Auto media
A sampling of Jim Dunne’s 1970 predictions that didn’t happen
Predicting the future of the U.S. auto industry has always been fraught with peril. Popular Science’s Detroit Editor Jim Dunne got a lot of things right in his reporting during 1970, but a number of […]
Making fun of automotive history
(UPDATED FROM 2/22/2014) Curbside Classic has always been far more willing to make fun of itself than larger media outlets. In doing so, the website has shown (perhaps inadvertently) how the media can be patronizing to auto history buffs. […]
Jalopnik gets better — but for how long?
(EXPANDED FROM 9/18/2020) A few years ago I starting reading Jalopnik again after a long lapse because its content appeared to have improved. However, I still don’t check out the website daily because there’s too […]
Car Life’s faint praise for redesigned 1967 Imperial hints at why it wasn’t a hit
Car buff magazine writers didn’t know it at the time, but the new-for-1967 Imperial would be Chrysler’s last big push in the luxury-car field. Although the brand lost its exclusive platform — just like Lincoln […]
Does Auto Extremist’s Peter DeLorenzo have conflicts of interest?
Peter DeLorenzo (2023a) recently made a big deal about how he supposedly transformed the automotive media. He argued that “the key differentiator for me was that I didn’t care about access, because I not only […]
Motor Life had mixed reactions to 1955 Plymouth’s wrap-around windshield
“Because the wrap-around windshield has proven so popular Plymouth felt it necessary to incorporate this idea. Unfortunately, theirs just doesn’t look like a wrap-around from the outside. They’ve been extremely subtle about it — which […]
What’s next for Curbside Classic in wake of Paul Niedermeyer’s retirement?
(EXPANDED FROM 11/27/2022) The retirement of Curbside Classic founder Paul Niedermeyer (2023) raises questions about the direction of the pioneering auto history website. He announced his retirement, effective immediately, only a few weeks after the […]
Road & Track magazine’s 1972 Nader attack was disingenuous propaganda
(EXPANDED FROM 10/30/2020) When Road & Track decided to go after Ralph Nader in 1972, the magazine took unusual measures. Even before an “evaluation” of a Nader report hit the newsstands, Road & Track held […]