Our Sponsors
Chevrolet
Literature
1980 Ford Fairmont emphasized cheap practicality to compete with GM’s X-cars
The Ford Fairmont had sold well in its first two years of production but in 1980 was confronted by formidable new competition — Chevrolet’s Citation. If this were still the good old days we would […]
History
1970 Plymouth Barracuda should have been like an Australian Valiant Charger
(EXPANDED FROM 6/3/2022) The 1970 Plymouth Barracuda and its sibling the Dodge Challenger proved to be a costly mistake that epitomized Detroit’s slowness in responding to changing times. Indeed, the Chrysler Corporation’s early-1970s pony cars […]
Auto Paedia
Bigger, glitzier, more powerful: The auto industry’s holy trinity
(EXPANDED FROM 11/1/2019) The dominant tendency of the U.S. auto industry has been to make its vehicles bigger, glitzier and more powerful. In recent decades both domestic and foreign automakers have embraced this practice. Indeed, […]
Current Events
Automotive News fails to mention obvious ways to cut weight of EVs
Automotive News recently bemoaned how heavier electric vehicles “are causing safety and pollution problems.” The news report by Richard Truett (2023) pointed to heavy battery packs as the main “culprit” but also weight gains caused […]
Data Dive
Was the decontented Ford LTD ‘essentially like an Impala’?
Curbside Classic’s Paul Niedermeyer stopped by to offer his first-ever comment at Indie Auto. He raised some interesting points, so I am making them the focus of a data dive. He took issue with our […]
Quotes
Ed Cole has big news about Chevy’s Vega-based Wankel ‘Mustang killer’
In its April 1974 issue, Popular Science shed light on a Chevrolet Vega-based sporty coupe that was slated to compete with the subcompact Ford Mustang II. The unnamed car’s main claim to fame would be […]
Photo Essay
Still motion: A haunting encounter with a 1940s Chevy truck
(EXPANDED FROM 11/20/2020) The National Park Service is renovating the Kestner homestead near Lake Quinault. However, one item is being left to nature’s whims — a circa 1941-46 Chevrolet panel truck once used in a […]
Quotes
Chevrolet Corvair advertising shows gender roles in 1960s
“Chevrolet marketers wanted to preserve ‘sportiness’ and ‘performance’ as masculine activities, but at the same time realized that women appreciated a good-handling car as much as their male counterparts. So, Chevrolet repurposed the performance attributes […]
Data Dive
Late-60s fastbacks: Not ready for prime time?
(EXPANDED FROM 13/23/2022) Today fastbacks are so common that you can even find them on family sedans. That’s a big shift from the late-1960s, when fastbacks were restricted to a few sporty coupes. “The very […]