Among the hardest core of American automotive enthusiasts there always exists a desire to press styling and performance a step beyond the showroom floor -- to truly craft an automobile of one's own. This photographic and cultural history examines the evolution of American custom cars from the 1930s to present, covering touchstone trends, influential builders (Barris, Roth, Coddington et al), custom shows, enthusiast magazines and regional styles. An expensive collection of rare period photography and exclusive modern shots help illustrate how Detroit informed the styling of customs (and vice versa), the explosion of the custom car scene after World War II and the factors that led to the custom's near-death in the 1960s and its resurgence in the '80s. But most of all, this chronicle is a showcase of the great cars and people who influenced the movement through the years.
"This book explores how lowrider car culture allows Mexican Americans to alter the urban landscape and make a place for themselves in an often segregated society"--
From the turn of the twentieth century through to the present day, the book traces the development of the automobile, reflecting the social change it both brought, and reflected.
Examines the role of the American automobile industry in producing vehicles, weapons, and other war products during World War II. Throughout World War II, Detroit's automobile manufacturers accounted for one-fifth of the dollar value of the nation's total war production, and this amazing output from "the arsenal of democracy" directly contributed to the allied victory. In fact, automobile makers achieved such production miracles that many of their methods were adopted by other defense industries, particularly the aircraft industry. In Arsenal of Democracy: The American Automobile Industry in World War II,award-winning historian Charles K. Hyde details the industry's transition to a wartime production powerhouse and some of its notable achievements along the way. Hyde examines several innovative cooperative relationships that developed between the executive branch of the federal government, U.S. military services, automobile industry leaders, auto industry suppliers, and the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union, which set up the industry to achieve production miracles. He goes on to examine the struggles and achievements of individual automakers during the war years in producing items like aircraft engines, aircraft components, and complete aircraft; tanks and other armored vehicles; jeeps, trucks, and amphibians; guns, shells, and bullets of all types; and a wide range of other weapons and war goods ranging from search lights to submarine nets and gyroscopes. Hyde also considers the important role played by previously underused workers-namely African Americans and women-in the war effort and their experiences on the line. Arsenal of Democracy includes an analysis of wartime production nationally, on the automotive industry level, by individual automakers, and at the single plant level. For this thorough history, Hyde has consulted previously overlooked records collected by the Automobile Manufacturers Association that are now housed in the National Automotive History Collection of the Detroit Public Library. Automotive historians, World War II scholars, and American history buffs will welcome the compelling look at wartime industry in Arsenal of Democracy.
Now revised and updated, this book tells the story of how the automobile transformed American life and how automotive design and technology have changed over time. It details cars' inception as a mechanical curiosity and later a plaything for the wealthy; racing and the promotion of the industry; Henry Ford and the advent of mass production; market competition during the 1920s; the development of roads and accompanying highway culture; the effects of the Great Depression and World War II; the automotive Golden Age of the 1950s; oil crises and the turbulent 1970s; the decline and then resurgence of the Big Three; and how American car culture has been represented in film, music and literature. Updated notes and a select bibliography serve as valuable resources to those interested in automotive history.
