Editor's Note
What’s new for November
Welcome to the November edition of Indie Auto. The front page of this website is updated around the first of each month. Typically included is a mix of new and reposted material. Original content: A […]
Year: 2019
Media Analysis
Why does The Daily Drive repost discredited anti-Nader rant?
When Chris Poole (2019, 2013) waxed nostalgic about 1965’s “groovy” cars, he also revived an ugly auto buff media practice of yore: Let’s vilify Ralph Nader! Poole is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. Poole blamed […]
Quotes
Observing the ‘frictional violence of speed’
“As anyone who has broken down on the motorway will know, to stand at the side, waiting for rescue, is a revelation. Nothing better conveys the frictional violence of speed. Whatever impression you may get […]
Design Notes
Audi R8 : More beast than sports car
(EXPANDED 12/14/2022) An Audi R8 in the wild is an eye-opening event. Everything about the car is over-amped, from the child-eating grille to the showy display of V10 power just beneath the rear window. The […]
Random Shots
Editor's Note
Why we’ve been slow to offer comments
Lockstops (2019) concluded that Greens and leftists “are like a cancer.” 28-Cars-Later (2019b) suggested that mercenaries should be hired to “start popping the heads off” members of the European Union Commission. Why the vitriol? Because […]
Multimedia
The Design Makers — Inside Ford Design
This Ford Motor Company promotional film from the late-60s is one of the most unintentionally revealing glimpses into American automotive design from that period. As discussed in the following links, the film shows how Detroit failed […]
Links
Richard Langworth’s website offers background on his auto histories
Richard M. Langworth is arguably the dean of American automotive history. I suspect that he has authored or co-authored more books than anyone else in the field. More importantly, his writing is noteworthy for its […]
Data Dive
CO2 emissions: Automakers still partying like it’s 1975
The U.S. automobile industry has shown admirable ingenuity in developing new technologies to reduce the greenhouse gases produced by its cars and trucks. The problem is that a religious devotion to bigger, glitzier and more […]
Media Analysis
The Truth About Cars should not enable violent talk
I recently came across Jack Baruth’s (2013) announcement of a new set of editorial policies at The Truth About Cars after editor Bartel Schmitt departed. One of the new policies was that there “will be […]