • A query, a thank you and an update on miscellaneous stuff
    April 4, 2025 0
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 124
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