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HomeVolkswagen

Volkswagen

Elon Musk on Joe Rogan's podcast
Media Analysis

Elon Musk’s infamous interview: What the auto media missed

December 11, 2020 Steve 0

Joe Rogan’s (2018) podcast with Elon Musk may very well be the most infamous — and high-visibility — interview of an automotive executive ever conducted. Alas, the event received so much attention for the wrong […]

Fake Design

1958 Studebaker: Honesty is the best policy

September 25, 2020 Steve 4

If you went by the above photo alone, you would get a misleading impression of the 1958 Studebaker. Yes, the colors are grossly exaggerated, but an even bigger problem is that the photo only shows […]

Lake Quinault country road in fall
Editor's Note

Acknowledging the politics of auto history

April 1, 2020 Steve 0

The auto buff media tends to avoid discussing the political dimensions of the industry for good reason. Readers can have strong views, so why risk antagonizing anyone? Indie Auto doesn’t want to make anyone mad, […]

Volkswagen's second-generation "new" Beetle
Current Events

What died when the VW Beetle ended production?

August 1, 2019 Steve 0

Paul A. Eistenstein’s (2019) story about the end of production for the Volkswagen Beetle makes an odd editorial decision. He treats the Beetle as a unified product line that stretches all the way back to […]

2019 Lexus LC500
Satire

2019 auto design: One step closer to machine guns?

December 1, 2018 Steve 1

This year’s Seattle auto show should have been held during Halloween rather than the second week of November. That’s because the auto industry’s latest wares were a frightful bunch. On the inside they offered the […]

2018 Toyota Camry
Data Dive

Is the mid-sized sedan in a ‘breathtaking’ decline?

July 13, 2018 Steve 0

A Ford executive recently told Automotive News that the Fusion sedan’s forthcoming discontinuance was the result of a “breathtaking” decline in the mid-sized sedan segment that has “accelerated over the past couple years” (Martinez, 2018). In […]

Volkswagen "new" Beetle has a flower vase
Current Events

Is brand management really an automaker’s No. 1 priority?

July 4, 2018 Steve 0

In his rousing introduction to Auto Extremist’s annual “Brand Image Meter,” Peter DeLorenzo (2018) argues that “image wrangling is now the Number 1 priority in this business.” The reason is that a “democratization of technology […]

Citroen 2CV
Design Notes

Citroen 2CV driver asks for a little patience

May 3, 2018 Steve 2

A while back we batted around the question of what would a modern simple car look like? The Volkswagen Beetle was used as a point of comparison,  but I suppose a Citroen 2CV could have also […]

Elon Musk discusses climate change when introducing Tesla Model 3
Media Analysis

Auto media on Tesla: See no climate change

April 6, 2016 Steve 0

The jury is still out on whether Tesla can meet its lofty goals, but the automaker deserves credit for a paradigm-rattling marketing campaign. In unveiling its Model 3, Tesla emphasized the need for an aggressive response to […]

Current Events

Should VW’s design chief fear civilization’s end?

July 27, 2014 Steve 1

(UPDATED 12/15/2022) Volkswagen Group’s global design chief Walter de Silva is worried that optimizing aerodynamics in order to meet tightening emissions standards could hurt aesthetics and branding. In an Automotive News question-and-answer piece, he complained […]

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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