The Driving Machine: A Design History of the Car

Since their invention in the nineteenth century, cars have been reflections of national character (the charming Italian Fiat Cinquecento), icons of a subculture (the VW bus for American hippies), and even emblems of an era (the practical Chrysler minivan). In this lively and entertaining work, renowned design writer Witold Rybczynski delves into some of our most distinctive cars and the people who created them. Charting evolutions in form and function, he takes us from Carl Benz's three-wheel motorcar in 1855 to the Golden Age of American car design and the rise of car culture to the present-day shift to electric cars. Along the way, he explains key developments in automotive technology, including the electric starter, rack-and-pinion-steering, and disc brakes. Illustrated with his own delightful drawings, Rybczynski also weaves in charming accounts of the many cars he's owned and driven, starting with his first--the iconic Volkswagen Beetle.