“This nation’s car market has always supported a handful of what seem to be ‘protest cars.’ There were a lot more of them before World War II, but the post-war era has had it share: […]
When viewed from 1951, Studebaker was the independent automaker most likely to succeed. The South Bend, Indiana-based automaker generated unusually high sales by inventing the family-sized compact. This allowed Studebaker to invest in both a V8 engine and an automatic transmission well before […]
Patrick R. Foster’s Hudson Automobiles: An Illustrated History lives up to its title. If you are mainly interested in pictures, this is your book. The 128-page paperback is dominated by photographs, artist sketches and advertising, […]
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 […]
“But it was after he joined Chrysler in 1949 that (Virgil) Exner made his most lasting impression, with Chrysler’s ‘Forward Look.’ Exner couldn’t change Chrysler’s upright, dowdy cars fast enough. Featuring bodacious, streamlined bodies and tail fins, the ‘Forward Look’ […]
Patrick Foster (2005) once lamented that he couldn’t find a publisher for a book on George Romney. “A typical rejection goes something like this: George Romney led an exemplary life, was honest in business, never […]
Indie Auto readers can offer feedback either by submitting a comment at the bottom of a post or sending me a message (go here). Some messages initiate private conversations, but this one functions as a […]
“In late 1958, Printers’ Ink conceded that ‘there is a widespread feeling that ‘they don’t make cars the way they used to’ — either mechanically or from the point of view of interior decor.’ And […]
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