Chevrolet
Economies of scale: Finding the balance between too small and too big
The failure of individual automakers is invariably grounded in an inability to maintain adequate economies of scale. However, debates about what is the ideal shape of the American auto industry are heavily informed by competing […]
Halo cars are popular but not always a good idea
Halo cars tend to quite popular — even wetness inducing — among auto enthusiasts. That’s because the mission of halo cars is mostly to generate a positive buzz about a brand rather than high sales. So […]
Did a rumor cause the downsized 1962 Plymouth and Dodge?
A few years ago Paul Niedermeyer (2017a) questioned the conventional wisdom that the downsized 1962 Plymouth and Dodge were an 11th-hour accident of history. In an epic essay, the Curbside Classic publisher poked holes in […]
Commentators explain how a fat Corvette stops space aliens
Some of the web’s most important writing is buried in auto blog comment sections. One of my all-time favorites is a soliloquy by Truth About Cars commentator Petezeiss (2014). In response to criticisms of the 2015 Corvette Z06’s weight gain, he […]
Should AMC have given the 1974 Matador coupe a luxury spin-off?
Patrick Foster (2020) recently argued that AMC should have offered a luxury spin-off of the sporty 1974 Matador coupe. He also suggested that such a car should have been named the Ambassador. “With tunneled headlamps […]
Lee Iacocca got lucky with the 1964-66 Ford Mustang
(UPDATED 11/18/2022) The original Ford Mustang was the automotive equivalent of The Beatles rock band. The American auto industry had never seen anything like it — a small sporty car that proved so popular that […]