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Year: 2025
Satire
Declassified 1970s documents spark debate among auto historians
(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 […]
Gallery
Was Lynn Townsend’s first major failure the 1967-68 full-sized Dodge?
Lynn Townsend led a remarkably quick turnaround of the Chrysler Corporation, but he started to lose altitude in the late-60s. One might debate what were key turning points, but I would suggest that the 1967-68 […]
Photo Essay
The automobile has opened Lake Quinault to the world
Prior to the automobile, Lake Quinault was a remote area mainly populated by the Quinault tribe and a few Anglo-Americans who carved homesteads out of a dense rainforest. But once Highway 101 was extended to […]
Quotes
Virgil Exner Jr.’s oral history discusses Studebaker Lark and 1962 Chryslers
I checked out David Crippen’s (1989) oral history of Virgil Exner Jr. to see if he offered any useful factual details about two lingering historical debates — why the Studebaker Lark as well as the […]
Current Events
Five things to consider as you follow the news on Trump’s automotive tariffs
News is moving quickly on the Trump administration’s trade wars. As you drill down into the details of each plot twist, it can be helpful to keep in mind the big picture. In other words, […]
History
1956 was an odd transition year for Ford’s Mercury brand
(EXPANDED FROM 3/3/2023) The 1956 Mercury represented the end — at least for the next four years — of Edsel Ford’s original conception of the brand. Since it was introduced 1939, Mercury had been positioned […]
Data Dive
Four-door subcompacts were not exotic in late-60s and early-70s
(EXPANDED FROM 8/3/2023) The rise of the four-door subcompact generated a robust debate at Indie Auto a few years ago (go here), so I did a data dive to bring some facts to the table. […]
Literature
1956 Packard booklet hints at how James Nance got too big for his britches
(EXPANDED FROM 11/1/2021) A 1956 Packard booklet hints at how its head James Nance got too big for his britches. A marketing piece titled, “Story of a Living Legend and the world in which it […]
Photo Essay
The story behind a Mount Saint Helens observatory is colored by tragedy
Perhaps the best view of Mount Saint Helens is from the Johnston Ridge Observatory. The facility, which is located on Highway 504 east of Castle Rock in Washington state, is named after David A. Johnston. […]