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Year: 2023
Editor's Note
Thank you to fund-drive participants and a note on broken links
Over the last week we have had an encouraging number of readers participate in Indie Auto’s fundraising drive. These have included previous donors as well as new ones. Some donors offered comments. For example, DC […]
Media Analysis
How accurate were Popular Mechanics’ predictions about 1980s cars?
For its September 1975 issue, Popular Mechanics’ Detroit Editor Robert Lund asked executives from each of the Big Four U.S. automakers to predict what cars would be like in the decade ahead. Lund started off […]
Design Notes
The 1949 Kaiser-Frazer’s new body styles showed the limits to innovation
Kaiser-Frazer deserves credit for experimenting with offbeat ideas. Unfortunately, most of them didn’t work very well. This is why the fledgling automaker is a useful case study of how trying to be “innovative” can backfire […]
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Editor's Note
Do you think Indie Auto is worth keeping online?
Indie Auto has reached a crossroads. I have just published 900 posts on this website. Meanwhile, I am far enough into retirement that I have been thinking harder about how to best spend my remaining […]
Quotes
One reason why a car enthusiast is ‘falling out of love with driving’
“I despair, too, at the increasingly fortress mentality that many drivers seem to have. The depressing rise of SUVs is probably responsible for this. Drivers feel safe and cocooned from the world around them, and […]
History
1966-69 VIP: Why Plymouth couldn’t sell brougham
(EXPANDED FROM 12/17/2021) At least on paper, the VIP luxury series suggested that Plymouth was keeping up with the Chevrolet Caprice and Ford LTD in the late-60s. However, the car’s terrible sales suggest that something […]
Letters to the Editor
Richard Langworth responds to our ‘making excuses for GM’ story
Richard Langworth stopped by to respond to our story, “Langworth and Norbye made excuses for General Motors’ big-car fixation.” What follows is his full missive: It’s nice to be remembered, even critically, for something we […]
Editor's Note
‘Die-hard fan’ of Studebaker and AMC finds Indie Auto useful
Indie Auto functions as an informal debating club about American automotive history. Thus, my writing gets a fair amount of criticism in comments as well as private messages. I’m good with this because debate is […]