Indie Auto

1954 Chevrolet was beginning of the end for GM’s brand hierarchy

by Steve in History 17

(EXPANDED FROM 3/1/2024) This article’s comment thread has had a recent uptick in discussion, so let’s add a bit more analysis. The 1954 Chevrolet’s greatest claim to fame — or, more accurately, infamy — was contributing to the demise of independent automakers by engaging Ford in a brutal price war. Less discussed is that the 1954 Chevy represented [...]

Bigger didn’t prove to be better for General Motors in late-70s and 80s

April 17, 2026 39

(UPDATED FROM 12/30/2022) A few years ago we had a debate in a comment thread about the importance of scale in the U.S. auto industry (go here). I thought I would add another layer to the conversation by discussing the decline of General [...]

Ford design in the 1970s was a real step down from the previous decade

April 10, 2026 24

In a comment thread we have been debating Ford design in the 1970s (go here). That sparked me to think in greater depth about how that automaker’s styling chops were a real step down from the previous decade. During the 1960s Ford [...]

The sad story about buying a 1981 Monte Carlo right out of college

April 9, 2026 2

Captain My Captain followed up a lengthy comment with a story about buying a 1981 Chevrolet Monte Carlo right out of college. At the end of his missive I learned that he publishes captainmycaptain.blog, whose slogan is “Every car is a [...]

Why the 1968-69 Javelin was not Richard Teague’s best AMC sporty coupe

by Steve in Drive-By Musings 9

In a comment thread to a recent story we have debated whether the original Javelin was Richard Teague’s best sporty coupe design. I would like to flesh out my rationale for why it wasn’t. This is a subjective take, but I think that it can help illuminate how AMC’s head designer contributed to the automaker losing its independence. The 1968-69 Javelin was [...]