Rather than being merely a "who-did-what-when" chronological review of the automobile's technical history, The Automobile: A Century of Progress covers the car's development using a systems-approach to more closely mirror the way a car is engineered. Now collected together in one commemorative volume, these 14 articles (originally published in Automotive Engineering Magazine from 1995-96) tell the story of the birth and development of an industry that revolutionized the modern world. Well-illustrated with numerous photos and drawings, this fascinating book will be of interest to anyone who loves cars -- the engineer who designs them, the enthusiast who tinkers with them, or the fan who drives them.

The first in a series of books by Elliot Kruszynski, exploring the histories of modern technologies.

Tells the whole story of the car from the first hesitant experiments with steam and wind-driven machines right through to the stream-lined super-cars of today.

Excerpt from The Book of the Automobile: A Practical Volume Devoted to the History Construction, Use and Care of Motor Cars and to the Subject of Motoring in America How shall we explain this attitude? Let us be fair and point out that some of the automobilists themselves are, unfortunately, partially to blame. Some drivers of the automobile regard it in the light of a toy to furnish amusement in speeding and racing on the highway. So regarded, it is truly a nuisance, a menace to life, and no legitimate means of street locomotion. Further, nearly every man has his mind directed to many abuses which are continually advertised by the yellow journals to increase their circulation. He hears that a million aire has ordered a 120 H. P. Machine, costing to beat the record of another millionaire, and that fortunes are spent with impunity by the rich on these space-devouring monsters, just for the fun of speeding. He reads that Mr. So-and-so, when giving bail, tossed a hundred-dollar bill to some clerk, afterward forgetting to have the money refunded. All these and other highly colored and sensational stories, mostly untrue, influence his imagination, and when he is forced by a drunken or reckless automobilist to jump for his life, it is but natural that he should nurse hatred against the man. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.