The 1963 Rambler Classic has been commonly described as an intermediate-sized car, but it was actually closer to being a compact in size, weight and entry-level prices. The Classic was only 189.3 inches long. That […]
A while back Indie Auto reader Geeber asked about what happened to Chrysler Corporation’s market share in the premium-priced field after Dodge went downmarket in 1960. He was referring to a major corporate shakeup where […]
Jim and Cheryl Farrell’s recent series of articles about the 1961 Continental’s development got me thinking about what might have happened if Robert McNamara had succeeded in killing the Lincoln brand. Could that have ended […]
The latest issue of Collectible Automobile suggests that the “aeroback” styling of the 1978-79 Buick Century hurt its sales (Witzenburg, 2023). However, the article doesn’t compare output with previous years or other General Motors’ mid-sized […]
(EXPANDED FROM 2/12/2021) One of the most interesting aspects of the 1960s was the cat-and-mouse game the Ford Motor Company played with General Motors. Ford quite rightly adopted a new approach after its disastrous expansion […]
While updating our 1971-78 Cadillac Eldorado story, I pulled down from my bookshelf The Complete History of General Motors: 1908-1986. This Consumer Guide book written by Richard M. Langworth and Jan P. Norbye (1986) threw […]
(EXPANDED FROM 11/14/2015) A point of contention in a number of Curbside Classic comment threads has been whether the last-generation AMC Ambassador had as much interior room as the Big Three’s full-sized cars. The short answer: […]
A fairly common narrative in U.S. automotive history is how Virgil Exner saved Chrysler in the mid-50s. Some historians tell a dramatic tale of how he pulled the automaker out of a tailspin caused by […]
(UPDATED 11/18/2022) The original Ford Mustang was the automotive equivalent of The Beatles rock band. The American auto industry had never seen anything like it — a small sporty car that proved so popular that […]
(EXPANDED 10/28/2022) A few years ago Richard M. Langworth argued that Ford’s aggressive attempt to overtake Chevrolet in 1954 received more blame “than it deserved” in undercutting the viability of independent automakers (2019, p. 16). […]
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