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Design excesses
Design Notes
1971-73 Buick Riviera: The last stand against the broughamization of Detroit
(EXPANDED FROM 3/26/2021) Whatever else one might say about the 1971-73 Buick Riviera, its styling did represent a heroic level of resistance to the brougham look then sweeping through the U.S. auto industry. Instead of […]
Auto Paedia
‘Detroit Mind’ led to collapse of U.S. automakers
(EXPANDED FROM 9/18/2020) “Detroit Mind” is the label Brock Yates gave to the worldview of U.S. automakers from the 1950s into the 1980s. This was epitomized by a focus on cars that were “too large, […]
History
Four reasons why the AMC Gremlin was a bad idea
(UPDATED FROM 4/20/2022) The AMC Gremlin may be one of the most memorable cars of the 1970s, but it was a bad idea for four often-forgotten reasons. I grant you that what I am about […]
Quotes
So what exactly is a ‘muscle car,’ anyway?
“For this writer, the Pontiac GTO not only defines the genre (it was a mid-size or intermediate body), but also the beginning and end of the Muscle Car Era; 1964-1974. Some might argue that the […]
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Current Events
Could the 2022 Toyota Tundra’s excesses doom it like the 1958 Buick?
I should give Toyota credit for one thing — the 2022 Tundra does stand out in a crowd. Even in a parking lot filled with other large trucks and sport-utility vehicles, the newly redesigned Toyota […]
Design Notes
Should Saab have come out with a retro 96 in the 1990s?
EXPANDED FROM 6/10/2014) In a Hemmings post about a 1971 Saab 96 for sale, Mike McNessor (2014) described the car as “irresistible and timeless as the VW Beetle or the Mini.” He went on to wonder […]
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Design Notes
1966-70 Studebaker: Putting lipstick on a pig?
(EXPANDED FROM 8/28/2020) Studebaker’s prospects for survival as an automobile manufacturer arguably ended when it shut down its South Bend plant in December, 1963. The biggest reason why is that the corporation’s board of directors […]