Bird Chatter
1980s
Data Dive
CO2 emissions: Automakers still partying like it’s 1975
The U.S. automobile industry has shown admirable ingenuity in developing new technologies to reduce the greenhouse gases produced by its cars and trucks. The problem is that a religious devotion to bigger, glitzier and more […]
Quotes
You didn’t mess with spy photographer Jim Dunne
“’He could be really helpful, but he could also be hyper-competitive,’ added John McElroy, who often had Dunne on his TV show, Autoline:Detroit. ‘He was hyper-competitive and never wanted anyone muscling in on his gig,’ […]
Quotes
Why did automakers sign Roundtable statement?
“Over the last 40 years or so, legal academics have been insisting with increasing stringency that corporations that consider anything other than shareholder value in choosing their actions are derelict in their duties. As the […]
Calendar
LeMay at Marymount hosts 42nd annual show
The LeMay Collections at Marymount are open year-round, but the best time to go is arguably on the day of its annual car show and auction. This year’s all-day event will be held on Saturday, […]
Bird Chatter
Quotes
Designer Bill Robinson’s secret to his success
“. . . I always considered myself an average designer, because there were so many good designers. I was very successful because I knew that you had to sell the design to the manager and […]
Auto Paedia
Groupthink
A tendency toward groupthink has been a chronic problem in the American automobile industry since the mid-50s. This was a key driver of the domestic automakers’ dramatic decline from the late-60s onward. More recently, foreign […]
Auto Paedia
Auto industry consolidation: Putting profits ahead of robust competition
The necessity of industry consolidation has long been a popular idea among auto executives and pundits. The basic argument has been that the automotive industry — both in the U.S. as well as globally — […]
Auto Paedia
Pillar (A-D)
Some of the American automobile’s more significant design changes have been reflected in the pillars of a greenhouse. For ease of discussion, pillars have been alphabetized. An A-pillar is on each side of a windshield. […]