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HomeRambler

Rambler

History

Was Richard Teague’s best sporty coupe the 1973-77 AMC Hornet hatchback?

April 3, 2026 Steve 30

(EXPANDED FROM 2/28/2024) We have had an uptick in discussions about early-70s AMC compacts, so I have expanded our article about the 1973-77 Hornet hatchback. I argue that this car represented Richard Teague’s best all-around […]

1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
History

Was the 1966 Olds Cutlass Supreme the first mid-sized brougham model?

March 5, 2026 Steve 23

(EXPANDED FROM 2/14/2024) This is one of Indie Auto’s more hotly debated stories. Here I question Paul Niedermeyer’s (2024) contention that the 1966-67 Cutlass Supreme brought the “Great Brougham Epoch” to the mid-sized field. “With […]

1947 Studebaker Chamption
Links

Consumer Reports holds false hope more ‘light’ cars would be offered after WWII

February 9, 2026 Steve 16

(EXPANDED FROM 11/29/2023) A while back Indie Auto reader Jim Volgarino suggested that I check out the Internet Archive for hard-to-find automotive literature. That was terrific advice. One publication I have explored is Consumer Reports […]

1950 Nash Rambler hood ornament
Drive-By Musings

Was the 1950-55 Rambler the biggest category buster of the postwar era?

January 28, 2026 Steve 8

A recent discussion by Kim and Geeber in a comment thread got me wondering whether the 1950-55 Rambler was the biggest category buster of the postwar era. Why would I consider that possibility? The Nash […]

1970 Buick Riviera
Design Notes

The 11 worst single-year redesigns of postwar American cars

January 16, 2026 Steve 36

(EXPANDED FROM 7/14/2023) I grant you that top-whatever rankings can be clickbaity, but I decided to do this story for a specific reason. In the postwar years Detroit tended to assume that rapid-fire restylings were […]

1965 Rambler Marlin ad
History

Historians differ on origins of 1965 Rambler Marlin

November 18, 2025 Steve 14

(EXPANDED FROM 8/14/2019) Histories about the 1965 Rambler Marlin’s origins show how even basic facts can be difficult to nail down. Authors differ over when and why the Marlin was developed as well as what […]

Links

How far should AMC have gone to save the Hudson, Nash and Rambler brands?

November 11, 2025 Steve 14

(EXPANDED FROM 10/3/2023) Stephen Pellegrino has sparked a debate about the value of automotive brands by arguing that Hudson, Nash and Rambler were worth saving. His punchline is that “brand names mean something, and the […]

1953 Hudson Hornet
Media Analysis

Hudson article by Over-Drive Magazine reads like a human didn’t edit it

November 7, 2025 Steve 5

(EXPANDED FROM 10/27/2023) We haven’t checked in with our friends at Over-Drive Magazine lately, so what’s up? They continue to build a multi-faceted repository of information about American cars after initially trying to launch a […]

History

1933-42 Willys: A better template for an import beater than later compacts

October 6, 2025 Steve 29

(EXPANDED FROM 15/19/2023) The 1933-42 Willys gets far less attention than it deserves. The model 77 and its successors were important because they anticipated the American compacts of the 1950s and 1960s. In addition, the […]

1954 Ford ad
Data Dive

Was the ‘Ford blitz’ to blame for the collapse of independent automakers?

October 2, 2025 Steve 40

(UPDATED FROM 10/28/2022) If I had to pick a favorite Indie Auto story, this one would be in my top five. It is one of the longest pieces I have written — roughly 4,600 words […]

Posts pagination

1 2 … 7 »
  • 1950 Nash Rambler hood ornament
    Speedreaders.info is a rare source of book reviews, but quality varies
    June 3, 2026 0
  • 1958 Lincoln
    1958-60 Lincoln: Failing to beat GM at its own game
    June 2, 2026 12
  • 1957 Nash Ambassador
    Three videos: The death of car culture, rich people’s cars and the 1957 Nash
    May 29, 2026 6
  • 1963 Mercury Marauder
    1963 Mercury Marauder: Ford tries to do a premium-priced car on the cheap
    May 27, 2026 11
  • Did 1964 Ramblers share more parts between size classes than competitors?
    May 26, 2026 1
  • 1976 Tatra T-613
    Tatra was yet another automaker that deemphasized aerodynamics by 1970s
    May 22, 2026 12
  • Patrick Foster shows how International Harvester failed to adapt
    May 13, 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
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