(EXPANDED FROM 3/24/2023) Our recent discussion about a smaller, more internationally-flavored Ford Mustang led me to expand on a previously-posted story about the 1968-70 AMX. American Motors was arguably in a better position than Ford […]
(EXPANDED FROM 9/11/2020) Readers of Indie Auto can offer feedback either by commenting or by sending a direct message here. A few years ago a reader used the latter route to vigorously defend the looks […]
During his tenure as head AMC’s design, Richard Teague had the opportunity to develop quite a few sporty coupes, from the original Marlin to the Spirit hatchback. Out of all those efforts, I would propose […]
(EXPANDED FROM 7/7/2021) A few years ago Stéphane Dumas quite rightly noted that another alternative to the 1964 Rambler Tarpon concept car was the XR-400. This was a 2+2 convertible proposed to American Motors in […]
(EXPANDED FROM 8/14/2019) Histories about the 1965 Rambler Marlin’s origins illustrate how seemingly basic facts can be difficult to nail down. Differences of opinion linger over when and why the Marlin was developed as well […]
Dick Teague nervously checked his fly and centered his tie as he heard the entourage of AMC executives march down the hallway toward his design studio. He’d made many presentations over two decades but had […]
(EXPANDED FROM 7/17/2020) One of the hazards of any kind of writing is that you can get too close to your subjects. In anthropology this has been called “going native.” Because we are human, we […]
(UPDATED ON 1/25/2023) Fred Hudson comes across as a talented designer and a nice person. At least that’s my impression from an oral history that was videotaped before he died in 2010. Hudson oversaw the […]
(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 […]
(EXPANDED ON 1/20/2023) The 1955 Packard’s styling was nicely done in many ways — but it was also an evolutionary dead end. The designers of the last “real” Packards deserve credit for two things. First, […]
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