American Car Archive (1955–1969)
A quiet preservation project from Japan. We digitize and restore the original dealer catalogs and sales literature from the golden era of American cars, then prepare them for long-term study so that designers, historians, and enthusiasts around the world can access them before the paper disappears.
Saving America’s disappearing car catalogs for the world.
Between 1955 and 1969, American cars shaped the look and imagination of the 20th century — not only through metal and chrome, but through the dealer catalogs that introduced each model to the public.
Those catalogs — once free on showroom counters — are now fragile paper objects. Many have already vanished into private collections, damp garages, or the waste stream. The American Car Archive is a long-term, non-sensational preservation project. It does not exist to build a private stash of rare brochures, but to create a quiet, carefully scanned archive that can be shared.
Vol.1 focuses on the golden era of American passenger cars
(1955–1969).
Future volumes will cover the 1970s muscle & emissions era,
light trucks, and accessories as separate archives.
Operated from Japan by a small independent publisher (Kuroneko Publishing), with a focus on quiet archives and cultural preservation — not hype.
A curated selection of iconic American cars.
Vol.1 will start with a focused set of historically important lines that represent America’s golden era across brands, body styles, and cultures. The list below may evolve slightly as original printed catalogs are located and scanned.
Chevrolet & friends · GM
- Chevrolet Impala (1958–1967)
- Bel Air & Biscayne
- El Camino (early years)
- Chevrolet full-size wagons
- Corvette C1 / early C2
- Pontiac Bonneville & Catalina
- Oldsmobile 88 / 98
- Buick Electra & LeSabre
- Cadillac DeVille & Fleetwood
Ford, Chrysler & culture
- Ford Fairlane & Galaxie
- Thunderbird (square & bullet birds)
- Early Mustang (’64½–’69 overview)
- Mercury full-size & personal luxury
- Chrysler 300 series
- Dodge Polara & Dart
- Plymouth Fury & Belvedere
- Imperial (separate make)
Each car line is represented through its original dealer catalog and related printed materials from the time of sale. No AI-generated “fake vintage” art is used for this archive — only real documents.
From auction lots in the US to a quiet digital archive.
The archive is built in several calm, repeatable steps:
- 1. Source: Locate original dealer catalogs, sales brochures, and related literature in good condition from the United States and trusted sellers.
- 2. Scan: Digitize each page using high-resolution workflows designed for text, halftone photos, and subtle ink colors.
- 3. Restore: Clean minor damage, straighten pages, and correct global color cast — without “modernizing” or redesigning the original layout.
- 4. Annotate: Add basic notes about year, trim, and context so researchers can understand where each catalog sits in the model’s evolution.
- 5. Publish: Compile model-specific PDF archives and thematic ZINE-style editions for download and long-term use.
AI tools may be used for auxiliary tasks (OCR, layout checks), but all core content is grounded in original printed catalogs, not reconstructed guesses.
The archive is designed for people who want more than just social-media nostalgia:
- Car designers and students studying mid-century proportions and surfaces.
- Historians documenting American culture through everyday objects.
- Enthusiasts and builders who want accurate period reference.
- Graphic designers researching typography and layout of the era.
Led by a Japanese car enthusiast shaped by 80s American culture.
The archive is led by M. Ohashi · Japan, born in 1966 — a generation that grew up in a Japan filled with Japanese cars on the streets, but American cars in music, fashion, and youth culture.
In the 1980s, the Rock’n’Roll Tribe and the style of Cream Soda in Harajuku turned American cars into icons for teenagers who had never left Japan. Magazines, jackets, and shop windows created a “secondhand America” that strongly influenced one boy in Shōwa Japan.
As soon as he became an adult, that boy started buying the cars he had admired from afar. Over the years he owned:
- 1959 Chevrolet (coupe)
- 1959 Chevrolet wagon
- 1960 El Camino
- 1962 Chevrolet coupe
- 1968 Chevrolet convertible
These cars were not trophies; they were lived with — driven, repaired, parked in real Japanese neighborhoods. That everyday experience became a quiet foundation for understanding how American cars were sold and imagined in their own time.
Working independently from Japan, M. Ohashi acquires real catalogs from overseas, digitizes them, and prepares them for global access — so that American-car fans everywhere can benefit, not just one person.
A simple, transparent schedule toward June 2026.
This schedule may adjust slightly as we work with real physical materials, but the priority is steady, careful progress — not rush.
This project is not about funding one person’s car hobby. Kickstarter support will be used for:
- Acquiring original dealer catalogs and related printed materials.
- Scanning, color management, and secure archival storage.
- Restoration and metadata work for long-term research value.
- Building and maintaining long-term digital access for the archive.
The aim is to keep this archive usable for global American-car fans, long after the campaign ends.
Join the first volume of the American Car Archive.
The Kickstarter campaign for Vol.1 is planned for June 2026. It will offer:
- Model-line PDF archives (per major line such as Impala, Galaxie, Fury).
- A complete Vol.1 bundle covering all featured catalogs.
- ZINE-style curated editions around themes (e.g. “’59–’60 GM fins”, “Personal Luxury”, “Family Wagons”).
- Higher-tier backer options with name credit inside the archive.
Exact rewards, pricing, and goals will be announced on the Kickstarter project page. This site is the calm, always-on home of the archive itself.