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HomeRegulation

Regulation

2025 Kia K5 rear
Design Notes

Will cars with ‘crying-eyes’ styling withstand the test of time?

July 31, 2025 Steve 10

(EXPANDED FROM 2/18/2022) The automotive media tend to treat even the ugliest styling trends like the courtiers who ignore when the emperor has no clothes. I thus found it refreshing to see Sajeev Mehta critique […]

2024 Ford Expedition
Quotes

What impact could budget bill have on global efforts to fight climate change?

July 12, 2025 Steve 5

President Trump’s recently signed budget bill is big and complex enough that its impacts in just one area — climate change — have been subject to debate. For example, a Princeton University research group recently […]

Current Events

How have automotive media addressed budget bill gutting CAFE standards?

July 11, 2025 Steve 13

The U.S. automotive media have been strangely silent about Republican lawmakers’ gutting of corporate average fuel economy standards, but Automotive News finally asked the question: Will it mean “thirstier engines”? Reporter Molly Boigon (2025) answered […]

Parody ads about the auto industry and media
Our Sponsors

Automotive Views: Mother Nature cuts automakers a break

July 5, 2025 Steve 0
1958 Buick grille
Current Events

Could U.S. regulatory rollback lead auto industry to repeat of late-50s backlash?

July 3, 2025 Steve 8

In key respects President Trump’s budget legislation represents a huge Christmas gift to legacy automakers. Although it may take time to better understand the many ramifications of a bill that stretches more than 900 pages, […]

1993 Cadillac Eldorado
Links

Dean’s Garage series on 1992 Cadillacs illustrates Detroit’s lack of self awareness

June 18, 2025 Steve 13

I have been so busy lately that I have tended to only scan the stories at Dean’s Garage. However, this morning I got out of the canoe long enough to read the articles and comment […]

1980 Plymouth Volare
Quotes

Popular Science questions Chrysler Corporation’s blame game

May 17, 2025 Steve 5

“Chrysler says its financial troubles are caused, in part, by safety and emissions laws that penalize it more than GM or Ford. It costs Chrysler ‘almost twice as much as it will cost GM’ to […]

1972 Chevrolet Camaro front quarter
Satire

Declassified 1970s documents spark debate among auto historians

April 1, 2025 Steve 4

(UPDATED FROM 3/30/2023) Newly declassified intelligence documents show how a crash program by American automakers to switch to eggcrate grilles for their 1972-73 models thwarted a space alien invasion. The strategy worked so well that […]

Current Events

Automotive News tiptoes around a potentially huge conflict of interest

October 29, 2024 Steve 7

The American automotive media has paid relatively little attention to the 2024 presidential race despite some observers suggesting that it could be unusually consequential. Andrew J. Hawkins (2024) concluded that this “election will decide what […]

Automotive News shows its bias
Media Analysis

Automotive News’ sense of urgency on climate change amounts to empty words

October 15, 2024 Steve 0

Automotive News (2024) recently posted the editorial, “Believe the storms: Climate change is real.” The piece has a decidedly retro quality because it makes an argument that major media outside the auto industry acknowledged long […]

Posts pagination

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  • 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV
    Is David Kiley right that Ford should replace Lincoln with a new brand?
    September 2, 2026 16
  • 1972 Buick Skylark Custom grille
    1972 Buick Skylark Custom represented the end of an era
    September 1, 2026 5
  • 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
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