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Year: 2024
Letters to the Editor
Owner of a 2007 Dodge Charger calls comments about the car ‘not in line’
Hawk stopped by to respond to our story, “2006-2010 Dodge Charger: A cartoonish attempt at rip-roaring nostalgia.” I own a 2007 Dodge Charger R/T and have enjoyed many positive comments on it. This all-black beauty […]
Editor's Note
What to do if you didn’t get our weekly e-letter and two points about Facebook
Indie Auto sends out a weekly e-newsletter by Friday evening. If you didn’t get one then check your spam folder. If you find one of our newsletters there, mark it as “not spam.” Since we’re […]
Data Dive
U.S. auto industry challenged by dramatic societal changes in postwar era
Constant Reader suggested in the “Story Ideas Bank” the following scenario: “You’re 25 & just bought your first new Chevy, at what ages and which models would be your moves up the Sloan Ladder?” That […]
Links
The question of whether size matters when it comes to auto safety has a long history
The argument that big vehicles are safer than small ones has been floating around since imports first made inroads in the U.S. during the late-1950s. For example, in 1958 Road & Track magazine quoted the […]
History
1970 Mercury ‘El Gato’ Cougar raises intriguing questions
(EXPANDED FROM 9/8/2021) Bill McGuire’s (2021b) story about the Mercury El Gato got me thinking about Ford’s conflicted design direction in the early-70s. The concept car hinted at what the 1969-70 Cougar might have looked […]
Media Analysis
What would it take to fund Aaron Severson so he could focus on writing auto histories?
Aaron Severson (2024) recently announced that, due to a burst of donations, he would renew hosting-related services for Ate Up With Motor. That presumably keeps the website online but doesn’t address the cost of producing […]
Design Notes
1966 Oldsmobile Toronado: Just another shiny thing from General Motors
(EXPANDED FROM 6/18/2021) In selecting the 1966 Oldmobile Toronado as its Car of the Year, Motor Trend (2005) took out its pom-poms and gushed that “never in the 14-year history of this award has the […]
Drive-By Musings
Should the Automotive Hall of Fame present accurate information about its inductees?
The Automotive Hall of Fame has a fancy website, a big building and lots of very important people on its board of directors. Yet its explanation for why Robert S. McNamara was inducted has surprisingly […]
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Might Detroit have embraced front-wheel drive earlier if McNamara had stayed at Ford?
The Chrysler Corporation’s decision to shrink its big Plymouth and Dodge for 1962 occurred at a tumultuous time — the U.S. auto industry was reportedly considering even more dramatic changes due to soaring sales of […]