Indie Auto
header-advert
  • Home
  • About
    • Introduction
    • Editor’s Notes
    • Story Ideas Bank
    • Why All The Data?
    • Fake Stuff
    • About Those Photos
    • Talk Legal To Me
    • Privacy Policy
  • All Our Features
    • Ad Nauseam
    • Bird Chatter
    • Calendar
    • Current Events
    • Data Dives
    • Design Notes
    • Drive-By Musings
    • Fake Designs
    • Gallery
    • Histories
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Links
    • Literature
    • Media Analysis
    • Multimedia
    • Our Sponsors
    • Photo Essays
    • Quotes
    • Random Shots
    • Satire
  • Look It Up
    • In Auto Paedia
    • By author
    • By automaker or brand
    • By time period
    • By topic
    • By vehicle type
  • Readings
    • General Reference
    • Specific Brands & Automakers
    • Auto Culture, Policy & Business Strategy
    • Bibliography
    • Where To Buy Your Books
    • Recently-Posted Readings
  • Links
    • Bibliography of Links
  • Contact
    • Emails & Newsletter
    • Rejected Comments
  • Donate
Home2025August

Month: August 2025

1950 Nash Ambassador
History

Did early-postwar independent automakers try too hard to be different?

August 22, 2025 Steve 11

(EXPANDED FROM 9/19/2023) The late-40s and early-50s arguably had more design and engineering variety among U.S automakers than we would ever see again. That strikes me as a mostly good thing for consumers, but there […]

1958 Ford Skyliner
Media Analysis

Is Jim and Cheryl Farrell’s critique of the 1958 Ford’s styling unfair?

August 21, 2025 Steve 17

(UPDATED FROM 10/7/2022) Did the facelifted 1958 Fords have less-attractive styling than the all-new 1957 models? Jim and Cheryl Farrell (2022) suggested in a Dean’s Garage story that the answer is yes. Indeed, they concluded […]

1967 Imperial Crown coupe
Links

Car Life’s faint praise for redesigned 1967 Imperial hints at why it wasn’t a hit

August 20, 2025 Steve 17

(EXPANDED FROM 7/11/2023) Car-buff writers didn’t know it at the time, but the new-for-1967 Imperial would be Chrysler’s last big push in the luxury-car field. Although the brand lost its exclusive platform — just like […]

1973 Saab 96
Design Notes

Should Saab have come out with a retro 96 in the 1990s?

August 19, 2025 Steve 9

EXPANDED FROM 3/14/2022) In a Hemmings post about a 1971 Saab 96 for sale, Mike McNessor (2014) described the car as “irresistible and timeless as the VW Beetle or the Mini.” He went on to wonder […]

1970 Rambler American AI fake
Fake Design

What might an ‘internationalized’ 1970 Rambler American have looked like?

August 18, 2025 Steve 18

Indie Auto reader DECG50 (2025) responded to our article about the Fiat 130 coupe by using ChatGPT to render a 1970 AMC Rambler (American) that used the 1969 floorpan but adopted styling along the lines […]

Highway 409 sign
Photo Essay

What’s it like where Bigfoot lives? I have pictures

August 17, 2025 Steve 0

I can safely guarantee that you will never read at Indie Auto who invented the automatic transmission or designed the Batmobile. That kind of historical trivia just doesn’t fire up my engines. However, I can […]

1975 Chevrolet Monza
Quotes

Ed Cole has big news about Chevy’s Vega-based Wankel ‘Mustang killer’

August 16, 2025 Steve 11

(EXPANDED FROM 8/17/2023) In its April 1974 issue, Popular Science shed light on a Chevrolet Vega-based sporty coupe that was slated to compete with the subcompact Ford Mustang II. The unnamed car’s main claim to […]

Parody ads about the auto industry and media
Our Sponsors

VW to get ahead of societal shift with Cupra introduction timing

August 15, 2025 Steve 0
Fiat 130 coupe
Drive-By Musings

Was the 1972 Fiat 130 coupe influenced by mid-1960s Ramblers?

August 15, 2025 Steve 8

(EXPANDED FROM 10/5/2023) A few years ago Curbside Classic reposted one of my favorite articles — a magazine-length piece by Don Andreina (2023) about the 1972-77 Fiat 130 coupe. Although the car never made it […]

1960 VW versus US compact car ads
Multimedia

Satire of a 1960 VW ad essentially mimics marketing for U.S. compacts

August 14, 2025 Steve 3

(EXPANDED FROM 3/20/2023) Back in 1963, advertising executive Fred Manley presented a slide show parody about how to improve Volkswagen’s legendary “Think small” ad. The “best practices” he presented look hilariously misguided when applied to […]

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3 4 »
  • Is Jaguar smart to run away from its design heritage?
    October 8, 2026 20
  • AMC Pacer clay model
    Why does Joe Ligo’s PBS series sanewash AMC’s mid-70s recklessness?
    October 6, 2026 20
  • 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 7
  • 1968 Ford Mustang
    Three rules led to a stultifying level of conformity in 1960s U.S. car design
    September 24, 2026 12
  • 1976ish Toyota Corolla
    Data on imports sheds light on their dramatic gains from 1964-80
    September 18, 2026 5
  • 1974 Chrysler New Yorker
    1974 Chrysler New Yorker was a tragedy that played out on four levels
    September 16, 2026 16
  • 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

Recent Comments

  • Scampman on 1974 Chrysler New Yorker was a tragedy that played out on four levels
  • Scampman on 1974 Chrysler New Yorker was a tragedy that played out on four levels
  • Scampman on 1974 Chrysler New Yorker was a tragedy that played out on four levels
  • Steve on Was the ‘Ford blitz’ to blame for the collapse of independent automakers?
  • Scampman on Was the ‘Ford blitz’ to blame for the collapse of independent automakers?
  • Scampman on Was the ‘Ford blitz’ to blame for the collapse of independent automakers?
  • Scampman on Was the ‘Ford blitz’ to blame for the collapse of independent automakers?
  • Philco Ford on Was the ‘Ford blitz’ to blame for the collapse of independent automakers?
  • Philco Ford on Is Jaguar smart to run away from its design heritage?
  • Philco Ford on Did the 1962-65 Chrysler 300 ‘dilute’ the letter series?
  • JohnH on Is Jaguar smart to run away from its design heritage?
  • Lynn Newport on Is Jaguar smart to run away from its design heritage?
  • Wolfgang K on Adam Wade says the best year for American cars was 1965. Really?
  • Steve on Why does Joe Ligo’s PBS series sanewash AMC’s mid-70s recklessness?
  • Randerson on Why does Joe Ligo’s PBS series sanewash AMC’s mid-70s recklessness?

Archives

Categories

Tags

1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s American Motors Auto culture Auto history media Auto media Automotive News Automotive Views Business strategies Chevrolet Compact cars Curbside Classic Design Design excesses Dodge Electric vehicles Engineering Fake advertising Ford Ford Motor Co. Full-sized cars General Motors Journalism standards Luxury cars Management culture Marketing Mid-sized cars Parody Patrick R. Foster Plymouth Premium-priced cars Public policies Rambler Reader comments Richard M. Langworth Stellantis Studebaker
Follow Us
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed
Search
Archives
Categories
Help keep the lights on
Quinault at night

Copyright © 2022 Olympia, Earth Media, LLC | All rights reserved