Year: 2021
Five (arguably) unresolved mysteries of postwar independent automakers
(EXPANDED ON 1/27/2023) Many books, magazine articles and blog posts have been written about the independent automakers’ struggle to survive in the 1950s. Even so, I have come across a number of unresolved mysteries relevant […]
Would auto history be better if Automobile Quarterly hadn’t died?
QUESTION: Automobile Quarterly arguably had a major impact on the field of auto history — particularly during the magazine’s prime. Would the quality of today’s popular history be higher if Automobile Quarterly were still alive […]
James Ward: How Packard rejected a merger proposal from AMC
“George Mason’s invitation to Packard to join AMC was lost in Packard’s and Studebaker’s rush to embrace. Mason knew about the negotiations, but gamely showed up at East Grand to make a formal presentation to […]
Where do auto historians get their information?
Jvolgarino (2021) recently asked fellow members of the Society of Automotive Historians where they get their information. This invariably led to a discussion about the difficulties of obtaining primary sources of information. Primary sources are […]
Peter DeLorenzo: 2021 Jeep Wagoneer has nothing to do with ‘heritage’
“While the Jeep press material for the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer seems to scream ‘heritage’ and ‘Premium American Icon’ every other sentence, these bloated Jeeps have about as much in common with their forebears as, […]
Bitter Old Man’s take on Jeremy Clarkson
“It’s truly sad when the real person shows up and ruins your preconceived notions of how they actually were. (Jeremy) Clarkson, who was blessed with the talent to write really well, and was engaging as […]