Our Sponsors
1950s
Readings
J. ‘Kelly’ Flory Jr.’s American Cars series is pricey but valuable
The most valuable books I have bought of late have been J. “Kelly” Flory Jr.’s American Cars reference guides. This multi-volume set provides wide-ranging information on U.S.-made cars during the postwar era. Flory’s series has […]
History
Would American Motors under George Mason have done more poorly in the late-50s?
Kim in Lanark makes a useful point in arguing that if American Motors had “kept the Nash and Hudson nameplates any longer, the AMC executives could drive their 1959 Nashes and Hudsons to bankruptcy court.” […]
History
Could the 1956-57 Lincoln have saved a dying Packard?
(EXPANDED FROM 7/30/2021) Stéphane Dumas has been displaying his broad knowledge of web-based sources of automotive history for quite a few years. As a case in point, back in 2015 Dumas posted a comment over at […]
Media Analysis
Ralph Kalal’s take on Packard raises useful questions but can be dogmatic
If you are inclined toward nuanced shades of gray, you may be frustrated by Ralph Kalal’s stark, white-and-black take on Packard’s decline. That essentially forces the reader to decide: Which side are you on? I […]
Design Notes
1950 bucktoothed Buick: The definitive design statement from General Motors
(EXPANDED FROM 8/23/2021) Over more than a century General Motors has produced a broad range of cars and trucks. However, if I had to pick one single vehicle that best summed up GM’s design approach, […]
Letters to the Editor
How Packard’s trajectory in the 1910s and 1920s impacted its postwar decline
Over the last few days we’ve had a mini-seminar on Packard’s decline in the comment thread of the story, “1956 Packard booklet hints at how James Nance got too big for his britches.” Geeber took […]
Editor's Note
Reader of 1959 Studebaker design-theft story dismisses ‘useless exercise’
Neil stopped by to comment on our story, “1959 Studebaker: Was it really design theft?” He wrote: “I think this is a useless exercise. Tho it seems to me as the Valient came later, it’s […]
History
1954 Chevrolet was beginning of the end for GM’s brand hierarchy
(EXPANDED FROM 2/25/2022) The 1954 Chevrolet’s greatest claim to fame — or, more accurately, infamy — was contributing to the demise of independent automakers by engaging Ford in a brutal price war. Less discussed is […]
Readings
James Ward offers more nuanced take on Packard’s fall than other auto histories
(EXPANDED FROM 12/15/2022) James A. Ward’s Packard book, The Fall of the Packard Motor Car Company, is dwarfed by Automobile Quarterly’s epic tome edited by Beverly Rae Kimes (2002) as well as Stuart R. Blond’s […]