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Home1950s

1950s

Saab 99
History

Saab 99/900: The box that crushed a carmaker

October 29, 2021 Steve 25

(UPDATED FROM 6/26/2020) The Saab 99/900 proved to be the box that crushed the tiny Swedish carmaker. I grant you that this platform was hardly an immediate failure. Even so, the design of the 99 […]

1959 Cadillac front end
Design Notes

What’s the most excessive American car design of all time?

October 18, 2021 Steve 6

(UPDATED FROM 5/1/2020) American automakers have always had a penchant for extravagant designs that can look overwrought compared to imports. Of course, this has been changing of late as foreign automakers — particularly the Japanese […]

1959 Lincoln Continental
Auto Paedia

‘Lower! Longer! Wider!’ fixation of US automakers left opening for imports

September 22, 2021 Steve 13

(EXPANDED 10/24/2022) “Lower, longer, wider” was the domestic automakers’ dominant design approach until they were forced to downsize their fleet in the late-1970s due to federal fuel-economy standards. Since that time automakers have at least […]

1959 and 1955 Studebaker rooflines
Fake Design

1959 Studebaker: Throwing the baby out with the bath water

September 10, 2021 Steve 14

(EXPANDED FROM 5/22/2015) The 1959 Studebaker Lark’s design was initially so successful that it was described by historian Robert Ebert as a “miracle” (2013, p. 55). Studebaker-Packard Corporation, which was on the verge of liquidating […]

1965 AMC Ambassador sketch
Multimedia

Joe Ligo is overly kind in Nash/AMC Ambassador film

September 9, 2021 Steve 3

(UPDATED FROM 7/3/2020) Joe Ligo’s (2020) film about the Nash/AMC Ambassador is well-researched but overly kind in discussing the car’s dying decade. The “History of the Nash/AMC Ambassador” walks viewers through the unusually long life […]

1955 Packard Request's retro look didn't capture elegance of 1930's grilles
Design Notes

1955 Packard Request: Retro styling doesn’t always work

August 27, 2021 Steve 5

(UPDATED FROM 7/24/2020) The 1955 Packard Request is a good example of how “retro” styling doesn’t always work very well. This show car took too literal of an approach in trying to evoke Packard’s classic […]

1955 Studebaker President two-door hardtop
Media Analysis

Comments about ‘grand merger’ of independents show value of dialogue

August 11, 2021 Steve 0

One of the things I most appreciate about Curbside Classic are the comments. As a case in point, a recently reposted article about the 1957 Nash Ambassador had a lengthy exchange from 2015 regarding a […]

Links to automotive websites
Links

How auto art can be more than idle entertainment for bored retirees

July 21, 2021 Steve 3

I just added two new entries to the “Bibliography of Links.” The first one is Cars as Art, which is a Facebook public group that focuses on “conceptual art and cars.” The site has pretty […]

1955 Packard hood
Letters to the Editor

Mid-50s Packard design fit the space-age-inspired times

June 25, 2021 Steve 1

This letter is a response to our story, “The 1955 Packard’s styling was an evolutionary dead end.” Your need to read more thoroughly what actually happened in the mid-1950s. In that era, Cadillac was the […]

1959 Cadillac
Ad Nauseam

1959 Cadillac: Go to an amazing realm all your own

May 7, 2021 Steve 0

Posts pagination

« 1 … 27 28 29 … 35 »
  • Is Jaguar smart to run away from its design heritage?
    October 8, 2026 21
  • 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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