Cars: Accelerating The Modern World

ISBN 10: 1851779671 / ISBN 13: 9781851779673

Published by V & A Publishing, 2019

About this Item

A world without cars would be unrecognizable. They have altered the shape of our cities, transformed our nations and landscapes, revolutionised the way we make and buy things, and profoundly influenced our relationship with speed itself. From the Ford Model T and the legacy of mass production, to the GM LaSalle and the birth of style and obsolescence, and from the original Volkswagen expression of national identity to the GM Firebird and the desire for frictionless movement, this book presents the car as the driving force that accelerated the twentieth century. It takes an in-depth look at the history of the automobile and its impact, to better understand where we might want to go in the future.

Seller Inventory # 0102757

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Cars: Accelerating The Modern World
• Publisher: V & A Publishing
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1851779671
• ISBN 13: 9781851779673
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Imagine a world without cars! From the Ford Model T to the VW Beetle to the GM Firebird, this design history zooms in on the impact of cars—past, present, and future
 
The car: it has profoundly reshaped the world we live in. It has altered the production and purchasing of consumer goods; the shape of our cities, nations, and landscapes; and ultimately, our relationship with speed itself.
 
Cars: Accelerating the Modern World presents the car as a driving force that accelerated the pace of the 20th century. From the first moving assembly line at the Ford Motor Company in 1913 and the introduction of the annual model by General Motors in the 1920s to the renewed interest in electric cars after the energy crises of the 1970s and the recent move toward autonomous driving, this book takes an in-depth look at the history of the automobile and its impact on the design world. As we stand at a turning point in the design of the car today, this book and the exhibition it accompanies ask us to look back at its accelerated past to better understand where we want to go in the future.
 

About the Author

Brendan Cormier is a senior curator in the design, architecture and digital department at the V&A. He lives in London. Elizabeth Bisley is a former curator in the furniture, textiles and fashion department at the V&A. She lives in New Zealand.