1938 dymaxion value

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction. The Automobile, Its History and Influence, and Some Contradictions

1. Beginnings. From a Mechanical Curiosity to a Plaything for the Well- to-Do

2. The Inscrutable Henry Ford and the Rise of the Machine Age

3. The Rise of the Competion and the Consumer During the 1920s

4. From Out of the Mud to On the Open Road

5. Religion, Courtship, Sex, and Women Writers

6. The Interwar Years. The Great Depression, Aerodynamics, and Cars of the Olympian Age

7. World War II and the Reconversion Economy. No Time for Sergeants or Aspiring Automobile Manufacturers

8. The Golden Age of the Automobile. The 1950s in America

9. The Go-Go Years, 1959 to 1973

10. The Automobile World Upside Down, 1980s to the Present

Epilogue. The Automobile and One American Life

Chapter Notes

Select Bibliography

Index of Terms

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The Automobile and American Life

John Heitmann

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Heitmann, John Alfred. The automobile and American life / John A. Heitmann.

p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7864-4013-9

1. Automobile industry and trade—United States—History. 2. Automobile industry and trade—Social aspects—United States—History.

I. Title. HD9710.U52H39 2009

338.4'76292220973—dc22 2009001474

British Library cataloguing data are available

©2009 John A. Heitmann. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the

publisher.

Cover photograph ©2009 Classic Stock

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640

www.mcfarlandpub.com

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For Fred Schroth (1931–2007), who was the first to teach me about cars, and car culture.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many people along the way were important to the completion of this study. During the summer of 2008, Peter Cajka, a former student of mine at the University of Dayton and now a graduate student at Marquette University, played a critical role in acquiring materials and in analysis. Peter exhibited considerable grace under pressure, and his efforts in exploring the topics of labor history and World War II were most significant. Niki Johnson, also a former student who is now an editor at the University of Dayton Research Institute, has done so much on this project over the years, beginning with a review of paper presentations and ending with a careful edit and reformatting of the manuscript for the publisher. Many students in my seminars taught me much over the years, including Elaine Berendsen, Caitlin Toner, Collin Delany, Maria Stanzak, and Greg Winters.

Student office assistant Rania Shakkour used her online and computer skills to help greatly in collecting a large number of historical images. My administrative assistant, Carolyn Ludwig, not only made numerous runs to the library, but also kept things going in the Alumni Chair in Humanities office when I had to sequester myself and write. Former colleague and friend Edward Garten not only supplied considerable information on his grandfather’s Ford dealership in Hinton, West Virginia, but also team-taught several auto history courses with me. Several of my colleagues in the history department at the University of Dayton were most supportive of my work, including Department Chair Julius Amin and Professor Marybeth Carlson, who encouraged me to follow my passion for automobile history and leave other studies behind. Professor Larry Schweikart, a former rock band drummer, made sure that I was up on a number of songs about cars. College of Arts and Sciences Dean Paul Benson not only provided funds, but also has been a constant source of encouragement. And finally, without folks in the Roesch Library —Robyn Reed, Bob Leach, and Diane Hoops—I never would have gotten the materials I needed to write the story that I did.

Outside of the University of Dayton community, a number of individuals also assisted me. My good friend Bill Leslie at Johns Hopkins University always believed in my ability to do good scholarship, and his Boss Kettering was one of the first serious scholarly works on auto history that I read. Further, it was his seminar on the automobile and American life that set me on my present course. At the National Automotive History Collection in Detroit, Mark Patrick and Barbara Thompson obtained the materials I asked for without delay. Jon Bill at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum was a great help in obtaining photographs.

I doubt if I would have written this work if I had not purchased a worn-out 1971

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Porsche 911T Targa twelve years ago. Over time, it has become my “solid gold” Irish green Porsche, so to speak. I got plenty of help from my mechanic and friend Cliff Brockman. And while my wife Kaye has never “got it” that when you work on your car you work on yourself, I thank her for putting up with a seemingly quixotic quest to raise “Lazarus” from the dead.