The Driving Machine: A Design History of the Car

In this lively and entertaining work, Witold Rybczynski tells the story of the most distinctive cars in history and the artists, engineers, dreamers and gearheads who created them. Delving into more than 170 years of ingenuity in design, technology and engineering, he takes us from Carl Benz’s three-wheel motorcar in 1855 to the present-day shift to electric cars. Along the way, he looks at the emergence of mass production with Henry Ford’s Model T; the Golden Age of American car design; postwar European subcompacts; and the long tradition of the elegant sports car. Rybczynski explores how 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). He explains key developments in automotive technology, bringing to light how the modern automobile is the result of more than a century of trial and error. And he weaves in charming accounts of the many cars he’s owned and driven, starting with his first—a Volkswagen Beetle. The Driving Machine is a breezy and fascinating history of design, illustrated with the author’s delightful drawings.