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HomePremium-priced cars

Premium-priced cars

1941 Studebaker Commander 2-door coupe
Design Notes

1941 Studebaker Commander: Ending its big cars on a high note

February 26, 2026 Steve 11

(EXPANDED FROM 10/1/2024) The 1941 Studebaker Commander is noteworthy partly because of its lovely art deco styling, but also because it represents close to the last of the automaker’s big premium-priced cars. In 1939 Studebaker […]

1961 De Soto
Multimedia

Video histories of DeSoto and American Motors aren’t as good as books

February 24, 2026 Steve 3

YouTube videos may bring auto history to a broader range of people, but they generally still aren’t as good as books. As a case in point, let’s take a look at a video about the […]

1969 Ford LTD
Literature

1969 Ford LTD attacked GM’s hierarchy of brands in multiple ways

February 12, 2026 Steve 10

(EXPANDED FROM 7/5/2023) The LTD was one of the Ford Motor Company’s biggest successes in the 1970s because it attacked General Motors’ hierarchy of brands in multiple ways. After failing to beat the popular Impala […]

1961 Buick LeSabre
Design Notes

The 1961 Buick was a pivot point for GM’s troubled brand

December 19, 2025 Steve 3

(EXPANDED FROM 12/23/2022) The 1961 Buick represented a pivot point for General Motors’ troubled premium-priced brand. The car’s styling lurched from the swaggering flamboyance of the 1950s to the utilitarian conservatism of the 1962-64 models. […]

1951 Kaiser hood ornament
Design Notes

The redesigned 1951 Kaiser was not quite anatomically correct

December 4, 2025 Steve 13

(EXPANDED FROM 4/20/2023) The 1951 Kaiser was trumpeted as having “anatomic design” — that is, it was made to fit the needs of the human anatomy. Although the car’s unusually taunt body had some aesthetic […]

1957 Mercury Colony Park 4-door hardtop rear quarter (col.cov)
History

Mercury took station wagons to the outer limits in 1957-60

November 28, 2025 Steve 6

(EXPANDED FROM 4/6/2023) A “Story Ideas Bank” request by CJ asked for more coverage of station wagons, so let’s take a step in that direction with a look at the 1957-60 Mercury. The Ford Motor […]

1966 Oldsmobile 442
Data Dive

Did smaller cars cannibalize GM’s premium-priced big cars in the 1960s?

November 25, 2025 Steve 31

(EXPANDED FROM 12/1/2023) The introduction of compacts for Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick represented a major change for these General Motors’ premium-priced brands. Did they help sales grow in a changing marketplace? Or did smaller cars […]

1968 Chrysler New Yorker 2-door hardtop
Design Notes

1968 Chrysler New Yorker: The peak of ‘peak Chrysler?’

November 14, 2025 Steve 22

(EXPANDED FROM 7/8/2022) Paul Niedermeyer (2021) has called the 1965 Chrysler New Yorker “the last great Chrysler.” He argued that this particular vintage “represents a pinnacle: never again would the New Yorker attain this degree […]

1961 Chrysler New Yorker convertible
Design Notes

Chrysler brand looked the least weird of automaker’s 1961 line

October 20, 2025 Steve 12

(EXPANDED FROM 6/13/2022) While the 1961 Chrysler was hardly a stylistic masterpiece, it strikes me as being the least weird of the automaker’s lineup. The Plymouth suffered from a bizarre shark-faced fascia and the Imperial’s […]

1935 Pierce-Arrow
Links

Hudson’s radical WWII concepts and Pierce-Arrow’s downmarket pivot

October 14, 2025 Steve 20

(EXPANDED FROM 8/15/2023) I wanted to more significantly expand on my discussion about two articles posted at the Automotive History Preservation Society’s virtual library. Alas, I can no longer access either story. I can still […]

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3 … 8 »
  • Is Jaguar smart to run away from its design heritage?
    October 8, 2026 20
  • 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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