“The company’s Product Planning Committee was considering anew the question of an economy (light) car. A report on February 17 (1949) held that there were 4,000,0000 potential customers for such a car and that the […]
The failure of individual automakers is invariably grounded in an inability to maintain adequate economies of scale. However, debates about what is the ideal shape of the American auto industry are heavily informed by competing […]
When writing a story about the 1974 AMC Ambassador, I came across American Motors car brochures for 1979 and 1980 that took the unusual step of picturing the company’s headquarters in Southfield, Michigan. In the 1979 […]
Halo cars tend to quite popular — even wetness inducing — among auto enthusiasts. That’s because the mission of halo cars is mostly to generate a positive buzz about a brand rather than high sales. So […]
“. . . 1950/’51 — was the first time that Studebaker had a V-8 engine, and it was a catastrophe. They had a terrible time. They kept eating up camshafts and millions of dollars. Studebaker never […]
Andrea Hiott has written an engaging and nuanced automotive history that transcends the usual “car guy” narratives. Thinking Small: The Long, Strange Trip of the Volkswagen Beetle offers a wealth of background about the political, economic […]
“Instead of investing in mechanics or inventory, early dealers constructed lavish marble palaces on expensive parcels of land. They clustered on highly visible downtown thoroughfares, often called ‘Automobile Row’. . . . Early dealers could […]
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