Indie Auto

1956 Packard booklet hints at how James Nance got too big for his britches

by Steve in Literature 11

(EXPANDED FROM 11/1/2021) Old Car Brochures has an unusual marketing piece from Packard. “Story of a Living Legend and the world in which it grows” showcased the automaker’s history as well as its last-ditched effort to modernize. The 22-page booklet compared the company’s milestones with those of the United States. For example, the first Packard was built in 1899, the same year that Teddy Roosevelt became president. Or in 1935-39 Packard introduced medium-priced cars and closed-type door handles that “eliminate the danger of hooking clothes.” This [...]

The story behind a Mount Saint Helens observatory is colored by tragedy

March 23, 2025 0

Perhaps the best view of Mount Saint Helens is from the Johnston Ridge Observatory. The facility, which is located on Highway 504 east of Castle Rock in Washington state, is named after David A. Johnston. He was the U.S. Geological [...]

Automotive News: Late-50s one of the best eras for U.S. car design

March 22, 2025 1

Only rarely will Automotive News publish a historical piece. One such occasion was when it ran a feature about former Chrysler design head Virgil Exner. The thing I find most striking about this article is its utter lack of [...]

Trump’s trade war could tempt Canada to welcome Chinese EVs

by Steve in Drive-By Musings 2

Republican attempts to “slam the brakes” on electric vehicle adoption (Rivero, 2025) combined with President Trump’s trade war with Canada could create an opening for Chinese EVs. BYD is increasingly looking like it it is producing the EV equivalent of the Ford Model T. For example, this week the Chinese automaker announced a new charging system that [...]

Is UAW support for Trump’s Canadian tariffs ultimately a turf battle?

March 20, 2025 1

The United Auto Workers’ endorsement of Trump’s tariffs makes at least some sense when applied to a low-wage nation such as Mexico, but why Canada? The UAW (2025) has thus far framed its support as a way of attacking “free [...]

Richard Langworth’s death raises questions about auto history’s future

March 19, 2025 0

Indie Auto reader Zachary Morecraft suggested in the “Story Idea Bank” that we do a piece on Richard M. Langworth, who died February 20 at the age of 83. Langworth was such a towering presence within the American auto history [...]

How long will automotive styling be dominated by brutalism?

by Steve in Links 5

Question-of-the-day features tend to be vapid, so I usually ignore them. However, I must admit to getting drawn into a Jalopnik query about what are the ugliest cars on the market today (Bellwood, 2025). The range of proposals shows how styling can be quite subjective. For example, I would agree that the BMW XM has an overamped design — particularly with [...]

1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme: Monument to a fading dream

March 17, 2025 12

(EXPANDED FROM 15/8/2023) General Motors’ 1973 mid-sized cars were a major focus of our discussion about William Mitchell’s tenure as head of design. Thus, I thought it would be a good time to expand on a previous story about the [...]

ID. Buzz shows how VW has rejected qualities that made the Microbus iconic

March 10, 2025 5

At the auto show I attended last fall, the Volkswagen ID. Buzz appeared to generate considerable attention. Even so, sales are reportedly so sluggish that “huge discounts” are being offered. One factor could be buyer resistance to a steep base price [...]

Ford got crushed in 1960s mid-sized field despite early entrance

March 7, 2025 10

(EXPANDED FROM 3/31/2023) Compacts and personal coupes generated an outsized amount of media attention during the 1960s, but the most important emerging market segment turned out to be mid-sized cars. Sales rose steadily to the [...]

Why does knowledge advance sooo slowly in the U.S. auto history field?

by Steve in Media Analysis 0

Indie Auto has previously explored this question, but I would like to offer some updated and expanded thoughts. The basic problem is that the U.S. auto history field all too often feels like it was frozen in time somewhere back in the 1980s — and our knowledge about the past has not advanced much since then. I suspect that one reason why is that the field is too [...]

Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories

October 14, 2022 123

This is a centralized place for readers to offer specific story ideas to Indie Auto. Any ideas are welcome, from potential feature stories to book reviews. I have started off by posting suggestions from readers [...]

1956 Packard booklet hints at how James Nance got too big for his britches

Photo Essay

The story behind a Mount Saint Helens observatory is colored by tragedy

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Automotive News: Late-50s one of the best eras for U.S. car design

Trump’s trade war could tempt Canada to welcome Chinese EVs

Current Events

Is UAW support for Trump’s Canadian tariffs ultimately a turf battle?

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Richard Langworth’s death raises questions about auto history’s future

How long will automotive styling be dominated by brutalism?

Design Notes

1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme: Monument to a fading dream

Gallery

ID. Buzz shows how VW has rejected qualities that made the Microbus iconic

Data Dive

Ford got crushed in 1960s mid-sized field despite early entrance

Why does knowledge advance sooo slowly in the U.S. auto history field?

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