World History of the Automobile

Abstract

Updated English translation of 'Vom Dampfwagen zum Auto' by Erik Eckermann. The availability of a power source around 1885, in the form of a lightweight combustion engine, resulted in a paradigm shift 50 years after the railway had revolutionized transportation. Suddenly, it was possible to equip not only two-wheeled vehicles, coaches, and trucks, but also ships and boats, streetcars, airships, airplanes, fire engines, and many other devices with an engine that, thanks to liquid fuel carried on board, could operate anywhere. Motorized road transport quickly overcame the decades-old advantage of the railroad, and set new standards for free-ranging surface transportation, time savings, and individual mobility. In the process, mass motorization has spawned problems of its own which threaten to grow to uncontrollable proportions: energy consumption, dwindling resources, environmental pollution, climate changes, and traffic accidents, to name just a few. The automobile must be regarded not only from technological or economic standpoints, but also from an ecological perspective. Contents include: The Prehistory of the Automobile - From Ancient Times to 1884; The Pioneering Era and Coming of Age - 1885 to 1918; The Automobile as an Industrial Product - 1919 to 1945; The Mass-Produced Automobile - 1946 to 1979; The Automobile as a Consumer Good - 1980 to 2000; 115 Years of Motorized Traffic and Transportation - The Road Behind, The Road Ahead.

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