The lead story for Friday, July 21 was an update of “1965-68 GM big cars: The end of different strokes.” I didn’t expand this story because I thought it was already pretty comprehensive, but I did give it an edit. That included clarifying some points made in the text, spot checking the accuracy of data, improving some of the graphics and fixing broken links.
This article illustrates how auto history can be a team sport. What sparked my interest was a Paul Niedermeyer (2018) piece on the 1967 Buick, where I learned that the LeSabre’s front clip was shorter than the Wildcat’s. That led me to wonder how much variation in body architecture there was between Buick and its premium-priced corporate siblings — and whether the variation I found had impacted sales. That, in turn, drew me to look at how GM’s premium brands compared to their competition from Ford and Chrysler.
I wouldn’t have thought to write this story if I had not read Niedermeyer’s, but I did try to “add to knowledge” by analyzing production data to see how the premium-priced, big-car field evolved in the 1960s. My story ended up being around 3,800 words, which is on the long side by blogospheric standards.
Indie Auto readers are also part of the team
This “data dive” article took an unusual amount of time to research because back then my auto production spreadsheets did not have complete data for all premium-priced brands. Building these data sets was a tedious process because I had to manually input a fair amount of data by year, nameplate and body style. Along the way I sometimes found what appeared to be errors, so I had to make a judgment as to which source was more accurate. And sometimes, when I went back to check my own calculations, I found errors I had made.
I think that this is one of my better Indie Auto stories. Even so, a reader pointed out two errors. I always appreciate when folks do so, and I correct inaccuracies on the spot. This is another example of how auto history is a team sport.
Reader feedback can be particularly important for small-scale publications like Indie Auto that do not have in-house fact checkers and copy editors.
Since Indie Auto started to post content multiple times per week, I haven’t created from scratch many longer pieces like this one. Instead, I have focused on producing shorter pieces that, when they are reposted in a year or so, I will expand incrementally. That’s why it can be worth your while to take another look at a piece you may have read in the past.
RE:SOURCES
- Niedermeyer, Paul; 2018. “Curbside Classic Lite: 1967 Buick LeSabre 400 Sedan — It Does Not Mean a 400 Engine, Oddly Enough.” Curbside Classic. Posted Oct. 28.
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