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Design Notes
Did the generic 2018-21 Expedition trick Chevy buyers into Ford showrooms?
(EXPANDED FROM 1/1/2019) The 1962 Ford Galaxie was the long-reigning champion of the Generic Ford of the Century Award. This was a remarkable feat when you consider the stiff competition. However, year after year the […]
Media Analysis
Older Ford Mustangs got too big but not the newer ones?
(EXPANDED FROM 5/11/2020) Automobile magazine is dead but its Facebook page continues to recycle old articles. Yesterday the one million followers of this page were blessed with a reposted history of the Ford Mustang. Aaron […]
Auto Paedia
How the greenhouse on US cars has evolved from the late-40s to present
(UPDATED FROM 3/1/2020) Greenhouses have not typically changed as frequently as other parts of the American automobile’s external styling, but they go a long way toward summing up the dominant design approach of a given […]
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 […]
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 […]
Design Notes
Might the Rambler Tarpon have sold better than the Plymouth Barracuda?
In a recently published article about the Rambler Tarpon, Patrick Foster (2021) doubted that the show car would have sold better than the Plymouth Barracuda if it had reached production. His rationale was that neither […]
Letters to the Editor
Excessive styling may not be right approach for minivans
The following letter is in response to our story, “2018 Honda Odyssey: Somebody’s going to hell.” It appears that the Japanese manufacturers have decided to produce the “expressive” models of minivans. Honda to greater degree […]