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Year: 2024
Media Analysis
Automotive News’ sense of urgency on climate change amounts to empty words
Automotive News (2024) recently posted the editorial, “Believe the storms: Climate change is real.” The piece has a decidedly retro quality because it makes an argument that major media outside the auto industry acknowledged long […]
Current Events
Is the decline in distinctive national approaches to car design a bad thing?
(EXPANDED FROM 5/18/2022) Karl Ludvigsen has a website called Why Cars Are So Bad. A few years ago he posted on it the text of a speech he delivered back in 1989. Included in his […]
Gallery
Redesigned 1958 Chevrolet was sort-of successful in pushing back against Ford
Ford’s aggressive efforts to retake the top-selling crown from Chevrolet reached a crescendo in the 1957 model year, when it out-produced its rival by more than 170,000 units. Ford’s main advantage was a new body […]
Current Events
You know things are bad when an Automotive News reporter swears off new cars
I recently came across an Automotive News column that I never thought I would see — a reporter who argued against buying a new car. Richard Truett (2024) explained that in recent years he has […]
History
A deeper dive into why Chrysler’s 1962 B-body wasn’t a stretched compact
Our recent story on the 1962 Chrysler B-body (go here) has generated a debate among auto history writers. In the article, I sided with those who had argued that the downsized Plymouth and Dodge were […]
Gallery
Why did the 1968 Imperial sell so poorly in a booming market?
The domestic luxury-car field saw output rise by a healthy 11 percent in 1968, but the Imperial went in the opposite direction — down by almost 13 points. At least on paper, the Imperial should […]
Links
Motor Trend’s predictions in late-1964 were decidedly hit and miss
Motor Trend’s November 1964 issue predicted a few things that didn’t happen. They included: Of these two items, a sporty Pontiac sounded more plausible — and perhaps reflected an effort by the likes of John […]
Design Notes
1941 Studebaker Commander: Ending its big cars on a high note
(EXPANDED FROM 4/16/2021) The 1941 Studebaker Commander is noteworthy partly because of its lovely art deco styling, but also because it represents close to the last of the automaker’s big premium-priced cars. In 1939 Studebaker […]
Gallery
What if the 1962 Cadillac had been similar in size to the 1949 models?
At this year’s LeMay car show I photographed a 1949 and a 1962 Cadillac. They struck me as bookends for what I have dubbed the “sci-fi” era of this brand. Designers started off with tailfins […]