From 1963 through 1968 model years Elwood Engel had a pretty good run as head designer at the Chrysler Corporation. However, he did come out with one dud — the 1967-69 Plymouth Barracuda notchback hunchback. […]
How might Robert McNamara have influenced Ford if he had remained company president for a few more years? This is a question that emerged from the comment thread in our recent Don Frey story. Let’s […]
(EXPANDED FROM 7/20/2022) The 1967-74 Mercury Cougar is a tragic story of a classic design going to hell. The first-generation models, which were produced from 1967-68, were among the best-looking pony cars of the late-60s. […]
(EXPANDED FROM 8/17/2023) In its April 1974 issue, Popular Science shed light on a Chevrolet Vega-based sporty coupe that was slated to compete with the subcompact Ford Mustang II. The unnamed car’s main claim to […]
(UPDATED FROM 5/19/2021) The July 1966 issue of Popular Science breathlessly predicted what U.S. automakers had planned for the next model year. Even though introductions were only a few months away, a surprising number of […]
(EXPANDED FROM 9/16/2021) The failure of the fourth-generation Chevrolet Camaro and Firebird wasn’t supposed to happen. General Motors’ F-body siblings had a much more modern — and arguably more stylish — design than their sole competitor, […]
(EXPANDED FROM 6/30/2023) Did Ford make the right move by pulling the plug on a U.S.-built subcompact slated to be introduced in the fall of 1962? The car, initially called the Cardinal but later renamed […]
(EXPANDED FROM 5/4/2022) One of my stylistic pet peeves is the 1963-65 Plymouth Valiant’s front fenders, which had weird, hairpin-shaped character lines. They undercut what in many respects was one of the cleaner compact designs […]
(EXPANDED FROM 7/2/2021) Patrick Foster has questioned whether the 1964 Rambler Tarpon show car would have sold better than the Plymouth Barracuda if it had reached production. His rationale was that neither compact sporty coupe […]
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