Are We There Yet?

April 29, 2019
Albert, writer for n+1 magazine, outlines the growth of American car culture with wit and insight in this well-researched history of the automobile. From the steam engines of the 1800s to the autonomous cars of tomorrow, Albert traces technical advancements of features such as the aerodynamic unibody called Airflyte in 1949, and CB radios, which, among other things, helped truck drivers organize protests over oil shortages. He explains the early development of electric cars in the 1890s, before the gas-powered Ford Model T became the industry standard. Important figures including Henry Ford receive in-depth biographical treatment, and while Albert praises Ford’s assembly-line production, he doesn’t shy from his anti-Semitism (in 1925, Ford had placed the antisemitic screed The Protocols of the Elders of Zion on the seat of each Model T sold). The never-ending race for market dominance among the major car makers is thrilling, but the pace slows in perfunctory-feeling chapters about the development of air bags and government infrastructure projects. When Albert recounts his own driving and car maintenance, his narrative truly shines, such as when he professes his early love for the slant-six engine, which he worked on in his 1978 Dodge Adventurer pickup. This is a perfect narrative for gearheads, but those who spend time behind the wheel will also surely enjoy the ride.

Starred review from May 1, 2019
With driverless cars on the way, a journalist asks, is America ready to accept them? One way to begin formulating an answer is to examine the car culture that has defined America since the 1920s, when Henry Ford turned his "missionary zeal for low, low prices" into the country's first line of affordable automobiles. In his debut book, Albert, who writes about cars for n+1, provides a witty history of the automobile and a look at the future. He takes readers on a fascinating journey covering a lot of ground: the earliest battery-powered electric vehicles of the 1890s; Ford's first big triumph with the 1909 Model T; Alfred P. Sloan Jr., "the most important CEO in GM's history," who introduced car loans in the 1920s to encourage repeat buying; the birth of America's interstate highway system in the 1950s, "by any measure the largest government project in American history"; and the push for smaller and more environmentally friendly vehicles in the 1960s and '70s, thanks in part to Ralph Nader. All of this leads to an incisive analysis of the current culture, in which young people would rather call an Uber than own a car, and the question of whether driverless cars really will achieve their promise of fewer accident-related deaths. A late chapter on the author's auto-repair prowess feels airlifted in from another project, but the narrative is still an entertaining exploration of American vehicle culture and American culture in general. Along the way, Albert can't resist political jabs, most of them directed at the right, as when he writes, "America First types may be disappointed to learn that it was France that had the first car culture." He also notes a few facts that may surprise--that supposedly safe SUVs, among the most profitable vehicles on the market, "tip over at twice the rate of cars." An exceptional work of scholarship about "our relationships to cars and through cars and the stories we tell about those relationships."

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Starred review from June 1, 2019

Albert, a writer for n+1 magazine, has constructed an idiosyncratic historical narrative of American car culture and its technological underpinnings. His prose is witty and smart, self-effacing and erudite. Readers are taken on a historical tour of the emergence of car culture, from its unregulated and underappreciated beginnings in the early 20th century. For example, we learn early on that the nascent development of the internal combustion engine was not a sure thing; that in fact there were potential alternatives to this now standard engine. In addition to steam power engines, there were early efforts at electric vehicle development in the early 1900s, far earlier than the contemporary wave of Tesla cars. Albert's narrative is entertaining and informative, and it effectively spans the intersection of people and technologies with American culture and business history. This work also considers the modern question of driverless vehicles for readers who are interested in more contemporary car culture questions. VERDICT An extremely engaging work of narrative nonfiction for those who enjoy popular historical and technology reads.--Jim Hahn, Univ. Lib., Univ. of Illinois, Urbana

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