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Homesporty coupes

sporty coupes

1978 Volkswagen Scirocco
Design Notes

First-generation Scirocco was trendy but didn’t look like a Volkswagen

February 14, 2025 Steve 26

(EXPANDED FROM 1/16/2023) Yesterday Aaron Severson weighed in on the original Volkswagen Scirocco, so this is a good time to expand on a piece I wrote a few years ago after finding a rare — […]

1969 Pontiac Firebird fake ad
Drive-By Musings

How typical was car snobbery in postwar high schools?

January 27, 2025 Steve 23

(EXPANDED FROM 2/6/2023) A few years ago Curbside Classic reposted a comment from a guy named Rob who had a “soul-crushing experience” driving a 1959 Rambler American to high school hangouts (Niedermeyer, 2023). In 1968 […]

1956 Ugly Car of Year Award
Design Notes

1956 Ugly Car of the Year Award: Indies get desperate

December 31, 2024 Steve 17

(EXPANDED FROM 11/25/2022) For 1956 the Big Three were on relatively good behavior. Only two of their products was outrageous enough to be nominated for Indie Auto’s Ugly Car of the Year Award. All the […]

1971 Dodge Charger RT
Data Dive

1971-74 Dodge Charger: Making the most of a questionable idea

November 4, 2024 Steve 15

(EXPANDED FROM 5/16/2023) In response to the interesting conversation in the comment thread about Chrysler’s early-70s compacts, I thought it could be useful to expand on a data dive I did a while back on […]

1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1
Data Dive

Which high-performance pony cars sold best in the early-1970s?

October 25, 2024 Steve 5

(EXPANDED FROM 5/2/2023) When car enthusiasts talk about high-end pony cars, they tend to focus on which ones were the fastest or won the most races. I would like to focus on a nerdier question: […]

1970 Dodge Challenger fake image
Ad Nauseam

The bogus ad Roger slipped into his drawer and forgot for a number of years

March 22, 2024 Steve 2

Roger Sizemore had the feeling that Chrysler was going in the wrong direction. The product planners talked excitedly about selling at least 200,000 Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Challengers annually. Yet the all-new 1970 pony cars […]

1954 Hudson Hornet Hollywood hardtop
Design Notes

One of Hudson’s fatal mistakes was the 1951-54 Hollywood hardtop

December 20, 2023 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 5/31/2021) A few years ago I stumbled across the Hudson Motor Car Fan Club. Its Facebook page didn’t offer much historical analysis but did have some cool photographs. I was particularly taken by […]

Parody ads about the auto industry and media
Our Sponsors

Honda Prelude ads address sporty coupe’s controversial long nose

October 31, 2023 Steve 0
Boeing 747 cockpit
Links

Jason Torchinsky and company lampoon ‘what-if’ cars at The Autopian

October 15, 2023 Steve 1

The bad news is that Jalopnik hasn’t been as interesting since Jason Torchinsky departed. The good news is that he helped launch an even quirkier car-buff media outlet — The Autopian. How weird is The […]

Parody ads about the auto industry and media
Our Sponsors

Collectible Cars: Surely you have a preference

March 25, 2023 Steve 0

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3 »
  • 1962 Ford Galaxie 500
    Did the 1960-64 big Ford sell so poorly because of cannibalization?
    October 16, 2026 37
  • 1969 Ford Thunderbird 4-door Landau
    Was 1969 the beginning of the end for the Ford Thunderbird four-door Landau?
    October 14, 2026 7
  • Is Jaguar smart to run away from its design heritage?
    October 8, 2026 21
  • AMC Pacer clay model
    Why does Joe Ligo’s PBS series sanewash AMC’s mid-70s recklessness?
    October 6, 2026 21
  • 2026 Ram pickups
    A pyrrhic regulatory rollback and how poorly the 1978 Matador coupe sold
    October 2, 2026 12
  • 1962 Chrysler 300
    Did the 1962-65 Chrysler 300 ‘dilute’ the letter series?
    September 29, 2026 12
  • 1968 Ford Mustang
    Three rules led to a stultifying level of conformity in 1960s U.S. car design
    September 24, 2026 12
  • 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 146
Society of Automotive Historian award to Indie Auto

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