Indie Auto

If David E. Davis could do road trips, why can’t Indie Auto?

by Steve in Photo Essay 3

(EXPANDED FROM 10/18/2023) David E. Davis often wrote about his road trips when he was editor of Automobile. Jack Baruth (2011) suggested that the magazine’s motto, “No Boring Cars!” served as “an excuse, er, reason to demand an ever-greater variety of exotic machinery from the world’s press fleets and cross-continental promotional junkets. [...]

A thank you to recent Indie Auto donors — you make this website possible

November 1, 2024 1

I recently paid Indie Auto’s quarterly sales taxes, so this is a good time to publicly thank all of you who have made a donation. Because we don’t run advertising (at least that isn’t satirical), the survival of this website depends [...]

1971-74 Dodge Charger: Making the most of a questionable idea

November 4, 2024 12

(EXPANDED FROM 5/16/2023) In response to the interesting conversation in the comment thread about Chrysler’s early-70s compacts, I thought it could be useful to expand on a data dive I did a while back on the 1971-74 Dodge [...]

Chrysler’s Lynn Townsend in 1973: Even a compact is too small

by Steve in Drive-By Musings 14

CEO Lynn Townsend hinted at why the Chrysler Corporation arguably neglected its aging line of compacts in the first half of the 1970s. Townsend told Forbes in 1973, “The subcompacts are just too small. The American people won’t climb into them. They have to give up too much in creature comfort. I think even a compact’s a little small. I would [...]

Could Studebaker have come out of the 1970s as successful as Jeep?

October 31, 2024 17

(EXPANDED FROM 4/23/2021) A few years ago our story on Brooks Stevens’s redesign of the 1964 Studebaker generated enough debate that I decided to further flesh out an alternative scenario. To wit, Studebaker would have had [...]

True Delta solicits new ideas and participants as it turns 20

October 21, 2024 0

When True Delta recently had a 20-year birthday, publisher Michael Karesh asked if any readers wanted to help bring a new burst of energy to his website, which provides practical resources for car buyers. “One member recently got in [...]

Redesigned 1958 Chevrolet was sort-of successful in pushing back against Ford

by Steve in Gallery 14

Ford’s aggressive efforts to retake the top-selling crown from Chevrolet reached a crescendo in the 1957 model year, when it out-produced its rival by more than 170,000 units. Ford’s main advantage was a new body with lower, longer, wider styling. In contrast, Chevrolet made due with a facelift of a two-year-old design. For 1958 the tables [...]

Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories

October 14, 2022 112

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 [...]