
Year: 2023


1971-78 Cadillac Eldorado: Collectible Automobile tells only part of the story
(EXPANDED FROM 4/30/2021) A big reason Collectible Automobile has survived longer than the late, great Automobile Quarterly may be because it is less — how you say — highbrow. For one thing, Collectible Automobile‘s presentation […]

Ronnie Schreiber helps us hone our bullshit detectors
Ronnie Schreiber recently submitted a comment to our story, “Peter DeLorenzo draws questionable lessons from automotive history.” What follows is his entire comment in unedited form: “I find it interesting that the environmentalists who warned […]

1961-63 Rambler American: Would it have been better without a restyling?
Paul Niedermeyer (2023) recently suggested that the 1961 Rambler American’s “two-box” styling “just doesn’t work for me.” That makes sense. The newly reskinned car represented one of the most extreme — and awkward — examples […]


Peter DeLorenzo draws questionable lessons from automotive history
Peter DeLorenzo (2023) recently raised a useful point: Too many of today’s auto industry executives “have no concept of historical perspective at all.” His full column is worth a read, but here’s a key passage: […]


The 1938-40 Graham didn’t just fail because of ‘sharknose’ styling
(EXPANDED FROM 1/15/2021) The 1938-40 Graham is a popular topic in the auto history media because of the car’s infamous “sharknose” styling. What gets little, if any, attention is that even if the design had […]

Accounts of Brooks Stevens’s Studebaker Sceptre and siblings can vary
Dean’s Garage has reposted a Hemmings story about a number of proposed Studebakers designed by Brooks Stevens. Daniel Strohl (2023) primarily focused on the Sceptre, a replacement for the ancient Hawk. I find the photographs […]

Will history repeat itself by punishing automakers for their big SUV binge?
It’s an old trick in the U.S. auto industry to blame consumers for bad corporate behavior. Automotive News (2022) recently lent a helping hand by playing the victim card to justify the lack of improvement […]