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HomeBuick

Buick

1971 Oldsmobile Toronado and Cutlass
Design Notes

Did General Motors need to panic with the 1971 Oldsmobile Toronado?

May 27, 2024 Steve 9

The 1971 Oldsmobile Toronado arguably represented the first time that General Motors executives panicked in response to weak sales from a car styled under head designer William Mitchell. Whereas the first-generation Toronado was a remarkably […]

1972 Buick LeSabre 4-door hardtop
Links

Popular Science pans premium cars for cost cutting and impractical styling

May 6, 2024 Steve 3

Popular Science’s Jan P. Norbye and Jim Dunne criticized the quality and practicality of four 1972 premium-priced big cars. They road tested the Buick LeSabre, Chrysler Newport Royal, Mercury Monterey and Oldsmobile Delta 88. “It’s […]

Data Dive

The 1965-73 Ford LTD may not have impacted Mercury very much

April 11, 2024 Steve 10

(EXPANDED FROM 1/28/2022) Indie Auto commentator Geeber recently discussed how premium-priced big cars did better than their lower-priced brethren as the 1970s progressed. His comment, which is worth reading in full (go here), spurred me […]

1957 Lincoln four-door hardtop
History

Could the 1956-57 Lincoln have saved a dying Packard?

April 4, 2024 Steve 11

(EXPANDED FROM 7/30/2021) Stéphane Dumas has been displaying his broad knowledge of web-based sources of automotive history for quite a few years. As a case in point, back in 2015 Dumas posted a comment over at […]

1950 Buick Super
Design Notes

1950 bucktoothed Buick: The definitive design statement from General Motors

March 14, 2024 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 8/23/2021) Over more than a century General Motors has produced a broad range of cars and trucks. However, if I had to pick one single vehicle that best summed up GM’s design approach, […]

1972 Chrysler New Yorkers
Data Dive

The 1969-73 Chrysler wasn’t a disaster, but it wasn’t a success

March 12, 2024 Steve 16

(EXPANDED FROM 10/21/2022) A few years ago J P Cavanaugh (2020) received pushback from some Curbside Classic commentators for calling the fuselage Chryslers a “Deadly Sin.” As a case in point, Moparlee (2020) wrote, “I […]

1964 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser
Links

1964 Oldsmobile Vista-Cruiser was a clever way to downsize the big American wagon

March 8, 2024 Steve 5

Motor Trend lauded the 1964 Oldsmobile Vista-Cruiser and Buick Sports Wagon for being as roomy as a full-sized wagon even though they were based on General Motors’ mid-sized body. Indeed, cargo room was 6.4 cubic […]

1966 Oldsmobile Toronado and drivetrain
Design Notes

1966 Oldsmobile Toronado: Just another shiny thing from General Motors

January 19, 2024 Steve 20

(EXPANDED FROM 6/18/2021) In selecting the 1966 Oldmobile Toronado as its Car of the Year, Motor Trend (2005) took out its pom-poms and gushed that “never in the 14-year history of this award has the […]

1977 Monte Carlo
Fake Design

Was the 1973-77 Chevrolet Monte Carlo’s styling ‘honest’?

December 22, 2023 Steve 36

(EXPANDED FROM 12/24/2021) Curbside Classic commentator XR7Matt (2014) offered a fascinating justification for the stylistic excesses of the 1973-77 Chevrolet Monte Carlo: “Space efficiency is marketing buzz that everyone has fallen for in recent years, it’s actual day […]

1954 Hudson Hornet Hollywood hardtop
Design Notes

One of Hudson’s fatal mistakes was the 1951-54 Hollywood hardtop

December 20, 2023 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 5/31/2021) A few years ago I stumbled across the Hudson Motor Car Fan Club. Its Facebook page didn’t offer much historical analysis but did have some cool photographs. I was particularly taken by […]

Posts pagination

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  • 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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  • Steve on Was the ‘Ford blitz’ to blame for the collapse of independent automakers?
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