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Curbside Classics Archives
Automotive Histories Archive
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![(First Published 3/20/2014) It’s no secret that of the Big Three, Chrysler seems to have the worst luck with extreme ups and downs. Throughout nearly every decade of its ninety-year […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Chrysler-Minivans-NS-97TC.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: The 1996-2000 Chrysler “NS” Minivans – The Culmination Of Nineties Chrysler")
Automotive History: The 1996-2000 Chrysler “NS” Minivans – The Culmination Of Nineties Chrysler
Posted on September 17, 2023 | 102 Comments(First Published 3/20/2014) It’s no secret that of the Big Three, Chrysler seems to have the worst luck with extreme ups and downs. Throughout nearly every decade of its ninety-year […] -
![(first posted 9/13/2017) While traveling earlier this year, I stayed in a hotel that was just up the street from a Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership. Normally I don’t have much […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/1957-Cadillac-Dealer.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Dealer Classic: 1958 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – Forget the CTS, I’ll take the DeVille – A History of the 1957-58 Cadillacs")
Dealer Classic: 1958 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – Forget the CTS, I’ll take the DeVille – A History of the 1957-58 Cadillacs
Posted on September 13, 2023 | 93 Comments(first posted 9/13/2017) While traveling earlier this year, I stayed in a hotel that was just up the street from a Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership. Normally I don’t have much […] -
![(first posted 10/16/2013, Revised and updated 8/19/2023) We keep coming back to this topic, first with yesterday’s Comet and then today’s Falcon Sprint. That era was indeed the beginning […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/books_004.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: 1963 Days – Popular Science Tests the Hot Compacts")
Automotive History: 1963 Days – Popular Science Tests the Hot Compacts
Posted on August 19, 2023 | 88 Comments(first posted 10/16/2013, Revised and updated 8/19/2023) We keep coming back to this topic, first with yesterday’s Comet and then today’s Falcon Sprint. That era was indeed the beginning […] -
![(first posted 7/7/2017) I started writing this article as news came through that the very last Ford car to be produced in Australia had started its journey down […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Ford-Falcon-orange-2016-sedan-Ford-Territory-black-2016-suv-and-Ford-Falcon-ute-silver-2016-3_0.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: A Tribute To The Australian Ford Falcon")
Automotive History: A Tribute To The Australian Ford Falcon
Posted on August 7, 2023 | 93 Comments(first posted 7/7/2017) I started writing this article as news came through that the very last Ford car to be produced in Australia had started its journey down […] -
![Regular readers of my Cold Comfort series of posts know that I am fascinated (obsessed, really) with automotive air conditioning. Well it is time to see how the other half […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/heater.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Warm Comfort: What Was the Last American Car Available Without a Heater?")
Warm Comfort: What Was the Last American Car Available Without a Heater?
Posted on July 23, 2023 | 84 CommentsRegular readers of my Cold Comfort series of posts know that I am fascinated (obsessed, really) with automotive air conditioning. Well it is time to see how the other half […] -
![(first posted 7/16/2017) Automotive pundits and experts around the world routinely claim that the minivan (a.k.a the MPV, the people-carrier or whatever you wish to call Puff the […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/plymouth_1984.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: One Box To Rule Them All – An Archeology Of The Minivan")
Automotive History: One Box To Rule Them All – An Archeology Of The Minivan
Posted on July 16, 2023 | 65 Comments(first posted 7/16/2017) Automotive pundits and experts around the world routinely claim that the minivan (a.k.a the MPV, the people-carrier or whatever you wish to call Puff the […] -
![(first posted 7/12/2017) I was at a car show last summer when I photographed the Corvette above with an unusual six tail light configuration. Now […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/IMG_4811.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: Six Tail Light Corvettes")
Automotive History: Six Tail Light Corvettes
Posted on July 12, 2023 | 123 Comments(first posted 7/12/2017) I was at a car show last summer when I photographed the Corvette above with an unusual six tail light configuration. Now […] -
![(first posted 7/11/2017) General Motors invested heavily in downsizing its lineup during the second half of the 1970s. With CAFE targets to meet and the potential threat of […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/j-body-2-dr-sedans-and-convertibles.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "GM North America’s FWD Platform Proliferation of the 1980s – A Guide To All 15 Platform Codes")
GM North America’s FWD Platform Proliferation of the 1980s – A Guide To All 15 Platform Codes
Posted on July 10, 2023 | 102 Comments(first posted 7/11/2017) General Motors invested heavily in downsizing its lineup during the second half of the 1970s. With CAFE targets to meet and the potential threat of […] -
![(first posted 7/2/2017) Renault long played the understudy to the leading role of innovator taken by Citroen. From the 1930s to the late 1980s, Citroen undisputedly was the […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/bingo-card-2.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History – An Outline History Of Renault, 1963-1986, Or The CC Guide To Renault Bingo")
Automotive History – An Outline History Of Renault, 1963-1986, Or The CC Guide To Renault Bingo
Posted on July 2, 2023 | 101 Comments(first posted 7/2/2017) Renault long played the understudy to the leading role of innovator taken by Citroen. From the 1930s to the late 1980s, Citroen undisputedly was the […] -
![(first posted 5/27/2020, updated 6/28/2023.) Half-model year vehicles are an interesting historical oddity that you don’t see anymore. They briefly gained favor in the sixties as a way […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/n_1970.5-Ford-Falcon-Folder-01.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: 50% Better – A Half-Baked History of Half Model Year Cars")
Automotive History: 50% Better – A Half-Baked History of Half Model Year Cars
Posted on June 28, 2023 | 90 Comments(first posted 5/27/2020, updated 6/28/2023.) Half-model year vehicles are an interesting historical oddity that you don’t see anymore. They briefly gained favor in the sixties as a way […] -
![(first posted 6/14/2017) A ten cylinder Corvair engine installed in a FWD ’62 Impala? How’s that to get the juices of a hard-core Corvair air-head going? One of […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/CC-328-033.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Engine Prototype: The Stillborn Corvair Gen2 Modular Engine – From Two to Twelve Cylinders")
Engine Prototype: The Stillborn Corvair Gen2 Modular Engine – From Two to Twelve Cylinders
Posted on June 23, 2023 | 57 Comments(first posted 6/14/2017) A ten cylinder Corvair engine installed in a FWD ’62 Impala? How’s that to get the juices of a hard-core Corvair air-head going? One of […] -
![(first posted 6/22/2017) Welcome to the Buick Edition of our journey into shockingly low volume production cars produced between 1946 and 1995. As always, car models whose production is […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/1985-Buick-Electra-T-Type-01.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: Shockingly Low Volume Production Cars – The Buick Edition")
Automotive History: Shockingly Low Volume Production Cars – The Buick Edition
Posted on June 22, 2023 | 106 Comments(first posted 6/22/2017) Welcome to the Buick Edition of our journey into shockingly low volume production cars produced between 1946 and 1995. As always, car models whose production is […] -
![(first posted 6/15/2017) I may fancy myself a bit of a Corvair-O-Phile, but there’s still lots to learn. The trip to the Ypsilanti Museum yielded some new information about […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Corvair-1961-heaters-both.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: Corvair Warm Comfort – Heating Optional (1960-1961); Your Choice of Gasoline or Engine Heat")
Automotive History: Corvair Warm Comfort – Heating Optional (1960-1961); Your Choice of Gasoline or Engine Heat
Posted on June 15, 2023 | 56 Comments(first posted 6/15/2017) I may fancy myself a bit of a Corvair-O-Phile, but there’s still lots to learn. The trip to the Ypsilanti Museum yielded some new information about […] -
![(first posted 5/22/2013) Was it in response to VW’s Automatic Stickshift? In the spring of 1968, Chevrolet introduced its own semi-automatic transmission, called Torque Drive. It turned out to be […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/chevy-torque-drive.png?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: Chevrolet’s Torque Drive – A Dumber Powerglide")
Automotive History: Chevrolet’s Torque Drive – A Dumber Powerglide
Posted on June 14, 2023 | 109 Comments(first posted 5/22/2013) Was it in response to VW’s Automatic Stickshift? In the spring of 1968, Chevrolet introduced its own semi-automatic transmission, called Torque Drive. It turned out to be […] -
![(first posted 5/24/2013) One of the more unique chapters in the colorful history of the Indy 500 was written by Clessie Cummins, the irrepressible founder and promoter of his pioneering […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/cummins-diesels-assaulted-indy-inline-4-photo-448621-s-original.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Big Cummins Diesels Come To The Indianapolis 500")
Big Cummins Diesels Come To The Indianapolis 500
Posted on June 14, 2023 | 24 Comments(first posted 5/24/2013) One of the more unique chapters in the colorful history of the Indy 500 was written by Clessie Cummins, the irrepressible founder and promoter of his pioneering […]
