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Month: April 2022
Current Events
Lexus should ditch its ‘retronyms’ and hire a poet
(UPDATED FROM 1/8/2021) Did you know that the alphabetical names for Lexus products actually stand for something? As a case in point, the IS means “Intelligent Sports,” the CT is short for “Creative Touring,” RX […]
Auto Paedia
‘Detroit Mind’ led to collapse of U.S. automakers
(EXPANDED FROM 9/18/2020) “Detroit Mind” is the label Brock Yates gave to the worldview of U.S. automakers from the 1950s into the 1980s. This was epitomized by a focus on cars that were “too large, […]
Quotes
Popular Mechanics readers liked 1960 Valiant’s size but not workmanship
“PM asked 1000 new Valiant owners to be frank about their cars. This report is what they said and it reflects an enchantment with the compact concept. Here, for example, are some quotes: ‘This is […]
Letters to the Editor
What is the US doing to develop synthetic fuels?
George Denzinger recently asked a good question, so I am front paging his comment from our post, “If automakers focused more on efficiency would there be less pressure to go EV?” This is an example […]
Editor's Note
If you are new here, why is this website so . . . different?
Daniel Strohl (2022) over at Hemmings has kindly shared a link to our AMC Gremlin story. This has resulted in a wave of new readers. If you are among them, welcome to Indie Auto. Do […]
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Fake Design
1963-64 Studebaker Avanti: A classic failure
(EXPANDED FROM 1/1/2020) The Studebaker Avanti is arguably one of the most important American automotive designs of the 1960s. It has quite rightly been described by historian Patrick Foster as “one of the most beautiful automobiles […]
History
Four reasons why the AMC Gremlin was a bad idea
(UPDATED FROM 4/20/2022) The AMC Gremlin may be one of the most memorable cars of the 1970s, but it was a bad idea for four often-forgotten reasons. I grant you that what I am about […]
Quotes
So what exactly is a ‘muscle car,’ anyway?
“For this writer, the Pontiac GTO not only defines the genre (it was a mid-size or intermediate body), but also the beginning and end of the Muscle Car Era; 1964-1974. Some might argue that the […]