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1980s
Links
New Yorker story shows difficulties of an outsider reporting on auto industry
Industry coverage by journalists from outside the automotive media can be a mixed bag. They are less likely to succumb to the groupthink that can undercut reporting from the likes of Automotive News or a […]
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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 […]
Quotes
In 1980 General Motors showed the greatest promise of the U.S. automakers
“General Motors would have the most remarkable year of the four major manufacturers, selling two out of three new 1980 model year cars on the road. In fact, GM was down only about 3 percent […]
Data Dive
Bigger didn’t prove to be better for General Motors in late-70s and 80s
(EXPANDED FROM 12/30/2022) A few years ago we had a debate in a comment thread about the importance of scale in the U.S. auto industry (go here). I thought I would add another layer to […]
Drive-By Musings
What were Detroit’s top-five most iconic vehicle designs from 1980-2000?
Michael Karesh (2023) of TrueDelta recently asked, “Which cars (model and year) from the Detroit Three since 1980 do you feel qualify as design icons?” I would invite you to check out the ensuing debate […]
Ad Nauseam
Ad man goes too far in trying to sell the 1984 Corvette to its aging clientele
Greg was mostly impressed with prototypes of the 1984 Chevrolet Corvette he inspected while helping to prepare an advertising campaign. The all-new design was much roomier than the previous model. That wasn’t an accident. General […]
Multimedia
Luciano Bove talked about why Harry Bradley was a great car design teacher
When Harry Bradley died last May, Dean’s Garage reposted a video from Luciano Bove that talked about how Bradley influenced his work as a car designer and educator (Smith, 2023). That video offers a fascinating […]
Drive-By Musings
If you could have foreseen the future in high school, would today’s cars surprise you?
This is a question that may be most interesting to older Indie Auto readers. What brings it up for me is a fictional story in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, which is a humor magazine. Alex Baze […]