Indie Auto

Richard Teague’s styling helped to kill American Motors

by Steve in The Best of Indie Auto 23

(EXPANDED FROM 3/19/2021) This story has received more reader pushback than almost any other single piece that I have published in Indie Auto. Even so, I think that it epitomizes what this blog is all about — to honestly analyze why U.S. automakers experienced one of the most spectacular industrial collapses of the last century. My basic argument is that American Motors’ fall was hastened by bad design decisions [...]

Auto blinders (or peepers): How they improve the human condition

December 19, 2024 4

(EXPANDED FROM 5/26/2021) Automotive blinders, also known as auto peepers, are the narrowing of windows between the C- and D-pillars of vehicles. This design feature blocks a driver’s rearward vision, which assists in [...]

Jean Jennings’ death reminds us of Automobile magazine’s greatest legacy

December 18, 2024 1

(EXPANDED FROM 7/9/2021) The recent death of Jean Jennings is a useful reminder that Automobile magazine’s biggest journalistic contribution was arguably that it elevated an unusually large number of women into [...]

How often did renaming a car fail to help it sell better?

by Steve in History 19

(EXPANDED FROM 6/8/2022) A few years ago Karl Ludvigsen (2022) wondered whether some cars that were renamed should not have been. For example, he noted that Ford might have benefitted by keeping the Cortina name in Great Britain rather than changing it to the Sierra in sync with a major 1983 redesign. Ludvigsen’s behind-the-scenes story is [...]

Did Oldsmobile revolutionize the car industry?

December 17, 2024 18

(EXPANDED FROM 10/31/2022) The automotive media tends to treat orphaned American brands with extra enthusiastic pom-pom waving. An example of the genre is Mark J. McCourt’s (2020) Hemmings article about Oldsmobile. [...]

1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda had a jump-the-shark quality

December 14, 2024 4

I just finished transferring my photo collection to a new program, so I thought I would play around with the controls. What better way to do it than by editing pictures of a 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda? This car was on display at the 2024 [...]

Ford did better than Chrysler in differentiating its 1970s mid-sized coupes

December 13, 2024 13

(EXPANDED FROM 5/14/2021) A few years ago CJ and Geeber commented that the 1975 Dodge Charger would have worked better if it had been given the more distinctive design of the 1978 Magnum XE. That’s a good point. The Magnum [...]

In 1960 Lincoln moved upmarket despite struggling sales

December 10, 2024 13

(EXPANDED FROM 8/9/2022) A few years ago Corey Lewis (2022) wrote that the 1960 Lincoln’s entry-level model was “rebranded as simply ‘Lincoln,’ to compete with the new base model Chrysler New Yorker (1960-1962) and Series [...]

1957-58 Plymouth: Suddenly it could have been 1962!

by Steve in Fake Design 13

(EXPANDED FROM 1/7/2022) When writing about the 1953-54 Plymouth, I wondered whether there could have been a compromise between the practicality of Chrysler head K. T. Keller and the trendiness of his successor, Tex Colbert. Let’s apply that question to the 1957-58 Plymouth. Even more so than other Chrysler brands, the second-wave [...]

Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories

October 14, 2022 118

This is a centralized place for readers to offer specific story ideas to Indie Auto. Any ideas are welcome, from potential feature stories to book reviews. I have started off by posting suggestions from readers [...]

Richard Teague’s styling helped to kill American Motors

Satire

Auto blinders (or peepers): How they improve the human condition

Links

Jean Jennings’ death reminds us of Automobile magazine’s greatest legacy

How often did renaming a car fail to help it sell better?

Media Analysis

Did Oldsmobile revolutionize the car industry?

Gallery

1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda had a jump-the-shark quality

Railroad crossing through dirty windshield in C major

Design Notes

Ford did better than Chrysler in differentiating its 1970s mid-sized coupes

Data Dive

In 1960 Lincoln moved upmarket despite struggling sales

1957-58 Plymouth: Suddenly it could have been 1962!

Story Ideas

Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories

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