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Ford Motor Co.
Readings
Thomas Bonsall’s Edsel book is nuanced but suffers from groupthink
(EXPANDED FROM 6/26/2020) Disaster in Dearborn: The Story of the Edsel is paradoxical. On the one hand, this is a serious history book — unlike so many of the coffee-table decorations that populate the big-box […]
Auto Paedia
‘Lower! Longer! Wider!’ fixation of US automakers left opening for imports
(EXPANDED 10/24/2022) “Lower, longer, wider” was the domestic automakers’ dominant design approach until they were forced to downsize their fleet in the late-1970s due to federal fuel-economy standards. Since that time automakers have at least […]
Design Notes
Obesity wins even when it loses with pony cars
(EXPANDED FROM 3/4/2015) The 1993-2003 Chevrolet Camaro is a paradox. It sold so poorly that it was discontinued. This was a doubly painful failure given that the fourth-generation Camaro had a more modern body than the Ford Mustang’s. […]
Fake Design
1965-69 Chevrolet Corvair: What if it had a front-engined companion?
(UPDATED ON 10/14/22) The second-generation Chevrolet Corvair was one of the best cars General Motors has ever built. Its styling was exceptionally clean for the mid-60s, which were dominated by fussy gingerbread designs. Meanwhile, the […]
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Design Notes
1955 Packard Request: Retro styling doesn’t always work
(UPDATED FROM 7/24/2020) The 1955 Packard Request is a good example of how “retro” styling doesn’t always work very well. This show car took too literal of an approach in trying to evoke Packard’s classic […]
Satire
MotorTrend has a firm, meaty grip on the future
To honor the death of Mustang 360, we are rerunning a review from June 10, 2020. The life of this legendary website was tragically cut short when it was folded into Hot Rod magazine, whose […]
History
The ‘compact’ 1961-63 Cadillac that went nowhere
(UPDATED 12/16/2022) The 1961-63 Lincoln Continental is commonly viewed as the first downsized American luxury car. However, during this same time time period Cadillac also offered a more compact variant that has received little attention. […]
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