All Cars with Jon

CarScoops had an article that was picked up by the national press, talking about how the overall auto market pre- and post-covid has dropped by nearly a million sales. The premise is that automakers are chasing the higher profit margins of higher priced vehicles, leading tot he elimination of the sub-$20k market. While this is all true, it's only part of the issue. Continuing to look at the data,...

Why did Mazda cars and GE’s famous tungsten light bulbs share the exact same name? In this episode, I'll break down the surprising story behind the word “Mazda” — a name rooted in ancient mythology, adopted by early electric‑lighting pioneers, and later embraced by a rising Japanese automaker. We explore how Ahura Mazda, the Persian deity of light, wisdom, and creation, inspired two completely sep...

Chrysler Imperial - when Chrysler set out ot challenge the best of America and the world! It started as a nice Chrylser, became it's own brand and set styling standards for years, but by the end was just another K-Car derivative.

Charlotte is a great place to live, with great weather, friendly people, and a great economy. But we're not known for our automotive economy - except that 100 years ago Ford built a plant here in Charlotte to build Model T's - and that's the least interesting part of this site's history! The most interesting? it's probably when we made nuclear missiles! This is a far too brief history of when Char...

When Datsun became Nissan... and Why! If you're old enough, you'll remember the Datsun name. but then, in 1981, the Datsun name slowly disappeared and Nissan took it's place. The story behind it is long and fascinating!

#ACwJ #jeep #comanche Small trucks dominated the 80's and finally Jeep launched the Comanche! Based on the Cherokee, it was capable but after Chrysler's takeover of AMC it became another vicitm and disappeared after 1992. This is the far too brief history of the Jeep Comanche!

Back in the 1950s, Goodyear's polymer researchers created a new plastic/rubber - Neothane. Easy to manufacture, it had the benefit of being translucent. Goodyear got excited, creating colored tires lit by lightbulbs inside and predicting tires that could color-match the car, it's interior, or even be quickly changed out to coordinate with your wife's dress. But the material was critically flawed a...

In the Late 1980s GM hatched on a great idea - create a sub-brand within Chevrolet comprised of imported cars built by others, but distributed and backed by the awesome Chevy dealership network. Thus, GEO was born, and the experiment only lasted for 8 years, but the story starts in the early 80s and the models continued for years afterwards. Today, some models are respected, some widely ridiculed,...

When Chrysler bought the troubled AMC from the also troubled Renault in 1988, one quirk was a brand new sedan and a contractual obligation to use nearly 300,000 Renault engines. Chrysler rebranded their AMC dealers as Jeep-Eagle dealerships, combining the off road jeeps with a hodge-podge collection of badge engineered imports. 10 years later, the division was closed down, only having ever release...

International Harvester was a giant conglomerate once bigger than GM, Ford, and GE. While they made their name in heavy trucks and agricultural machinery, for consumers they're most famous for the short-lived Scout. Today we'll look at the history of International, some of their divisions (they made refridgerators!), the history of their light trucks and the Scout, their downfall, and how VW came...

The Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon debuted in 1978 and continued, largely unchanged, for 13 model years, while spinning off multiple variants including the Charger, Rampage, and Shelby GLH-S's. Unheralded, they challenged the famous K Cars for sales, and are directly responsible for Chrysler earning the government backed loans that saved them from bankruptcy.

In 1981 the Ford Escort debuted in the US and went on to be a sales success through the 80s, being the single best selling car 3 different times. Through 3 generations it lasted until being unceremoniously left to die and replaced with the Focus. But it's story actually starts in the UK back in the 50s, and it didn't end with cancellation as it was launched in China!

Struggling from Bankruptcy Dodge once again created a new market for themselves with the midsized truck - the Dodge Dakota. It's story starts long before that, but through 3 distinct generations the Dakota offered near full-sized capabilities in a more manageable size. Ultimately cancelled, Dodge, now RAM, finds itself without a competitor in that market segment.

Walter Chrysler's grandson wrote a letter to Carlos Tavares asking him to consider selling Chrysler.  Stellantis replied with a statement that none of the 14 brands are for sale. But here is my modest proposal to Tavares asking him to reconsider - for the Brands, the workers, the Country, and the Customers.

Chyrsler has been on life support for about 25 years. Other owners from Daimler to FCA to now Stellantis have promised to revitalize the brand, but now it sits with one product in the minivan. I've believed Stellantis CEO Tavares when he said brands had 10 years to be turned around, and a belief that they were working on new platforms and powertrains that would be appropriate for the North America...

A Far Too Brief History of the Ford Ranger - from the Courier to Today!

A Far Too Brief History of King Midget!

A Far Too Brief History of the Ford F-Series Trucks!

A Far Too Brief History of Knox Automobile

A Far Too Brief History of Dodge (RAM) Trucks!

The Fire Truck A FarToo Brief History from Roman times to today!

A Far Too Brief History of the Chrysler 300.... the Banker's Hotrod!

A far too brief history of the Chicken Tax and why we can't have nice small trucks!

A Far Too Brief History of the Cadillac Elcorado!

A Far Too Brief History of Crosley!