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HomeDesign excesses

Design excesses

1976 AMC Pacer and Chevy Nova
Media Analysis

Automotive News treats Gerald C. Meyers’ tenure at AMC with kid gloves

June 28, 2023 Steve 10

Automotive News’ obituary of Gerald C. Meyer treated his tenure at American Motors with kid gloves. Meyers died on June 19 at the age of 94. Presenting a largely upbeat narrative would make sense if […]

1980 Chevrolet Citation
Letters to the Editor

General Motors lost styling leadership in early-80s in ‘a morass of boxiness’

June 15, 2023 Steve 10

At the risk of disrupting an active comment thread, I would like to elevate to the front page a response by Peter Wilding to our story, “U.S. cars often suffered from weak styling continuity and […]

Parody ads about the auto industry and media
Our Sponsors

Automotive Views: Toyota gambles on more costly styling of 2023 Prius

June 14, 2023 Steve 0
1972 Mercury Cougar 2-door hardtop
Editor's Note

Reader insists that 1971-73 Mercury Cougars were ‘awesome’

June 13, 2023 Steve 9

Our story, “1967-73 Mercury Cougar: A classic goes to hell,” apparently took the smile off the face of (former?) reader SL. He flatly declared, “The 1971-73 Cougars are awesome cars. All this talk about them […]

1967 Ramber Rebel SST two-door hardtop
Media Analysis

Five questions about Aaron Severson’s take on American Motors

April 7, 2023 Steve 3

Ate Up With Motor’s Aaron Severson (2023) stopped by Curbside Classic last week to post an epic series of comments about American Motors. The thing that most struck me about his 11 comments — which […]

1983 Ford Thunderbird
Media Analysis

How accurate were Popular Mechanics’ predictions about 1980s cars?

March 16, 2023 Steve 3

For its September 1975 issue, Popular Mechanics’ Detroit Editor Robert Lund asked executives from each of the Big Four U.S. automakers to predict what cars would be like in the decade ahead. Lund started off […]

1949 Kaiser convertible
Design Notes

The 1949 Kaiser-Frazer’s new body styles showed the limits to innovation

March 14, 2023 Steve 12

Kaiser-Frazer deserves credit for experimenting with offbeat ideas. Unfortunately, most of them didn’t work very well. This is why the fledgling automaker is a useful case study of how trying to be “innovative” can backfire […]

1971 Cadillac Eldorado
Letters to the Editor

Peter Wilding analyzes the 1971-78 Cadillac Eldorado’s design

February 26, 2023 Steve 6

Peter Wilding wrote a thoughtful comment about our 1971-78 Cadillac Eldorado story that I don’t want to get buried in the comment thread: Late to the party here. Design analysis first. As an Aussie, I […]

1971 Cadillac Eldorado
Media Analysis

1971-78 Cadillac Eldorado: Collectible Automobile tells only part of the story

February 24, 2023 Steve 50

(EXPANDED FROM 4/30/2021) A big reason Collectible Automobile has survived longer than the late, great Automobile Quarterly may be because it is less — how you say — highbrow. For one thing, Collectible Automobile‘s presentation […]

1963 Rambler American 2-door hardtop closeup
Design Notes

1961-63 Rambler American: Would it have been better without a restyling?

February 21, 2023 Steve 13

Paul Niedermeyer (2023) recently suggested that the 1961 Rambler American’s “two-box” styling “just doesn’t work for me.” That makes sense. The newly reskinned car represented one of the most extreme — and awkward — examples […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 12 13 14 … 20 »
  • 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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