All Cars with Jon

An Australian cultural icon, the 'Ute has a long history, surprisingly starting in America!
And while the 'Ute is considered Australian, American's had 'Utes for decades until they faded away.

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Crossovers have supplanted Cars, Hatchbacks, Wagons, and some trucks in the driveways of drivers around the world. But what was the First Crossover? The answer may surprise you, and is probably far older than you expect!

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Electric cars predate their gas powered rivals by decades, and for a few glorious years were #1 in sales in the US. But after 1907 the Ford Model T proved it was the future, and advancements like the electric starter in 1912 made gas powered cars much more convenient. By the 1920s electric vehicles entered a dark ages, with minimal advancement in technology but a few new products stirring interest. Then came the i-MieV, the Leafe, the Tesla Roaster, the Model X, Y, and 3, and the new EV age was born!

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Henry Ford is a legend in the automotive world, but it wasn't a straight line to success.
His first two ventures both failed, and the second one, the Henry Ford Company, kicked him out and Henry Leland was brought in to price it for bankruptcy.
Leland convinced the investors to continue, and renamed the company... Cadillac!
After being bought by GM, Leland eventually left and founded his own company - LINCOLN!
It failed, and Ford bought it out of bankruptcy, partially because he still held a grudge against Leland for his involvement in the whole shebang!
Leland, and his son, were forced out of Lincoln mere months later.

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During the Great Depression, Cadillac's sales collapsed and the Executive Commitee considered closing down the entire division.
One man, the Service Manager for Cadillac, stepped into the discussion uninvited with a plan to turn around the division in 18 months, contingent on one thing - that GM end it's discriminatory policy against selling to Black consumers.


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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, car prices have largely tracked inflation, and the disappearance of the sub-$20k vehicles nt only has to do with buyer preferences, but simply price increases eliminating that band of pricing. Just as we can't buy a $5000 or $10000 car today, $20,000 seems to be the new "floor" It doesn't have to be, as manufacturers in Europe and Asia offer sub-$20,000 vehicles, but it would take political will and buyer preferences changing to welcome those to our market.

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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 separate industries. GE used the “Mazda” trademark to symbolize purity and illumination in its tungsten lamps, while Toyo Kogyo chose “Mazda” as it transformed into the modern car company we know today — blending spiritual symbolism with the founder’s own name. If you’ve ever wondered how a light bulb brand and a car manufacturer ended up connected through a 3,000‑year‑old deity, this deep dive is for you. If you have suggestions for future topics - be sure to leave a comment with it!

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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.

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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 Charlotte had a Ford plant and CAMP NorthEnd - the Charlotte Area Missile Plant!

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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!

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