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2019 auto design: One step closer to machine guns?
This year’s Seattle auto show should have been held during Halloween rather than the second week of November. That’s because the auto industry’s latest wares were a frightful bunch. On the inside they offered the […]
Photo Essay
LeMay’s 2018 car show rolls on despite rain
Some light rain in the morning may have dampened participation in LeMay’s 41st Annual Show, but there was still plenty to see. As in past years, the event — which was held at the Marymount […]
Readings
Jeep: The History of America’s Greatest Vehicle
In a vague sense this book is an update of The Story of Jeep (Foster, 1998). However, like Patrick R. Foster’s other recent books, Jeep: America’s Greatest Vehicle, is much more graphically oriented. While not quite as large […]
Drive-By Musings
A paler shade of green?
Did you hear the one about the Ram 1500 diesel beating Ford’s aluminum-bodied F-150 for the 2015 Green Truck of the Year Award? “The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel exemplifies what a ‘green’ truck should be,” said Ron Cogan, […]
Media Analysis
TTAC helps Chrysler go pavlovian
The third-generation Dodge Challenger has always run a distant third in sales to the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, arguably because of it is the most extreme caricature of a pony car. The chunky, almost […]
Media Analysis
Does the Internet dumb down auto history?
In some respects the rise of the web has been the best thing that ever happened to American automotive history. Just click on Google’s “images” tab and you instantly have access to far more pictures […]
Readings
It’s Delightful! It’s Delovely! It’s . . . DeSoto Automobiles
I suppose we should feel grateful that someone finally decided to write a history about the under-appreciated DeSoto. Dennis David’s book is visually appealing, with lots of color photos, reproduced advertising and extra-large type. Collectors may appreciate the emphasis on […]
Readings
The Complete History of Chrysler Corporation 1924-1985
The text of this book has many similarities to Chrysler & Imperial 1946-1985 (1993) as well as various Consumer Guide histories. The result is often derivative but contains plenty of interesting historical nuggets. For example, authors Richard […]
Media Analysis
‘GM envy’ distorts how we view a once and future auto industry
What’s fascinating about the mega-merger hype is the degree to which it downplays obvious questions. Was not the over-consolidation of the U.S. auto industry after World War II a major reason for its subsequent humbling […]