Automobiles

Overview

From the hand cranked Model T that came in any color you want as long as it’s black, to modern cars that have more circuits and chips than most computers, the automobile has a rich and still evolving history. Join Active Minds as we tell the story of the invention that replaced the horse and buggy. Along the way, we'll take a look at mass production, labor, environmental impacts, and the introduction of self-driving cars.

Key Lecture Points

• A history of innovation. The history of the car is intimately associated with the broader story of industrialization. Beginning with steam-powered engines mounted on wheeled carriages, inventers from around the world began to introduce vehicles that could go ever faster and ever farther.   With the introduction of the gas-powered internal combustion engine in the late 19th Century, the standard was set for the automobiles that would dominate the next 150 years of the automobile industry
• An adaptable industry. The automobile industry has adapted to the changing world around us. New developments like the Interstate Highway System, fuel-     efficient cars, and now electric vehicles are responses to major events and crises of the 20th and 21st centuries.  The dual concern of the inefficiency of the internal combustion engine and the impact of its use upon the environment has ushered in an increased adoption of the Electric Vehicle (EV) in the United States and globally.  With the full implementation of Federal tax incentives for EV purchase, 2023 is likely to be a watershed year for the increased adoption of EVs in the US.  That said, many are concerned about the adverse effects that EV adoption will have upon pthe long-standing energy economies in the US.
• A complicated future. In the last two decades, increased computer processing capacities have led to the introduction of the self-driving automobile.  Companies like Waymo (owned by Google) and Tesla, as well as long-established automobile manufacturers like Ford, BMW and Nissan have waded into this potential market.  Serious questions have arisen, however, as a number of accidents (some of them fatal) have occurred between self-driving vehicles and other vehicles and pedestrians.  Defenders of self-driving cars argue that, taken as a whole, self-driving cars, while not perfect, are as safe or safer than those driven by humans.

Discussion Questions

• How has driving changed in your lifetime?
• What was your favorite car?  What are your recollections of it?
• Do you think car companies or automakers can make electric cars more attractive to consumers? How?
• Would you be interested in a drive in a fully automated automobile?  Why or why not?

More to Explore

• History of the automobile (History Channel) Click here
• History of Interstate Highway System Click here
• Myths about electric cars debunked (EPA) Click here

Books for Further Reading

• Appleyard, Bryan. The Car: The Rise and Fall of the Machine That Made the Modern World. Pegasus Books, 2022. 320 pages. A recently-published history of the car that includes up-to-date innovations like the Tesla Model S.
• Burness, Tad. My Dad Had That Car: A Nostalgic Look at the American Automobile, 1920-1990. Black Dog & Leventhal, 2017. 1376 pages. An illustrated look at hundreds of models of American cars.
• Parissien, Steven. Life of the Automobile. St. Martins Press, 2014. 448 pages. A comprehensive world history of the car.