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HomeSporty cars

Sporty cars

1964 Chevrolet Corvette
Literature

1953-73 Chevrolet Corvette ads gingerly showed changing gender roles

December 30, 2024 Steve 9

(EXPANDED FROM 6/10/2022) One of the more common types of clickbait on auto history websites is to post an old-car ad and throw in a few paragraphs of background. Cranking out lots of short, breezy […]

1965 Ford Mustang
History

Lee Iacocca got lucky with the 1964-66 Ford Mustang

December 27, 2024 Steve 13

(UPDATED FROM 11/18/2022) The original Ford Mustang was the automotive equivalent of The Beatles rock band. The U.S. auto industry had never seen anything like it — a small sporty car that proved so popular […]

1971 AMC Gremlin and VW Beetle front
Design Notes

Richard Teague’s styling helped to kill American Motors

December 20, 2024 Steve 28

(EXPANDED FROM 3/19/2021) This story has received more reader pushback than almost any other single piece that I have published in Indie Auto. Even so, I think that it epitomizes what this blog is all […]

1965 Rambler Marlin taillight
Quotes

Rambler Marlin advocate reminded of his unerring judgment

December 12, 2024 Steve 1

C. L. Zinn II’s book, Javelin Photo Archive (2002), offered an anecdote that illustrated Vince Geraci’s enthusiasm for the Rambler Marlin. At the time Geraci managed American Motors’ Large Car Studio, which took the lead […]

1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk
Gallery

1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk: A match made in hell

November 12, 2024 Steve 25

(EXPANDED FROM 4/2/2021) After Studebaker and Packard combined in 1954, Motor Trend anticipated the possibilities of the two automakers sharing resources. For example, the magazine imagined Studebaker’s lightweight cars getting Packard’s “monstrous new V8 engine, […]

1964 Rambler American 440H two-door hardtop
History

Rambler pays price for not listening to Car and Driver about 1964 American

October 18, 2024 Steve 31

(EXPANDED FROM 2/8/2023) Curbside Classic’s recent republishing of a Car and Driver hit piece on the 1964 Rambler American illustrates how much power car buff magazines could have in molding public opinion. Here we are, […]

2022 Chevrolet Corvette front
Design Notes

Styling comparison: C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray versus the original

September 5, 2024 Steve 17

(UPDATED FROM 10/19/2022) When I finally saw a new mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette Stingray in the wild a few years ago I wondered why General Motors called it a Corvette. The so-called C8 generation is simply […]

1968 AMC AMX
Fake Design

1968-70 AMX was American Motors’ answer to a question nobody asked

September 3, 2024 Steve 15

(EXPANDED FROM 3/24/2023) Our recent discussion about a smaller, more internationally-flavored Ford Mustang led me to expand on a previously-posted story about the 1968-70 AMX. American Motors was arguably in a better position than Ford […]

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Our Sponsors

Trending Books: The tragic story of the Corvette

May 16, 2024 Steve 0
1970 Dodge Challenger
Links

Car and Driver does better than Motor Trend in assessing 1970 Dodge Challenger

March 20, 2024 Steve 5

Motor Trend‘s road test of the 1970 Dodge Challenger was largely laudatory, noting that “Dodge has had a few years to observe what’s been going on in the pony car field and has incorporated many […]

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3 4 … 6 »
  • 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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