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HomeRebel

Rebel

1957 Rambler Rebel
History

1957 Rambler Rebel was so close yet so far from legendary

December 16, 2025 Steve 15

(EXPANDED FROM 6/27/2022) American Motors head George Romney may not have realized it at the time, but he was onto something when he okayed the 1957 Rambler Rebel for production. This would prove to be […]

1965 Rambler Ambassador 990 convertible
Data Dive

Did the 1965-66 AMC Ambassador sell better when it had a unique snout?

September 19, 2025 Steve 4

In the “Story Ideas Bank” James Duvall suggested that Indie Auto look into whether the 1965-66 AMC Ambassador sold better when it had a unique snout. To be more specific, he asked: “Why didn’t the […]

1968 AMC Ambassador SST 2-door
History

Why didn’t AMC’s 1967-68 mid-sized two-door hardtops sell better?

July 8, 2025 Steve 21

After writing the vlogging story last week, my YouTube feed was inundated with videos about late-60s American Motors cars. And I had to admit that the Rebel and Ambassador two-door hardtops looked fairly good. That […]

1957 Packard proposa
Multimedia

Film shows Fred Hudson’s design talent — and groupthink

January 2, 2025 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 1/25/2023) When rechecking links I was disappointed to see that Hemmings has apparently deleted one of the better comment-thread discussions about late-50s American car design. This illustrates a downside of the digitization of […]

2006 Ford Five Hundred
History

How often did renaming a car fail to help it sell better?

December 16, 2024 Steve 21

(EXPANDED FROM 6/8/2022) A few years ago Karl Ludvigsen (2022) wondered whether some cars that were renamed should not have been. For example, he noted that Ford might have benefitted by keeping the Cortina name […]

1957 Rambler Rebel
Letters to the Editor

Reader chimes in about the 1957 Rambler Rebel

October 25, 2024 Steve 4

Indie Auto reader FF stopped by to respond to our story, “1957 Rambler Rebel was so close yet so far from legendary.” The idea that the Rebel was more expensive or costly in relation to […]

1967 Rambler Rebel SST 2-door hardtop white
Letters to the Editor

Reader offers alternative take on the redesigned 1967 Rambler Rebel

March 19, 2024 Steve 6

MC stopped by to respond to our story, “Collectible Automobile’s 1967 Rambler Rebel SST feature is pretty but vapid.” A few points on this article and comments. First, about the platform of the 1967 Rambler […]

1967 Rambler Rebel SST 2-door hardtop white
Media Analysis

Collectible Automobile’s 1967 Rambler Rebel SST feature is pretty but vapid

September 23, 2023 Steve 2

The December 2023 issue of Collectible Automobile has a photo feature of a 1967 Rambler Rebel SST hardtop. As usual, the images are first rate and the accompanying text give a nuts-and-bolts overview of the […]

1965 Rambler American 440H
Letters to the Editor

AMC’s Roy Abernethy should have invested more in mid-sized cars

January 12, 2022 Steve 13

CJ recently wrote an exceptionally thoughtful comment that I would like to highlight on the front page as a letter to the editor. This missive was in response to the story, “Historians differ on origins […]

1966 AMC Marlin
Fake Design

1965-66 AMC Marlin: How to fix beginner’s mistakes

October 30, 2020 Steve 5

The first-generation Marlin gets no respect, particularly compared to the two-seater AMX. The Marlin tends to be treated as one of American Motors’ biggest flops. Meanwhile, the AMX has been lauded as a valuable halo […]

Posts pagination

1 2 »
  • 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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