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Drive-By Musings
Was the 1972 Fiat 130 coupe influenced by mid-1960s Ramblers?
Curbside Classic has just reposted one of my favorite articles — a magazine-length piece by Don Andreina (2023) about the 1972-77 Fiat 130 coupe. Although the car never made it to U.S. shores, the author […]
Links
How far should AMC have gone to save the Hudson, Nash and Rambler brands?
Stephen Pellegrino has sparked a debate about the value of automotive brands by arguing that Hudson, Nash and Rambler were worth saving. His punchline is that “brand names mean something, and the intangibles they represent […]
Design Notes
2006-2010 Dodge Charger: A cartoonish attempt at rip-roaring nostalgia
The 2006 Dodge Charger’s styling was greeted with mixed reviews when the car was introduced. Perhaps the most pointed criticism came from Car and Driver writer Larry Webster (2005), who stated that its corporate sibling […]
History
1970 Plymouth Barracuda should have been like an Australian Valiant Charger
(EXPANDED FROM 6/3/2022) The 1970 Plymouth Barracuda and its sibling the Dodge Challenger proved to be a costly mistake that epitomized Detroit’s slowness in responding to changing times. Indeed, the Chrysler Corporation’s early-1970s pony cars […]
Current Events
Automotive News’ commentators show outrage over Dodge’s shift to EVs
Back in December of 2021 Automotive News discontinued comments on its website in favor of those on Facebook. How have things worked out so far? Not so good, if I go by the last few […]
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A sampling of Jim Dunne’s 1970 predictions that didn’t happen
Predicting the future of the U.S. auto industry has always been fraught with peril. Popular Science’s Detroit Editor Jim Dunne got a lot of things right in his reporting during 1970, but a number of […]
History
1962-64 Plymouth: The odd case of prescience interruptus
(EXPANDED FROM 8/28/2020) The 1962-64 Plymouth is one of the most prescient U.S. cars of the 1960s. Aside from the 1953 Plymouth, the 1962 redesign represented the first serious effort by a Big Three automaker […]
Fake Design
1970 Pontiac Firebird: Time to go on a diet
(EXPANDED FROM 11/26/2021) The 1971-73 Ford Mustang has been criticized for growing too big and fat (e.g., Mueller, 2010). However, Ford didn’t act in isolation. All of the pony cars bloated out when they were […]
Data Dive
Late-60s fastbacks: Not ready for prime time?
(EXPANDED FROM 13/23/2022) Today fastbacks are so common that you can even find them on family sedans. That’s a big shift from the late-1960s, when fastbacks were restricted to a few sporty coupes. “The very […]