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HomePremium-priced cars

Premium-priced cars

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Letters to the Editor

Why General Motors didn’t realize that Oldsmobile was in trouble

November 27, 2023 Steve 20

Our “Story Ideas Bank” sometimes morphs into debates about specific historical events. George Denzinger recently weighed in on the death of Oldsmobile. This is a thoughtful analysis so I am elevating it to the front page. […]

1968 Ford Thunderbird
Data Dive

1958-76 Thunderbird: The rise and fall of the Ford that shook up GM

November 17, 2023 Steve 6

(EXPANDED FROM 10/1/2021) The four-seater Thunderbird was a surprisingly pivotal car for the Ford Motor Company during the postwar period. The T-Bird showed that the No. 2 automaker could better compete against mighty General Motors if it pioneered new […]

1955 Studebaker V8 emblem
History

Why V8 engines were less important in the 1950s than commonly believed

October 23, 2023 Steve 17

(UPDATED FROM 10/23/2023) One of the most pervasive myths in U.S. automotive history is that a V8 engine became essential to an automaker’s success in the first half of the 1950s. This narrative is summed […]

1951 Packard 300
Design Notes

1951 Packard 300: The double-edged sword of an anonymous design

September 18, 2023 Steve 6

(EXPANDED FROM 2/26/2021) The above-pictured car is a 1951 Packard 300 in front of an auto shop in Northern California. The faded paint and spray-painted “For Sale” sign are good metaphors for the new-for-1951 design, […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 5 6 7 8 »
  • 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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