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HomeData Dive

Data Dive

1965 Rambler Ambassador 990 convertible
Data Dive

Did the 1965-66 AMC Ambassador sell better when it had a unique snout?

September 19, 2025 Steve 4

In the “Story Ideas Bank” James Duvall suggested that Indie Auto look into whether the 1965-66 AMC Ambassador sold better when it had a unique snout. To be more specific, he asked: “Why didn’t the […]

1952 Chevrolet
Data Dive

What kind of information is good enough for automotive history?

September 1, 2025 Steve 11

Labor Day strikes me as being the ideal time to talk about a topic that may be of greatest interest to fellow research nerds: What kind of information is good enough for American automotive history? […]

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1
Data Dive

1960s marked the beginning of the fastback’s slow revival in the U.S.

August 12, 2025 Steve 4

(EXPANDED FROM 8/7/2023) Today fastbacks are so mainstream that you can find them on the most conservative family sedans. Indeed, the rakishness of their rooflines can be more extreme than even the sportiest American cars […]

1971 Dodge Coronet Custom 4-door sedan
Data Dive

Collectible Automobile avoids big question about 1971-74 Dodge Coronet

August 1, 2025 Steve 1

The latest issue of Collectible Automobile offers an overview of the 1971-74 Dodge Coronet. As usual, the photography is gorgeous and the product details are exhaustive. But also as usual, there was strikingly little historical […]

1968 Mercury Brougham 4-door hardtop
Data Dive

1968 full-sized Mercury: A pioneer of brougham was overshadowed

July 25, 2025 Steve 12

(EXPANDED FROM 12/8/2023) One of my lingering questions from a Collectible Automobile story about the Mercury Park Lane was why it didn’t sell better in 1968 (Biel, 2021). This was arguably the first year that […]

1976 Chevrolet Malibu
Data Dive

1964-77 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu shows growth of mid-sized American cars

July 15, 2025 Steve 10

(EXPANDED FROM 11/2/2023) When the Chevrolet Chevelle was introduced in 1964, it was marketed as an “intermediate.” The term was awkward sounding but made some sense because the car was close to the mid-point in […]

1972 Buick Electra 225 2-door hardtop
Data Dive

Trajectory of top-end Buicks shows GM’s postwar strengths and weaknesses

June 30, 2025 Steve 6

(EXPANDED FROM 12/15/2023) I don’t think one can fully understand why the 1963-65 Buick Riviera wasn’t as successful as commonly argued in automotive histories without considering its relationship to the Electra 225. So let’s do […]

1955 Buick Century 2-door hardtop
Data Dive

General Motors’ premium-priced brands illustrate the decline of big cars

June 20, 2025 Steve 11

(EXPANDED FROM 1/24/2024) Last year Paul Niedermeyer (2024a) discussed the decline of premium-priced big cars in the late-1950s. One of the points of contention in the comment thread was the degree to which these cars […]

1949 Packard Super 8
Data Dive

Packard kept a bigger foothold in the luxury-car field than commonly assumed

June 5, 2025 Steve 9

Our discussion in the comment thread about the 1956 Packard Executive story all but inevitably brought up one of the most common criticisms of the automaker’s management — that it did not do enough in […]

1970 Ford LTD
Data Dive

Was the decontented Ford LTD ‘essentially like an Impala’?

May 21, 2025 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 8/29/2023) A few years ago Curbside Classic’s Paul Niedermeyer stopped by to critique our story, “1969 Ford LTD attacked GM’s hierarchy of brands in multiple ways.” He repeated the following quote from the […]

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3 … 5 »
  • 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
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