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HomeRobert R. Ebert

Robert R. Ebert

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 […]

Auto history bookshelf
Media Analysis

Where do auto historians get their information?

September 17, 2025 Steve 4

(EXPANDED FROM 3/26/2021) The electronic forum of the Society of Automotive Historians has not managed to generate much activity, but one of its all-time, most-useful useful posts was instigated by Jvolgarino (2021). He asked how […]

Richard Langworth's Studebaker book
Readings

Richard Langworth’s Studebaker book is dated but mostly still the best

September 9, 2025 Steve 5

(EXPANDED FROM 4/13/2013) When I am trying to track down information about Studebaker, I am most likely to first reach for Richard M. Langworth’s book. The reason why it that his journalistic approach was refreshingly […]

Design Notes

1964 Studebaker: Brooks Stevens hammered final nail in the coffin

August 27, 2025 Steve 27

(EXPANDED FROM 4/16/2021) One of my more unpopular takes is that Studebaker shouldn’t have assigned Brooks Stevens to restyle the 1964 Lark. He may have had a more mainstream design sensibility than Raymond Loewy, but […]

1963 Studebaker Daytona convertible
Multimedia

Classic film shows human side of Studebaker’s end

June 10, 2025 Steve 20

(UPDATED FROM 6/20/2022) Documentary films contribute to automotive history in a different way than words on a page (either paper or electronic). In general, film can capture much better the human elements of a situation, […]

Fake Design

Brooks Stevens’s 1965 Studebaker Lark concept: Almost a baby Continental

June 6, 2025 Steve 5

(EXPANDED FROM 12/10/2021) Brooks Stevens apparently was convinced that he could come up with a new-generation Studebaker Lark design that would top the work of Raymond Loewy’s team, which was then working on an Avanti-inspired […]

1958 Packard
Design Notes

The 1958 Packard went too far in styling, size and pricing

May 6, 2025 Steve 17

(EXPANDED ON 9/30/2022) Indie Auto doesn’t generally dwell on collectible cars, but a restoration of a 1958 Packard shed light on what I have found to be one of the bigger peculiarities of the postwar […]

Lamm and Holls
Readings

Lamm and Holls’s ‘A Century of Automotive Style’ is epic but uneven

January 9, 2025 Steve 2

(UPDATED FROM 3/23/2023) A Century of Automotive Style was first published in 1996, so it is a fairly old auto history book. Nevertheless, I would rank it as important enough to be updated. I say […]

1963 Studebaker Lark Wagonaire
History

Could Studebaker have come out of the 1970s as successful as Jeep?

October 31, 2024 Steve 18

(EXPANDED FROM 4/23/2021) A few years ago our story on Brooks Stevens’s redesign of the 1964 Studebaker generated enough debate that I decided to further flesh out an alternative scenario. To wit, Studebaker would have […]

1957 Lincoln four-door hardtop
History

Could the 1956-57 Lincoln have saved a dying Packard?

April 4, 2024 Steve 11

(EXPANDED FROM 7/30/2021) Stéphane Dumas has been displaying his broad knowledge of web-based sources of automotive history for quite a few years. As a case in point, back in 2015 Dumas posted a comment over at […]

Posts pagination

1 2 »
  • 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
    Was the 1966 Olds Cutlass Supreme the first mid-sized brougham model?
    March 5, 2026 21
  • 1976 Plymouth Volare 2-door coupe
    Splashy new cars often were the biggest disasters during the postwar period
    March 3, 2026 1
  • Reader questions Chrysler’s future as it passes 100th anniversary
    March 2, 2026 12
  • 1968 Chevrolet C10 pickup
    Was the 1967-68 Chevrolet C10 the ‘first modern pickup’?
    February 27, 2026 7
  • 1941 Studebaker Commander 2-door coupe
    1941 Studebaker Commander: Ending its big cars on a high note
    February 26, 2026 11
  • 1961 De Soto
    Video histories of DeSoto and American Motors aren’t as good as books
    February 24, 2026 3
  • 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk front with hood open
    Four lingering questions about Aaron Severson’s take on the 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk
    February 20, 2026 6
  • Thank yous, power outages and format changes
    October 31, 2025 0
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 134
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