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Year: 2026
Literature
1967-72 Pontiac Firebird shows limits of ad illustrations
(UPDATED FROM 78/2024/ Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman’s artwork in Pontiac’s advertising played an important role in the brand’s  popularity during the 1960s. Others have done a thorough job of showcasing the team’s most iconic […]
Links
Motorcade magazine’s ‘sneak peek’ of the 1969 models made up a whole lot of stuff
(UPDATED FROM 4/17/2024) Motorcade is among the more obscure magazines included in the Automotive History Preservation Society’s archives. A preview of the 1969 models may hint at why the magazine apparently did not survive the […]
Design Notes
Yes, but WHY do today’s automobiles look so similar?
(UPDATED FROM 7/26/2021) A few years ago Peter DeLorenzo (2021) argued that the auto industry had “reached the nadir of design. And it isn’t pretty.” The big reason why: Cars look so blandly similar that […]
History
Why was Wayne Kady’s favorite design the 1971 Cadillac Eldorado?
(UPDATED FROM 4/24/2024) In an interview back in 2024 Wayne Kady was hesitant to name his favorite car design among those he had worked on during a 38-year stint at General Motors, saying that was […]
Gallery
1960 Auto Union 1000: What happens when you cross a VW with Detroit iron
(UPDATED FROM 12/21/2023) Road & Track complained that for 1960 the Auto Union’s two-door hardtop was given a “crude ‘American’ touch, a clumsy wrap-around” windshield (Bond, 1959). That made this body style look even more […]
Data Dive
Did the odd styling of the 1969 Chrysler two-door hardtop hurt its sales?
(EXPANDED FROM 6/7/2024) Curbside Classic commentator nlpnt (2024) argued a while back that the fuselage Chrysler’s best-looking body style was the wagon. Conversely, I would add that the two-door hardtop was the least aesthetically pleasing […]
Current Events
Miscellaneous ramblings about being on the road
The above photo was taken two days ago during a trip across Washington state. Gas prices had come down from the previous week, when I paid a low of $4.89 and a high of $6.09 […]
Design Notes
Proposed 1972-73 design could have saved AMC from ill-fated 1974 Matador coupe
(EXPANDED FROM 2/4/2022) The above image shows an early design proposal by Brooks Stevens for a redesigned AMC Ambassador planned for 1972-73. The car has vague similarities to mockups pictured in a Patrick Foster (2013) […]
Ad Nauseam
DeBest ad for the 1981 Pontiac Trans Am that was never printed
(UPDATED FROM 7/17/2023) Pete DeBest thought he had it made. He followed his dad into the car business by landing a gig at Pontiac’s ad agency as a copy writer. Things went great at first. […]