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Home1970s

1970s

Kalaloch Beach woman at sunset
Photo Essay

National parks: As American as baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Chevrolet

March 2, 2025 Steve 1

Last week we talked about how cars are for going places. Remember the slogan Chevrolet used in its advertising: “See the USA in your Chevrolet”? National parks were sometimes shown because they are as American […]

1978 Ford Fairmont 4-door seda
Design Notes

U.S. cars often suffered from weak styling continuity and boxy shapes in 1970-80s

February 28, 2025 Steve 24

(EXPANDED FROM 1/23/2023) This post’s comment thread has received a burst of new attention, so I thought it would be worth expanding upon my original argument. I wrote this article in response to debates about […]

1986 Cadillac Seville
Links

Car designer John Manoogian II tells the inside story of his tenure at GM

February 27, 2025 Steve 0

An Indie Auto reader kindly pointed out a series of first-person accounts by John Manoogian II about his tenure as a designer at General Motors. The series, which is entitled “Never a Dull Moment,” has […]

1979 Pontiac Firebird TransAm
Drive-By Musings

What were the five most successful postwar facelifts among US cars?

February 25, 2025 Steve 9

In the “Story Ideas Bank” Stewdi offered a topic that got me thinking: What are the most successful facelifts of all time? The power was out at Indie Auto’s world headquarters for most of the […]

Charles K. Hyde Chrysler
Readings

Charles K. Hyde wrote a useful but superficial history of the Chrysler Corp.

February 21, 2025 Steve 5

I am ambivalent about Charles K. Hyde’s book, Riding the Roller Coaster: A History of the Chrysler Corporation. The American automotive history field desperately needs more scholarly books, and Hyde is a relatively rare academic […]

1961 Dodge Polara 4-door hardtop
Data Dive

Chrysler’s collapse in premium-priced field was a bigger deal than Edsel’s

February 20, 2025 Steve 13

(EXPANDED FROM 6/23/2023) A while back Indie Auto reader Geeber asked about what happened to Chrysler Corporation’s market share in the premium-priced field after Dodge went downmarket in 1960. He was referring to a major […]

1971 Plymouth Dusters
Letters to the Editor

Peter Wilding: With power comes the need for control

February 19, 2025 Steve 1

Peter Wilding had technical problems posting a comment so I’m running it as a stand-alone letter to the editor. If you experience a similar issue, send your comment here. Know that I rarely withdraw a […]

1972 Chevrolet Vega
History

US automakers made vain promises in early-1970s to beat back imports

February 18, 2025 Steve 3

In response to soaring import sales in the early-1970s, US automakers made brave promises of a counterattack. In retrospect, many of those promises sound decidedly hollow. For example, in the wake of a critical review […]

Roy D. Chapin Jr.
Links

Roy D. Chapin Jr. oral history showed little self awareness about AMC tenure

February 17, 2025 Steve 1

Roy D. Chapin Jr. showed little self awareness when recounting his tenure as head of AMC from 1967-77. He participated in an oral history project sponsored by the Henry Ford museum. The Automobile in American […]

Quotes

Remembering the dark side of 1960-70s American ‘muscle cars’

February 15, 2025 Steve 4

“Don’t want to rain on the parade of a nice article, but reading about Duster 340’s always makes me sad. Back in 1970 a close friend skrimped and saved all his money from summer and […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 15 16 17 … 42 »
  • 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
Society of Automotive Historian award to Indie Auto

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