Women Behind the Wheel: An Unexpected and Personal History of the Car

by Nancy A. Nichols

From the adolescent thrill of getting a driver's license to the dreaded commutes of adulthood, from vintage muscle cars to electric vehicles, this groundbreaking book reveals the outsized impact the car has had—and will continue to have—on the lives of women.

Since their inception cars have defined American culture, but until quite recently car histories were largely written by and about men—with little attention given to the fascinating story of women and cars.

In this engaging non-fiction narrative, Nancy A. Nichols, the daughter of a used car salesman, uses the cars her father sold and the ones her family drove to tell a larger story about how the car helped to define modern womanhood. From her sister’s classic Mustang to her mother’s Chevy Convertible to her own Honda minivan, Nichols tells a personal story in order to shed light on a universal one.

Cars helped women secure the right to vote, changed the nature of romance, and influenced both fashion and child rearing customs. In the just over 100 years since their inception, cars have created possibilities for commerce and romance even as they exposed women to new kinds of danger.

Women Behind the Wheel explores the uniquely gendered landscape of the automobile, detailing the many reasons why cars are both more expensive and more dangerous for women drivers.

The automobile is on the cusp of momentous change. As we advance into the era of electric, connected, and autonomous vehicles, Nichols shows us why we should hit the brakes and look back in the rear-view mirror at this long and fascinating history.

What is the role of car in our lives? Should we be more skeptical of technology in our society? In Women Behind the Wheel, Nichols argues convincingly that only by understanding the many ways the car has changed us, can we hope to prepare ourselves for this brave new era.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Feminism, Womens, Book Club

240 pages, Hardcover

Published March 5, 2024

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"On hot summer days [during childhood], 'Gertie' [the author's hometown bookmobile] had the remarkable advantage of being air-conditioned. She offered salvation, two books at a time. After books, however, my car [a used two-toned gold and brown Chrysler Newport] was the first thing that ever linked me to anything else. Finally, I could control my own schedule, keep a part-time job, visit friends when home became too violent or just too damn loud and unpredictable. Is it an overstatement to say I didn't come alive again until I could drive? Probably, but that's how I remember it." -- on page 55

A memoir mixed with a large dose of sociology and a minor helping of history, Ms Nichols' Women Behind the Wheel initially caught my interest via its dust jacket photo hailing from a bygone era, one of those staged manufacturers' promotional shots featuring a grinning model behind the wheel of a pristine ruby and plum-colored 1955 Plymouth Belvedere coupe. (R.I.P., Plymouth 😥) However, the narrative goes deeper than that, with author Nichols excelling when talking about her childhood / teenage years and early familial situation, which involves a car salesman father - she understandably and proudly notes that one year he set a record for the most Dodge Darts sold in Illinois - her school secretary mother, and two older siblings in their now-former industrial town in the Rust Belt. Things don't always run serenely in said household, and Nichols recounts some of their experiences AND the involvement of the automobile in them, while additionally also riffing on the many various or increasing roles of cars in the lives of American women over the last 125 years. (As one praise blurb on the rear of said dust jacket perceptively notes, oddly the motor vehicle "both liberated and limited women".) There was a relatively smooth shifting of gears between subject matter focus and genres, and it made me interested in finding her earlier Lake Effect: Two Sisters and a Town's Toxic Legacy.

[Kristen Anstead · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is half memoir, half history of how the car "both liberated and limited women." 5 stars for the non-fiction parts (I'm less interested in the memoir but that is a personal preference). I loved reading about how companies marketed to women 100 years ago and today, the appalling shortcomings of designing cars for only men so statistically more women die in car accidents even though men are more likely to be in accidents, and generally thinking about what cars have meant to women through time. Also, there's a good recent podcast interview with the author on NPR's Fresh Air talking about the book that highlights a lot of the interesting parts.

[Ann Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing about women and cars, Nancy Nichols gives her readers a startling—sometimes funny, often ironic, too often painful—overview of women's status in modern and contemporary America.

This very well-researched book is rife with facts and the insights they give rise to: The text is only 180 pages; the bibliography is a full fifteen single-spaced pages. Nichols explains how cities were redefined to favor cars over people; how, "the pedestrian is no longer just a neighbor walking quietly to work; the pedestrian is simply another obstacle—ever in the way, always under foot."

Nichols shows the reader that the powers that exclude women from automotive design and engineering continue to create cars that do not fit women's bodies or insure their safety. She illustrates too the wiles of marketers who have tried to appeal to women with fashions linked to their current models, but who lay on sex appeal in marketing to men.

The good of the automobile is culturally linked to the idea of freedom, but the dream is rarely achieved by women, for whom the car more often insures a frenzied, overworked life. Witness the minivan: "As Soichiro Honda did decades earlier in Japan, car companies in the United States framed independence for women as the ability to fulfill their domestic duties more perfectly." Later, she notes, "That was the issue so many women of the Baby Boomer generation faced. They grabbed the golden ring of professional jobs and got sucked into a whirlwind of work, ferrying, and commuting."

Most outstanding is Nichols' integration of the automobile's history, its impact on the landscape, and its reinforcement of gender stereotyping, contrary to any pretense of freeing women. This is accomplished within the framework of Nichols' own life story as the daughter of a wastrel used-car salesman; as a daughter who escaped him with her mother in a sexy Chevy Impala. As she recalls all the cars she'd had through life, she links each to a broad issue for women drivers and to her personal story. I found this a very satisfying method, reinforcing the urgency and poignancy in points made about nuts, bolts, and, crash dummy testing.

A skillfully written book and a real eye-opener!

[Sierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

i feel like this book was very all over the place

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride! Nancy Nichols delves deep into the history of women in the automobile culture. Who knew about Mrs. (Mercedes) Benz taking the first road trip in 1888 traveling sixty miles in 12 hours in her husband's prototype vehicle which resembled a motorize tricycle - to cars providing women freedom and also a way to escape an abusive situation - to designs that suit a man's body type - to the soccermobile mini-van, reclining seats, the pink tax, accident discrepancies, EV challenges, and the autonomous driving cars of the future. The book is thought provoking and I found led to interesting discussions.

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I'm not a big car nut, so I learned a few things reading this in the morning before work. I have a feeling if you already know and follow the car industry, there won't be much new i.formation in this for you.

There are some brief memoir interludes which add a personal, and often dark, touch to the book. They were relevant and interesting but often a little too brief to drive home the impact.

[m · Rating 2 out of 5]

no tea no shade simplemente no me gustó

[emmalina · Rating 4 out of 5]

driver’s ed (literally)

[SheMac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really 3.5. A brief generally enjoyable read. The memoir portion is by far the more interesting part of the book. At one point, I audibly sucked in my breath as the author's story took a shocking turn. The history portion was kind of meh as the author dwells on the frequently second-class role women played in the evolution of the car JUST AS THEY DID IN ALMOST EVERY ASPECT OF TWENTIETH CENTURY LIFE! As someone who is not anything close to a gearhead, by far the most interesting chapter was the one discussing the future of technology and the car ... kinda scary!

[Donna M Rudiger · Rating 3 out of 5]

NOT A GREAT READ FOR WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN ABUSED IN CARS.......

I just finished reading this book which I obtained from my local Library. The story I was hoping to find in this book did not appear; there is too much preoccupation with sex and how to get those needs met in cars, as well as gender issues including stereotyped behaviors our culture still promotes. Must everything of educational value in our culture be mirrored through sex and gender??? The explanations and opinions expressed by the Author revealed a lack of understanding of the complex trauma and resultant PTSD many women are still dealing with, generated by experiences in cars with male drivers. While this may be an apt historical account of this important aspect of American history for some readers, I was offended by the cavalier and insensitive manner in which some of the 'data' was presented. Not a good read for abuse victims and PTSD survivors!

[Rachel Weis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting! This book is chock full of well researched historical information that I’ve never read about before. Certainly, the relationship of women with cars goes back to the very beginning of cars. I appreciate the author exposing some ugly truths at the same time she reveals her love of cars. And, the fact that the author and I are from the same hometown and the same generation especially warmed my heart to her story.

[Marty Greenwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a bit from this poorly written book. Some inaccuracies in dates and when certain cars had certain features. I warmed up to it near the end when it talked about why women are less thrilled about EVs and getting stuck on the road with their kids and the only chargers around don't work, or how technology of where are cars are going creates data that is sold.

[Ralph · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fair mount of the historical evolution of the automobile is presented along with the implications of design and marketing strategies as they relate to women. The author includes her personal experiences ranging from her father’s new and used car salesman to her choices of what type of car to purchase and drive. There is much to learn here.

[Karen Lovett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard about this book on NPR and was intrigued. I love cars. My father was a mechanic and my nephew is a mechanic. Cars may be our love language. Nancy Nichols brings up some very eye-opening facts that I did not know (like there were electric cars made just for women a century ago). I recommend this book to all women!!!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

More memoir than I expected. I liked the multitude of car and women history examples and topics.

[Rachael Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great research. A very good feminist perspective

[Readersaurus · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at the history of women and cars in America. How they freed us, gave us unbearable workloads, etc. Enjoyably written.