Automotive History

Fantastic stories have swirled around the automobile since the first car appeared over 100 years ago. History’s Greatest Automotive Mysteries, Myths, and Rumors Revealed compiles a juicy selection covering subjects from racing to automakers, crime to pop culture, and historical to modern day. Did you know that after James Dean’s death behind the wheel of his Porsche 550 Spyder, parts of the car were sold off, and said parts then cursed their new owners? Or did they?

TV presenter and all-round car nut Ant Anstead takes the listener on a journey that mirrors the development of the motor car itself from a stuttering 20mph annoyance that scared everyone's horses to 150mph pursuits with aerial support and sophisticated electronic tracking. The British Police Force's relationship with the car started with the chasing of pioneer speeding motorists, who were often caught by policemen on bicycles.

What’s it like to race across the blacktop of the nation’s most famous track? How does it feel to smash into a concrete wall while going over 200 miles per hour? This exciting, humorous, and poignant collection of tales takes listeners inside the most exciting race in America. Tales from the Indianapolis 500 captures horrific collisions and sweet victories from drivers past and present.

Self-driving cars sound fantastical and futuristic, and yet they'll soon be on every street in America. Whether it's Tesla's Autopilot, Google's Waymo, Mercedes' Distronic, or Uber's modified Volvos, companies around the world are developing autonomous cars. But why? And what will they mean for the auto industry and humanity at large? In Robot, Take the Wheel, famed automotive expert Jason Torchinsky gives a colorful account of the development of autonomous vehicles and their likely implications.

10 June 1907, Peking. Five cars set off in a desperate race across two continents on the verge of revolution. An Italian prince and his chauffeur, a French racing driver, a conman and various journalists battle over steep mountain ranges and across the arid vastness of the Gobi Desert. The contestants need teams of helpers to drag their primitive cars up narrow gorges, lift them over rough terrain and float them across rivers. Updates on their progress, sent by telegram, are eagerly devoured by millions in one of the first ever global news stories. Their destination: Paris.

The story of NASCAR's legendary racer - newly revised Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s name virtually assured that his life would not be ordinary. Over the past decade, he has fulfilled that destiny. His father, one of the most successful drivers in the history of international motorsports, gave his son more than his name. Dale Earnhardt Sr. placed Dale Jr. in position to follow the footsteps and tire tracks he had left from Darlington to Daytona, from coast to coast, from one championship to the next.

As Nazi Germany launched its campaign of racial terror and pushed the world toward war, three misfits banded together to challenge Hitler’s dominance at the apex of motorsport: the Grand Prix. Their quest for redemption culminated in a remarkable race that is still talked about in racing circles to this day - but which, soon after it ended, Hitler attempted to completely erase from history.

Dream Car tells the story of entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin’s fantastical 1970s-era Safety Vehicle-1 (SV1), audaciously launched during a tumultuous breakpoint in postwar history. The tale of the sexy-yet-safe SV1 reveals the influence of automobiles on ideas about the future, technology, entrepreneurship, risk, safety, showmanship, politics, sex, gender, business, and the state, as well as the history of the auto industry’s birth, decline, and rebirth.

Discover the fascinating world of commercial trucking in this comprehensive guide that delves into the rich history, current challenges, and future trends of one of the most vital industries in the global economy. From the early days of horse-drawn wagons to the cutting-edge technologies of autonomous vehicles, "The Road Ahead" provides a captivating journey through the evolution of commercial trucking. Explore the pioneering spirit of truck drivers, the growth of interstate highways, and the impact of deregulation on industry dynamics.

Do you love cars? Do you love interesting stories about start-ups? Do you love crazy stories about founders and their ups and downs? If so, this book, and the books in this series, are for you.

Do you love cars? Do you love interesting stories about start-ups? Do you love crazy stories about founders and their ups and downs? This book, and the books in this series, are for you.

Warfare in the sky for the first time in history! The French Lafayette Espadrille accepts Americans to serve as pilots before America's entry into World War I. James Norman Hall describes his frightening experiences flying over enemy lines and his soul searching when commanded to kill. He recounts his training in a French flight school, his friendships with other trainees and his crash landing in German territory.

The innovators dilemma of our age, that sets out to restore the ability to forecast from first principles, in a world superficially changing too fast for traditional expertise to retain relevance. Described variously as extremely serious, densely packed, highly controversial - but not wrong, The Future History of Energy and Transportation, is a mental work out with the reward of delivering actionable working knowledge of the extraordinary.

De 20ste eeuw is de eeuw van de massamotorisering. In 1913 begon de eerste massale serieproductie van auto’s in Amerika. Door een efficiënt productieproces lukte het de industrieel Henry Ford om de T-Ford relatief goedkoop op de markt te brengen en daarmee toegankelijk te maken voor de groeiende middenklasse. In Europa kwam de automobilisering van de samenleving pas op gang na 1960. Elk Europees industrieland leverde een eigen bijdrage.

From the Model T to the SUV, Autophobia reveals that our vexed relationship with the automobile is nothing new. In fact, debates over whether cars are forces of good or evil in our world have raged for over a century now, ever since the automobile was invented. According to Brian Ladd, this love and hate relationship we share with our cars is the defining quality of the automotive age.