Welcome to Indie Auto!
Make yourself comfortable and take a look around. You can get a better sense of Indie Auto’s breadth of content by clicking on the menu-bar items near the top of the page (such as “All Our Features”). You will find more than 1,000 postings.
I post three new or updated pieces each week, usually on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can keep up with our shenanigans by subscribing to a free e-newsletter that is sent out each Friday. You can also receive an email notification whenever a comment is posted by filling out the form at the bottom of any page with a comment thread.
Unlike almost all other automotive websites, the only advertising you will see at Indie Auto is satirical. This is only possible because we are entirely reader supported. Please show your support here. A free press isn’t free.
You are always invited to share your reactions by submitting a comment at the bottom of a post or by sending me a message. Go here for details.
Why is this website so different?
The Internet is awash in automotive media, yet it tends to have a bland sameness. The standard formula for success is a 24/7 barrage of car porn, guy talk and news McNuggets. All that sound and fury is primarily designed to entertain rather than inform — and intellectually challenge — readers.
In contrast, Indie Auto‘s main goal is to offer a fresh and independent perspective about the role of the automobile in American life. Often I do that by pointing out factual errors that have been repeated over and over. These errors may mask a “groupthink” that can constrain discussions about the automobile’s past, present and future.
This is not to suggest that I am immune from contributing my own errors and misinterpretations (let me know when you think I do). Despite the limitations that I bring to this endeavor, which are discussed below, I hope Indie Auto helps to expand the conversation in productive ways.
CONTENT WARNING: This is a journal of opinion — and critique is a central part of what we do (both in stories as well as comment threads). If you are sensitive to criticism of specific cars, designers, executives, automakers, journalists, media outlets or politicians, Indie Auto may not be your cup of tea.
This is about auto history, right?
Sort of. Indie Auto focuses mostly on auto history but with an eye toward how we can use the lessons of the past to chart a smarter course in the future.
A central theme of Indie Auto is that the American auto industry has been dominated by groupthink since at least the end of World War II. This has contributed mightily to one of the most spectacular industrial collapses of the last century. Domestic automakers are now a shadow of their former glory because of myopic decisions made in what are commonly viewed by car buffs as the industry’s golden years — 1947 to 1979.
Perhaps most importantly — but least discussed by automotive journalists and historians — groupthink has made it much harder to solve a variety of problems caused by an auto-dominated transportation system.
This is why Indie Auto often focuses on the underdogs, misfits and malcontents of the industry. And why I address the automobile’s social, economic and environmental impacts to a greater degree than you may find in a typical automotive website.
Who are you to pontificate?
It’s true that I have not worked in and around the auto industry. There is no telltale grease lodged in the corners of my fingernails. Nor do I possess the engineering chops to describe the intricacies of a famous engine.
What I do offer is an unusual take on the American automobile. For example, one of the major goals of Indie Auto is to present both the detailed industry knowledge of a car buff and the analytical depth of an auto history scholar (go here for further discussion).
This reflects my background. As a kid I was obsessed with becoming a car designer. However, in addition to drawing cars, I pored over auto production tables and wrote ad copy. My knowledge about the auto industry mostly came from a large library of books and magazines I slowly accumulated with my meager earnings.
As life would have it, I ended up going into journalism and policy research. Along the way I earned a doctorate. So in a sense Indie Auto is a post-retirement project done in partnership with my inner 10 year old — who, after all these years, is still a little pissed that I didn’t become a car designer.
This is why this website has a bit of a split personality. The adult side of me weighs in on serious topics, such as the web’s dumbing down of automotive history and journalism. Meanwhile, my inner child has a little fun by including offbeat photography, satirical stories and fake advertising (go here and here). That’s right: Instead of selling your eyeballs to real advertisers, Indie Auto posts fake ads that offer wry social commentary.
Despite my background as a journalist, Indie Auto does not attempt to offer objective, “just-the-facts” reporting. This is a journal of passionately stated but factually grounded opinion.
In addition, I often present counterfactuals — alternative ways history could have played out — that may include fake car designs photoshopped by my inner 10 year old. Some auto historians may find this approach overly speculative, but I think it can help us to become more aware of the assumptions that may constrain the ways we view the past.
My overarching goal is to offer a fresh perspective on often well-worn topics rather than to repeat what you could find in the better auto history books, magazines and websites. That said, I also don’t try to be contrary for its own sake, but to suggest alternatives to groupthink.
You can read Indie Auto on your mobile device but may capture more of its nuances on a desktop computer. That’s because posts will tend to be longer, include more data and use a more scholarly citation method than is typically found on the Internet.
Indie Auto is a cross between a blog and a magazine
As is typical for a blog, new stories first appear at the top of the front page and drift downward as others are posted. However, like a magazine, indepth pieces stay on the front page for longer periods of time.
My goal is to avoid one of the biggest problems with blogs: Their short and long pieces fall off their front page with equal speed. The result is that topical stories can overshadow those with lasting value.
Indie Auto’s front page typically includes a mix of new and reposted older articles. The latter are almost always updated, expanded or improved in some way.
Consider the articles to be living documents. One advantage a website has over books and printed magazines is that its content can be continuously improved in response to reader feedback and new information I come across. This is a key part of Indie Auto’s journalistic approach.
I also ignore a major rule in the news media: Don’t write about something that is more than a few days old. I may percolate on a topic for many months before posting an article.
Why the unfashionably slow pace? Instead of incessantly rushing to keep up with events 24/7, I am more interested in taking a step back and asking: What’s the context? What will be important in the long run? This approach is grounded in the “slow news” movement, which emphasizes thoughtfulness over speed (Gillmor, 2009).
Can I repost an article, photograph or chart?
Probably — if you ask first. Go here for more specifics, but know that all text and images are copyrighted by me unless otherwise designated. You are encouraged to use the ideas presented here as long as you properly attribute them. Links are always appreciated, as are Facebook likes and hallway referrals.
This is a not-for-profit initiative, but donations are not tax deductible (go here for details). Material is presented solely for historical research and educational purposes. Reader data is not sold. Check out our privacy policy here.
Thank you for stopping by. Take a look and feel free to share your reactions.
— Steve Salmi
RE:SOURCES
- Gillmor, Dan; 2009. “Toward a Slow-News Movement.” Mediactive. Posted Nov. 9; accessed May 5, 2013.