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1953 Crosley by General Motors
By Frank Peiler
Time for another exercise in counterfactual automotive history. This time we ask the question: What would have happened if other carmakers had lent their designers to Crosley Motors to help style an all-new 1953 Crosley lineup?
By Frank Peiler
The full-size pickup truck market could hardly be hotter these days. Roughly 2.5 million such vehicles were retailed in the United States in 2017, making big pickups the largest single vehicle segment.
Due to the overwhelming response to our first two Great Car Grille posts, we felt compelled to share a second list of reader-recommend selections.
Collectible Automobile publisher Frank Peiler picks his five favorite taillights of the early Fifties. Check out his list:
By Frank Peiler
In the early Fifties, auto designers didn’t always seem to put much thought into the back ends of the cars they were creating. The rear of the car often felt like an afterthought–just a place for a trunk and a couple of brake lights, and not much in the way of style.
1960 Chevrolet Corvair “what if” concept
By Frank Peiler
Studebaker introduced its Lark series of compact cars for 1959. Though fresh looking, the Lark wasn’t really as new as it seemed to be. Since Studebaker was strapped for cash, the company’s strategy with the Lark lineup was to update its six-year-old basic body structure with newly styled–and significantly shorter–front and rear sheetmetal.
What if another manufacturer had created their own version of the ’55 Hudson?
By Frank Peiler
Anybody who knows a little something about automotive history knows that Hudson merged with Nash in 1954 to form American Motors. As a result, AMC had to come up with a new Hudson in record time to make the 1955 model year. The design department at Nash did a very good job transforming the Ambassador/Statesman into the new Hudson. The car didn’t look much like a Hudson, and it certainly didn’t handle at all like previous “step-down” Hudsons, but the design was a refreshing change from the old and tired car. However, we ask, what would the ’55 Hudson look like had the merger been between General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler Corporation, or the newly merged Studebaker/Packard?
The Pontiacs of 2018
The GX7 midsize crossover would be the largest vehicle in the 2018 Pontiac lineup.
Illustrations by Frank Peiler
Since the turn of the century, U.S. car sellers have been shedding brands faster than the cable TV networks have been creating reality shows.
Studebaker almost offered a wagon for 1947. Here’s what it might have looked like…
By Frank Peiler
Just after World War II, Studebaker was readying its radical new postwar cars for introduction to a car-hungry public. There would be a nearly complete range of body styles available–from two-door sedans to convertibles–but no station wagons, even though a prototype four-door woodie wagon was featured in a LIFE magazine article.
Factory photograph of the Diamond T Wagon Prototype (1946)
Text and drawing by Frank Peiler
The American auto industry returned to building cars soon after the end of World War II, and the car-starved public was clamoring to trade in its worn-out old rides for almost anything new that had at least four wheels and was self-propelled.
My 5 Favorite ’65s
1965 Ford Mustang
While the Beatles were busy making history at Shea Stadium, American auto designers were making music of their own. Call it visual music, or maybe music for the eyes, but the cars of 1965 are considered by many enthusiasts to be among the best-looking rides of all time.
