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Curbside Classics Archives
Automotive Histories Archive
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![Like most failing car lines, DeSoto went out with a whimper, and not a bang. Unlike some other defunct brands that promptly sent their final vehicle straight to a museum […]](https://i2.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Last_1961_DeSoto_assembly_line_Chrysler_Corporation_7.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Curbside Unicorn Hunt: The Search for the Last DeSoto")
Curbside Unicorn Hunt: The Search for the Last DeSoto
Posted on January 27, 2020 | 61 CommentsLike most failing car lines, DeSoto went out with a whimper, and not a bang. Unlike some other defunct brands that promptly sent their final vehicle straight to a museum […] -
![1920 Essex Coach and 2010 Ford Focus There are two once-common automotive body styles that have become extinct: the two door sedan and the two door station wagon. We covered […]](https://i1.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Essex-1920-2-door-large.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: The Two Door Sedan (1920-2010) – Its Origins and the Last 2-Door Sedan For Each Brand and Model")
Automotive History: The Two Door Sedan (1920-2010) – Its Origins and the Last 2-Door Sedan For Each Brand and Model
Posted on January 24, 2020 | 109 Comments1920 Essex Coach and 2010 Ford Focus There are two once-common automotive body styles that have become extinct: the two door sedan and the two door station wagon. We covered […] -
![(More from David Halberstam’s “The Reckoning”) Having excoriated Ford’s finance guys for skimping out on E-Coat, today we turn the tables and find a very unlikely hero in the battle […]](https://i2.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Ford-taurus-1986-1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: The Ford Taurus Almost Had Rear Wheel Drive")
Automotive History: The Ford Taurus Almost Had Rear Wheel Drive
Posted on January 13, 2020 | 35 Comments(More from David Halberstam’s “The Reckoning”) Having excoriated Ford’s finance guys for skimping out on E-Coat, today we turn the tables and find a very unlikely hero in the battle […] -
![not the best picture, but the best that Google could find It’s always very satisfying to get a proper explanation to phenomena that has been described repeatedly. The endless stream […]](https://i1.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Ford-Bronco-1978-rusty.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: Why Fords Were the Worst Rusters in the Mid-Late ’60s and the ’70s")
Automotive History: Why Fords Were the Worst Rusters in the Mid-Late ’60s and the ’70s
Posted on January 12, 2020 | 85 Commentsnot the best picture, but the best that Google could find It’s always very satisfying to get a proper explanation to phenomena that has been described repeatedly. The endless stream […] -
![My mother is a retired first-grade teacher who still takes pride in how many people she has taught to read. She’s equally proud that she had to teach me very […]](https://i2.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Allegro-II-3-e1577748626672.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History Capsule: The 1967 Ford Allegro II and Henry B. Lent – Things Remembered, Things Forgotten")
Automotive History Capsule: The 1967 Ford Allegro II and Henry B. Lent – Things Remembered, Things Forgotten
Posted on January 6, 2020 | 36 CommentsMy mother is a retired first-grade teacher who still takes pride in how many people she has taught to read. She’s equally proud that she had to teach me very […] -
![Sleuthing out who built the first of any new significant automotive development can be a fraught undertaking. When I wrote up the remarkable 1946 Kaiser articulated bus, I really thought […]](https://i2.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Twin-Coach-1938-artic-Balto-diesel-electric.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: The First Articulated Buses – 1938 Twin Coach and 1940 Isotta Fraschini TS40")
Automotive History: The First Articulated Buses – 1938 Twin Coach and 1940 Isotta Fraschini TS40
Posted on January 3, 2020 | 12 CommentsSleuthing out who built the first of any new significant automotive development can be a fraught undertaking. When I wrote up the remarkable 1946 Kaiser articulated bus, I really thought […] -
![(First published Jan 9, 2014) Brougham. Such a seemingly simple word certainly incites strong feelings around here. After a recent piece on a ’72 Mercury Marquis Brougham (CC here), it […]](https://i1.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/brougham-badge.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: The Brougham – An Indictment and A Defense")
Automotive History: The Brougham – An Indictment and A Defense
Posted on December 23, 2019 | 144 Comments(First published Jan 9, 2014) Brougham. Such a seemingly simple word certainly incites strong feelings around here. After a recent piece on a ’72 Mercury Marquis Brougham (CC here), it […] -
![American car makers really dragged their feet with the development of fully-synchronized manual transmissions. VW got its first gear synchronized in 1961, and most other Europeans did too by around […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/three-on-the-tree-2.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Transmission History: The Last Three Speed Manuals With Non-Synchronized First Gear – Grinding Gears Until 1976")
Transmission History: The Last Three Speed Manuals With Non-Synchronized First Gear – Grinding Gears Until 1976
Posted on December 11, 2019 | 48 CommentsAmerican car makers really dragged their feet with the development of fully-synchronized manual transmissions. VW got its first gear synchronized in 1961, and most other Europeans did too by around […] -
![One of the absolute highlights of my Tokyo trip was visiting the Toyota Megaweb Museum with Tatra87. Besides being free of charge and remarkably uncrowded while the Tokyo Motor Show […]](https://i2.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_6849.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Museum Classics: Toyota Megaweb Fantasy Garage (Part 1B) – The Toyota Rally Cars")
Museum Classics: Toyota Megaweb Fantasy Garage (Part 1B) – The Toyota Rally Cars
Posted on December 8, 2019 | 9 CommentsOne of the absolute highlights of my Tokyo trip was visiting the Toyota Megaweb Museum with Tatra87. Besides being free of charge and remarkably uncrowded while the Tokyo Motor Show […] -
![The gradual transformation of the horseless carriage into the modern car took several decades. Many important steps were needed to go from the Benz Patentwagen to the Studebaker Avanti, such […]](https://i1.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1932_maybach_zeppelin_ds8_stromlinien_by_spohn4.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: Winging It – An Archeology Of The Pontoon Fender")
Automotive History: Winging It – An Archeology Of The Pontoon Fender
Posted on December 3, 2019 | 28 CommentsThe gradual transformation of the horseless carriage into the modern car took several decades. Many important steps were needed to go from the Benz Patentwagen to the Studebaker Avanti, such […] -
![In the late forties, DAF started the production of heavy trucks. Prior to the Second World War, the company was best known for their trailers and semi-trailers. But the Van […]](https://i2.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_8612.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "CC History: 1937 Single Bearer Stretcher Carrier – DAF’s Smallest Vehicle Ever")
CC History: 1937 Single Bearer Stretcher Carrier – DAF’s Smallest Vehicle Ever
Posted on November 30, 2019 | 20 CommentsIn the late forties, DAF started the production of heavy trucks. Prior to the Second World War, the company was best known for their trailers and semi-trailers. But the Van […] -
![Like a meteor crashing through the sky, diagonally canted quad headlights were a styling trend that shone brightly and then burned out quickly. Let’s take a look at this short-lived […]](https://i2.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1961-DeSoto-Front-View.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "CC History: The All-Too-Brief History of Canted Headlights")
CC History: The All-Too-Brief History of Canted Headlights
Posted on November 12, 2019 | 102 CommentsLike a meteor crashing through the sky, diagonally canted quad headlights were a styling trend that shone brightly and then burned out quickly. Let’s take a look at this short-lived […] -
![Over the years I have acquired many automotive window stickers. By accident, I guess. Every time I would buy a car or visit the junk yards I would search for […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/164-Sticker-.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Curbside History: Monroney Sticker – 1975 Volvo 164")
Curbside History: Monroney Sticker – 1975 Volvo 164
Posted on November 11, 2019 | 50 CommentsOver the years I have acquired many automotive window stickers. By accident, I guess. Every time I would buy a car or visit the junk yards I would search for […] -
![Welcome to part two – let’s skip the preliminaries and get right to the meat of the subject, starting with the ‘70s. When we’re talking “last ever made,” sometimes things […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/1975-Citroen-DS-last-car.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: The Last Ones (Part 2: 1970-present)")
Automotive History: The Last Ones (Part 2: 1970-present)
Posted on November 8, 2019 | 37 CommentsWelcome to part two – let’s skip the preliminaries and get right to the meat of the subject, starting with the ‘70s. When we’re talking “last ever made,” sometimes things […] -
![The terms “General Motors” and “Innovation” aren’t often used together when referring to the 1980s. Successes were rare for GM during this period, and its US market share plummeted from […]](https://i1.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Ad-1983-Delco-GM-Bose-1a-Featured-Image.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: Delco-GM/Bose Sound System – GM’s Greatest Hit Of The 1980s")
Automotive History: Delco-GM/Bose Sound System – GM’s Greatest Hit Of The 1980s
Posted on November 5, 2019 | 73 CommentsThe terms “General Motors” and “Innovation” aren’t often used together when referring to the 1980s. Successes were rare for GM during this period, and its US market share plummeted from […]
