America and the Automobile - William Cook A

America and the Automobile: A Historical Entertainment of the Mechanics, Moguls, and Moments that Changed a Nation is a history of milestone events in the evolution of the American automobile manufacturing industry and the people that made it happen. It is a book that is pure historical entertainment. It makes no attempt to be an esoteric chronicle of the auto industry’s history or to be a ground-breaking biographical work on any of the characters included in the narrative and is basic in the explanation of auto technology.

This unique work traces the history of the automobile in America through the development of its three most lasting and important manufacturers, The Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Chrysler (Fiat-Chrysler), historically known as “The Big Three.”  The work traces more than a century of on-going technological development, triumphs and crises in the auto industry.

Everything aspect rising technology in the automobile is covered in the work from the classic innovations of the Model T and the assembly line to the popularity of the Thunderbird, Corvette, Mustang, K-Car, SUV and others. There are also a few cars included that were either ahead of their time or simply an albatross such as the Edsel.  Also included are controversial and proven to be dangerous cars such as the Corvair and Pinto.

In addition, the book presents a biographical look at automobile industry pioneers such as Walter Chrysler, Henry Ford, and Alfred P. Sloan while it closely incorporates and examines the cultural changes that occur in American society as the automobile becomes the primary source of transportation and recreation for the masses. The book examines how the automobile forced the need for modern highways onto the political agenda, it covers the beginning of the popularity in auto racing, the rise of organized labor in the industry, the auto industry’s supreme importance in building America’s mighty arsenal in World War Two and it even traces the automobile’s effect on American popular culture in the rise of rock n’ roll, growth of suburbs and becoming the popular mode of transportation for family vacations.