Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Road Ahead











Hi folks -- Despite what some people think, historical work evolves over time and that is certainly true of my efforts in researching and writing automotive history. So given the fact that I have some free time this summer and a sabbatical in the fall, I listed some of the topics that I want to deal with as I begin to add on to my The Automobile and American Life book that just came out. A major area of work that needs to be far more fully explored centers on the time period after 1960. That insight was clear to me as I began to try to explain to myself and my students why the American automobile industry collapsed towards the end of last year. So here is a list of things I want to review in the months ahead, with the held of my assistant Peter, who will be working with me until August 15.










1. Alternatives to the ICE – electric car post-1960, the gas turbine, and the Wankel. Government contracts to develop the electric vehicle, and its ultimate shelving by 1980 or so.

2. The electrification of the automobile—sound systems (esp. 8 track); CB craze of the late 1970s; radar detectors

3. More on robotics and the 1980s

4. Union agreements in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the crisis of the auto industry after oil shock 2 to live up to those agreements given a new global marketplace. More on GM management practices after 1968 and also the Lordstown assembly plant.

5. Manufacturing in Mexico, post- NAFTA

6. Autos and music videos, post early 1980s and MTV

7. The most popular car songs post-1970

8. The most significant autos in film, post 1970 – French Connection I and II, for example.

9. Automobiles and Hip-Hop Music

10. Automobile advertising post-1970

11. The Aurora ESV and Catholic Social Justice

12. Statistical Analysis of Brands both domestic and foreign, post 1970 – data from Automobile Industries

13. Insert material from John DeLorean’s On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors

14. Need to develop far more on American Graffiti

15. Expand on the Mustang

16. Gone in Sixty Seconds – 1974 and 1998 versions

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