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Year: 2022
Quotes
Did 1963 ‘size shakeout’ really return US automakers to normalcy?
“For the past three model years, the industry has been tossing trial balloons at the American car buyer in an effort to determine ‘how small is compact?’ or, in other terms, what sizes of automobiles […]
Design Notes
Chrysler brand looked the least weird of automaker’s 1961 line
While the 1961 Chrysler was hardly a stylistic masterpiece, it strikes me as being the least weird of the automaker’s lineup in that model year. The Plymouth suffered from a bizarre shark-faced fascia, the Imperial’s […]
Literature
1953-73 Chevrolet Corvette ads gingerly showed changing gender roles
(EXPANDED FROM 2/26/2021) A few years ago John E. Mohr assessed how advertising for the Chevrolet Corvair reflected the “gendered nature of automobility in 1960s America” (2020, p. 24). In an essay published in the […]
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Links
How often did renaming a car fail to help it sell better?
In a recent column, Karl Ludvigsen (2022) wondered whether some cars that were renamed should not have been. For example, he noted that Ford might have benefitted by keeping the Cortina name in Great Britain […]
Media Analysis
Larry Printz’s anti-Ralph Nader rant hurts reputation of The Detroit Bureau
A recent feature story by The Detroit Bureau illustrates the dangers of a current events website trying to get into the automotive history business. Executive Editor Larry Printz’s (2022) ode to the Chevrolet Corvair included […]
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Letters to the Editor
Chevrolet Vega fan itemizes what ‘real’ authorities said about the car
A Chevrolet Vega fan — let’s call him RS — just submitted two comments about the post, “Why the Chevrolet Vega turned out the way that it did.” One of RS’s comments was in ALL […]
Multimedia
Video by Joe Ligo offers good overview of the AMC Pacer’s demise
(UPDATED FROM 1/25/2014) Joe Ligo has produced a well-rounded overview of the AMC Pacer’s short and mostly unhappy life. The almost 35-minute documentary is posted on YouTube. “I’m impressed with the film,” wrote Truth About […]