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Curbside Classics Archives
Automotive Histories Archive
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![(first posted 4/23/2013. Updated and expanded 3/26/2017) It’s an issue that has bugged me for way to many decades: why did the 1959 Lark and 1960 Valiant have such similar […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Studebaker-Lark-1960-fr1jg-crop-horz.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Design History: Why The 1959 Studebaker Lark Front End Looked So Much Like The 1960 Valiant Front End")
Design History: Why The 1959 Studebaker Lark Front End Looked So Much Like The 1960 Valiant Front End
Posted on March 26, 2017 | 58 Comments(first posted 4/23/2013. Updated and expanded 3/26/2017) It’s an issue that has bugged me for way to many decades: why did the 1959 Lark and 1960 Valiant have such similar […] -
![(first posted 8/19/2011) We often take General Motors to task in this space for its failure to learn from its mistakes. But today’s tale involves the opposite problem for GM […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/nova-saloon.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: 1985 Chevrolet CorNova – Lessons Not Learned")
Automotive History: 1985 Chevrolet CorNova – Lessons Not Learned
Posted on March 15, 2017 | 98 Comments(first posted 8/19/2011) We often take General Motors to task in this space for its failure to learn from its mistakes. But today’s tale involves the opposite problem for GM […] -
![[The good Dr. Rudolf Diesel himself.] In my “Cars of a Lifetime” article, The RWD Diesel Stick-Shift Brown Station Wagon Mythical Beast of the Internet, I touched briefly on the […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Civic_Vacuum_Diagram-All.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "The Brown, RWD, Manual Transmission, Diesel Station Wagon – A Comprehensive Guide To That Mythical Beast Of The Internet")
The Brown, RWD, Manual Transmission, Diesel Station Wagon – A Comprehensive Guide To That Mythical Beast Of The Internet
Posted on November 23, 2016 | 75 Comments[The good Dr. Rudolf Diesel himself.] In my “Cars of a Lifetime” article, The RWD Diesel Stick-Shift Brown Station Wagon Mythical Beast of the Internet, I touched briefly on the […] -
![The recent article on the Dale three-wheeler re-kindled an interest of mine in bizarre automotive swindles. The Tucker precedent is of course so notorious as to having warranted an entire […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Arbel_Symetric4.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: The Arbel Symétric – The Atomic Prius That Came And Went")
Automotive History: The Arbel Symétric – The Atomic Prius That Came And Went
Posted on November 9, 2016 | 22 CommentsThe recent article on the Dale three-wheeler re-kindled an interest of mine in bizarre automotive swindles. The Tucker precedent is of course so notorious as to having warranted an entire […] -
![(first posted 3/26/2011) Every summer, the sputtering, popping hit-and-miss utility engines, the booming exhaust pulses of a giant antique gas-powered generator engine, the hissing and huffing of steam engines and […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Powerland-SteamUp-09-004-800.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Porsche, Lamborghini, Field Marshall And Much More- CC Does Powerland Steam-Up")
Porsche, Lamborghini, Field Marshall And Much More- CC Does Powerland Steam-Up
Posted on October 30, 2016 | 19 Comments(first posted 3/26/2011) Every summer, the sputtering, popping hit-and-miss utility engines, the booming exhaust pulses of a giant antique gas-powered generator engine, the hissing and huffing of steam engines and […] -
![(first posted 9/2/2011) I hope everyone will spend a moment of quiet remembrance today for the occasion of the end of the bloodletting that was World War II. It was […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/VJ-Day.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: Celebrating V-J Day – When Cars Came Home From The War")
Automotive History: Celebrating V-J Day – When Cars Came Home From The War
Posted on September 2, 2016 | 38 Comments(first posted 9/2/2011) I hope everyone will spend a moment of quiet remembrance today for the occasion of the end of the bloodletting that was World War II. It was […] -
![We all have bad ideas sometimes. That’s okay if we don’t affect much. But when a big car company manages to dramatically misjudge what the public wants and releases a […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ami-brochure.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: Hello Darkness, Citroen’s Old Ami -The Surprisingly Complex History Of The Citroen Ami")
Automotive History: Hello Darkness, Citroen’s Old Ami -The Surprisingly Complex History Of The Citroen Ami
Posted on July 15, 2016 | 62 CommentsWe all have bad ideas sometimes. That’s okay if we don’t affect much. But when a big car company manages to dramatically misjudge what the public wants and releases a […] -
![(first posted 10/23/2012) 1924 was a mere eighty-eight years ago. So put on your traveling clothes and let’s take a figurative trip back in time. There is a substantial automotive […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Coolidge.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "It’s 1924; A Glimpse Into What Was")
It’s 1924; A Glimpse Into What Was
Posted on June 20, 2016 | 36 Comments(first posted 10/23/2012) 1924 was a mere eighty-eight years ago. So put on your traveling clothes and let’s take a figurative trip back in time. There is a substantial automotive […] -
![I recently came across a fascinating intellectual property hearing from last year. It concerns replicas of the Batmobile, and provides an interesting perspective as to what constitutes the character of a car. This […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/finalfutura.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "CC Caselaw: The Lincoln Futura, The Batmobile, And The Building Of Character")
CC Caselaw: The Lincoln Futura, The Batmobile, And The Building Of Character
Posted on April 2, 2016 | 43 CommentsI recently came across a fascinating intellectual property hearing from last year. It concerns replicas of the Batmobile, and provides an interesting perspective as to what constitutes the character of a car. This […] -
![Pick up any buff book today, and odds are there will be some gushing praise for a “Hypercar” (the new name to denote over-the-top expensive sports cars), and more often […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/RT0366FerrariImage-copy.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Article: Ferrari – Road Test Magazine Deflates The Dream")
Vintage Article: Ferrari – Road Test Magazine Deflates The Dream
Posted on March 23, 2016 | 51 CommentsPick up any buff book today, and odds are there will be some gushing praise for a “Hypercar” (the new name to denote over-the-top expensive sports cars), and more often […] -
![(first posted 6/3/2011) As we finish out our unofficial Studebaker Week here on CC, I present some musings about what became of the old Studebaker site in South Bend. In […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ccStudeplant-crop.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Studebaker in South Bend: Going, Going, . . .")
Studebaker in South Bend: Going, Going, . . .
Posted on March 19, 2016 | 20 Comments(first posted 6/3/2011) As we finish out our unofficial Studebaker Week here on CC, I present some musings about what became of the old Studebaker site in South Bend. In […] -
![LET ME describe an evolutionary loop I have been pondering, beginning with the Mercedes-Benz 190E. With sheer surfaces and geometric architecture derived from the C111 concepts, the 190E appeared […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2008aug01-489277511dad8.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Design: What Goes Around Comes Around -Audi Revives The Baby Benz")
Design: What Goes Around Comes Around -Audi Revives The Baby Benz
Posted on February 5, 2016 | 30 CommentsLET ME describe an evolutionary loop I have been pondering, beginning with the Mercedes-Benz 190E. With sheer surfaces and geometric architecture derived from the C111 concepts, the 190E appeared […] -
![The crew-cab pickup. Love them or hate them, they have certainly become a prominent fixture in the automotive landscape. One of my first articles on CC was questioning what had […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2002-avalanche.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History and COAL: The Crew Cab Pickup And My 2007 Ford F-150 Super Crew – Versatility Be Thy Name")
Automotive History and COAL: The Crew Cab Pickup And My 2007 Ford F-150 Super Crew – Versatility Be Thy Name
Posted on February 2, 2016 | 102 CommentsThe crew-cab pickup. Love them or hate them, they have certainly become a prominent fixture in the automotive landscape. One of my first articles on CC was questioning what had […] -
![Time has a way of corrupting legends. Ford Motor Company’s story has always skirted the romantic: Henry Ford, the populist hero turning the tables on any who would stand in […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/004.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Factory Classic: Ford’s Piquette Avenue Assembly Plant")
Factory Classic: Ford’s Piquette Avenue Assembly Plant
Posted on January 25, 2016 | 29 CommentsTime has a way of corrupting legends. Ford Motor Company’s story has always skirted the romantic: Henry Ford, the populist hero turning the tables on any who would stand in […] -
![The 1971 model year was momentous in many ways, not the least of which was Ford and Chevrolet’s vow to once again “kick the imports back across the ocean.” But […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/RTToyota1971Cover.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Reviews: The 1971 Toyota Corona, Corolla And Celica – Toyota Moves The Target")
Vintage Reviews: The 1971 Toyota Corona, Corolla And Celica – Toyota Moves The Target
Posted on January 15, 2016 | 28 CommentsThe 1971 model year was momentous in many ways, not the least of which was Ford and Chevrolet’s vow to once again “kick the imports back across the ocean.” But […]
