(EXPANDED FROM 2/8/2022) Why was the futuristic-looking Studebaker Avanti given a tall, flat and small windshield? That windshield ranks with the 1964-66 Imperial in looking terribly mismatched with the rest of the car. The most […]
(EXPANDED FROM 1/22/2021) The 1933-42 Willys gets far less attention than it deserves. The model 77 and its successors were important because they anticipated the American compacts of the 1950s and 1960s. In addition, the […]
(EXPANDED FROM 12/3/2021) The new-for-1973 General Motors mid-sized cars were allegedly the product of a battle between John Z. DeLorean and GM styling chief William Mitchell. In the book, On a Clear Day You Can […]
(EXPANDED FROM 3/26/2021) The 1958 Edsel was already an over-the-top design, but one owner wanted to take it to the next level. They gave their car a retractable roof. This was doable because entry-level Edsels […]
The 1951 Kaiser was trumpeted as having “anatomic design” — that is, it was made to fit the needs of the human anatomy. Although the car’s unusually taunt body had some aesthetic appeal, it didn’t […]
(EXPANDED FROM 6/16/2021) According to Ed Cray’s (1980) Chrome Colossus, in 1932 Cadillac was in danger of being discontinued when a young service manager named Nicholas Dreystadt crashed a General Motors’ executive committee meeting to […]
Here’s an idea I would invite Indie Auto readers to test drive: Hudson’s demise had the biggest long-term impact on the U.S. auto industry of any independent automaker that merged or died in the 1950s. […]
(EXPANDED FROM 2/12/2021) One of the most interesting aspects of the 1960s was the cat-and-mouse game the Ford Motor Company played with General Motors. Ford quite rightly adopted a new approach after its disastrous expansion […]
Kaiser-Frazer deserves credit for experimenting with offbeat ideas. Unfortunately, most of them didn’t work very well. This is why the fledgling automaker is a useful case study of how trying to be “innovative” can backfire […]
Richard Langworth stopped by to respond to our story, “Langworth and Norbye made excuses for General Motors’ big-car fixation.” What follows is his full missive: It’s nice to be remembered, even critically, for something we […]
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