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HomeRambler

Rambler

Data Dive

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

August 21, 2026 Steve 21

(EXPANDED FROM 6/26/2024) 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 […]

Budd XR-400
Fake Design

The XR-400 wouldn’t have ‘saved’ AMC but it pointed in a useful direction

July 22, 2026 Steve 6

(EXPANDED FROM 7/7/2023) A while back Stéphane Dumas quite rightly noted that another alternative to the 1964 Rambler Tarpon concept car was the XR-400. This was a 2+2 convertible proposed to American Motors in 1962 […]

1967 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Custom
Data Dive

Langworth and Norbye made excuses for General Motors’ big-car fixation

June 9, 2026 Steve 8

(EXPANDED FROM 2/27/2023) Indie Auto was partly created to spark more robust debates in U.S. auto history. As a case in point, a few years go I questioned a take by Richard M. Langworth and […]

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 […]

Posts pagination

1 2 … 7 »
  • 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV
    Is David Kiley right that Ford should replace Lincoln with a new brand?
    September 2, 2026 8
  • 1972 Buick Skylark Custom grille
    1972 Buick Skylark Custom represented the end of an era
    September 1, 2026 4
  • 1959 Ford Thunderbird
    1959 Ford Thunderbird was a gimmicky but hugely important car
    August 26, 2026 11
  • Compact cars became the neglected stepchildren of U.S. automakers
    August 21, 2026 21
  • 1980 AMC brochure cover with picture of American Center building
    AMC’s Roy D. Chapin Jr. succumbed to the illusion of bigness
    August 19, 2026 2
  • 1980 Ford Thunderbird and 1956 model
    Ford’s design talent in the 1970s wasn’t enough to halt a dramatic slide in sales
    August 14, 2026 13
  • 1973 Buick Riviera
    Why wasn’t the 1971 ‘boat-tail’ Buick Riviera shrunk to compact size?
    August 14, 2026 24
  • 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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