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Sport utility vehicles
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 […]
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Design Notes
Early indications of Toyota embracing its inner Virgil Exner
(EXPANDED FROM 4/11/2014) The above photograph shows the beginning of Toyota’s embrace of sci-fi styling. In the foreground, the second-generation Sienna minivan (which was produced from 2003 to 2009) has simple but attractive styling (Wikipedia, […]
Quotes
Peter DeLorenzo: Automakers have gone overboard on ‘all-terrain’ vehicles
“As I’ve said repeatedly since founding this website, the automobile business is first and foremost a fashion business. It is consumed by trends, fads and what’s perceived as ‘hot’ at the moment. And before we’re […]
Quotes
Peter DeLorenzo: 2021 Jeep Wagoneer has nothing to do with ‘heritage’
“While the Jeep press material for the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer seems to scream ‘heritage’ and ‘Premium American Icon’ every other sentence, these bloated Jeeps have about as much in common with their forebears as, […]
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Quotes
Keith Bradsher: ‘Extreme users’ in auto media have driven SUV design
“Even some auto executives and engineers complain that media comparisons of off-road driving capabilities have put pressure on them to design ever taller vehicles with ever more expensive four-wheel-drive systems that almost nobody needs. In […]
Links
On the origins of the 1974 Riviera and 2021 Grand Wagoneer
Wayne Kady comments about the bustleback Buick: The April 2021 issue of Collectible Automobile has a letter from retired General Motors’ designer Wayne Kady. He described how GM’s head designer William Mitchell ordered him to […]
Drive-By Musings
NHTSA and automakers drag their feet on pedestrian safety
The federal government has been dragging its feet on pedestrian safety despite increasing fatalities. Jalopnik deserves a shout out for giving visibility to this underdiscussed issue. For example, Managing Editor Erin Marquis (2020b) recently pointed […]