The Life of the Automobile: The Complete History of the Motor Car

by Steven Parissien

The Life of the Automobile is the first comprehensive world history of the car.

The automobile has arguably shaped the modern era more profoundly than any other human invention, and author Steven Parissien examines the impact, development, and significance of the automobile over its turbulent and colorful 130-year history. Readers learn the grand and turbulent history of the motor car, from its earliest appearance in the 1880s—as little more than a powered quadricycle—and the innovations of the early pioneer carmakers. The author examines the advances of the interwar era, the Golden Age of the 1950s, and the iconic years of the 1960s to the decades of doubt and uncertainty following the oil crisis of 1973, the global mergers of the 1990s, the bailouts of the early twenty-first century, and the emergence of the electric car.

This is not just a story of horsepower and performance but a tale of extraordinary people: of intuitive carmakers such as Karl Benz, Sir Henry Royce, Giovanni Agnelli (Fiat), André Citroën, and Louis Renault; of exceptionally gifted designers such as the eccentric, Ohio-born Chris Bangle (BMW); and of visionary industrialists such as Henry Ford, Ferdinand Porsche (the Volkswagen Beetle), and Gene Bordinat (the Ford Mustang), among numerous other game changers.

Above all, this comprehensive history demonstrates how the epic story of the car mirrors the history of the modern era, from the brave hopes and soaring ambitions of the early twentieth century to the cynicism and ecological concerns of a century later. Bringing to life the flamboyant entrepreneurs, shrewd businessmen, and gifted engineers that worked behind the scenes to bring us horsepower and performance, The Life of the Automobile is a globe-spanning account of the auto industry that is sure to rev the engines of entrepreneurs and gearheads alike.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Cars, Technology, Transport, Biography

447 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 27, 2013

About the author

Dr Steven Parissien is an internationally-renowned author who has written extensively on architectural and cultural history. He is the director of Compton Verney museum and gallery in Warwickshire.

Reviews

[Fred · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is actually a very poor/dangerous book, in that it looks plausible, and covers a lot of ground, but it is RIDDLED with inaccuracies, glib glosses, and outright errors, not to mention piss-poor editing (including some sentences [particularly in the final third of the book - editing fatigue?] which make no sense at all due to an utter lack of grammatical construction).

Basically, this is the Wikipedia-level history of the automobile industry...and just about as trustworthy as a middlebrow historical subject researched there. Take with a whole canister of salt, though the outlines are likely roughly correct, as might be the sight of a herd of elephants...or are they rhinos?...hippos?...seen by a profoundly nearsighted person who's lost his glasses on safari.

My eyebrows first went up when I read that Fiat's famed Lingotto factory (with the test track on the roof) had been demolished in 1982...er...yes, it ceased production around that time, but was then quite famously renovated by Renzo Piano into a sleek hotel/office mixed use complex and remains a major Turin landmark. Then there was the head scratching assertion that the Germans (Mercedes) developed the first commercially viable diesel car because the French government prevented French makers from so doing due to concerns about the VOLATILITY of diesel fuel... Er...I've been soaked head to toe in diesel at a truckstop (in a mishap trying to fill a diesel car from a truck nozzle) had it been gasoline, I'd have been scared to death and in real danger from any spark. As it was, I took a shower & washed the car; no big deal - it would take a blowtorch to ignite (or a very high compression engine chamber). The French government may have had technical safety concerns, but they can't have been with fuel volatility per se.

Those are just the first two such assertions I noticed; the book is riddled with such things, which a layperson might believe but which are well off the mark. What it all says to me is that the author is a journalist (and a rather lazy one when it comes to fact-checking, or this book was VERY rushed/a potboiler), not a real 'car person' (and certainly not an automotive journalist). I did find myself wondering if Volkswagen/Audi were a major backer of the book, not least as he mentions the early Audi 100 of the late 1960s/early 70s in positive terms more than once. These were very handsome and comfortable cars, yes...my family had a pumpkin orange one in the mid-1970s...briefly: they're also INFAMOUS lemons/have wretched build quality and reliability issues. Ours left us entirely in the lurch on its first (and last) winter ski trip outing; I think Dad had it wholesaled to a scrapper once towed home. This is NOT esoteric knowledge among anyone who knows their cars at all well - I'm a rank amateur, but come from a family of aficionados and industry types.

In general, an entertaining enough bathroom read and outline-gloss, but do NOT trust it as history or for research purposes for anything important. When the copyediting doesn't break down, it's breezily written...but the detailed content is deeply suspect.

[Jimmy Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished it last night. Must temper my former praise for the book for the following reasons:

1. Many typo errors; grammar errors; duplicate words in sentences; etc. Editor must not have spell check on his/her computer.

2. I am not knowledgeable about very early auto companies/cars, especially in Europe. However, I am above average in knowledge of US companies/cars, especially post WWII. In this era, I found egregious errors by the author. For example:

a. he said the hydromatic suspension was introduced by GM in the Chevrolet in 1953. Nope. Hydramatic transmission [not suspension] was developed and introduced in the Cadillac and Oldsmobile Divisions of GM in 1940. The two speed Powerglide automatic transmission was introduced by GM in the 1950 Chevrolet.

b. he said the Pontiac GTO was introduced by GM in 1962. Nope. 1964.

c. in a discussion about the GM bankruptcy in 2009, he said the US Gov't forced GM to drop the Pontiac and Dodge makes of autos. Uh, I believe Dodge was a Chrysler product. Ya think? Pontiac was dropped by GM for 2010 model year. Oldsmobile had been dropped in 1964.

There were more errors but these were so obvious, I use them to demonstrate my point. Since I know little about the very early European auto industry, I must ask myself how many errors are there in the book about this era ??

If the errata does not offend you, the book is an exhaustive narration of the auto industry, worldwide. I had never heard of many of the European and Asian cars. The incest among the auto companies, US and European, is interesting [and I already knew that re US companies]. Never ending mergers and acquisitions [I was familiar with US companies]. There is much information in the book. Since I will not have to be tested on what I read nor "fact check" the entire book, I guess it was worth the read. However, left that lingering question of what errors are contained therein that I missed because of lack of knowledge of a certain time period ??

[Rey Dekker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a monster of a book and, aside from a few missed details, a comprehensive tale of the automobile. Particularly interesting were the details surrounding WWI & WWII and how automobile manufacturers and designers (Porsche) tip-toed around controversies regarding their complicity; some did it well, others, not so much. Mind-boggling detail (400+ pages) and a number of marks I knew nothing about. Be sure to access google for names and models and years of cars as you go along. The oddly queer looking Citroen 2CV gets my vote as coolest car overall. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3...)

[Tore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, I've read the review by the reader claiming the book is full of errors, and I can't address to that, not being an expert. One of those supposed errors was that diesel fuel is not very dangerous, and that it would "take a blowtorch" to ignite it, when this reviewer was soaked in it by accident at some point. That seems inaccurate in itself. Looking it up, diesel ignites at its flashpoint, and it is true that it burns much slower than petrol. But you can ignite diesel with a match. It takes about a minute, but no need for a blowtorch, I've seen it done. The point about the Fiat Lingotto not having been demolished, as claimed in a footnote in the book, is however correct. So there might be many more errors, I do not know.


However, even so, I thought the book was bloody brilliant. It is not Wikipedia level reading, that would have been a very haphazard experience, and forcing one to browse hundreds of articles, instead of one single book. There are omissions for sure, like very little about the history of Volvo, which I thought was a shame. Also, there is a rather strange conclusion, predicting that hydrogen will be the main path forward for fuel, which 12 years hence, is not the case. How many people will dare to buy a Toyota Mirai now? Electric cars are the norm now, and will most likely continue to be so, in the forseeable future. Even if the car giants are trying to hinder legislation, like within the EU, to ban gasoline and diesel engines by the 2030s.

I hope the book will be updated with the recent developments, not least more of history of the many Chinese brands, that are perhaps akin to the Japanese and Korean development in the 1960s and 70s. And of course, correct any errors.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't really become a "car person" until I got married, and even then, technical manuals have never been my thing. Luckily, this is not a technical book. Instead, this is a highly entertaining history of the motor industry, the people behind that industry, and the ways that industry and its people affected and changed culture in general. The writing is smooth and easy to read, and the author makes things easy for the layperson to understand without being condescending. All in all, a fun, informative book.

[Tim Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed: poor narrative flow, inaccuracies, and way too Anglo-centric.

[Justin Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is curious at how much history there behind something we take for granted everyday. You buy, sell, use, and see a car everyday: but what secrets lay beneath the reputation of the car that you have yet to unearth? Steve Parissen tries to tackle this question in "The Life of the Automobile."



Often times, in our American-centric view, we like to think that the car was a product of American genius Henry Ford. I think you would be surprised to know that the car was actually "invented" in France around the turn of the century. Ford was merely on the cogs in the industry that grew up with the popularization of the automobile. What Ford did was make the manufacturing process of cars easier with the "conveyor belt" production model. His "Model T" car became an icon almost overnight in the history of the automobile.



Initially, the car was a machine that was only afforded to the rich and governments. It is also interesting to see how the industry took off in the wake of both World Wars. Ever heard of the brand, "Jeep?" This would be a vehicle that would be invented after the popularity of American jeeps after the second World War, as an example. In fact, after World War II, many of the production centers created for war machines were transformed into factories that produced civilian equivalents of the same name. Interestingly enough, this is an idea explored in George Orwell's "1984," which I wrote about some time ago.



Further, there are other anecdotes that I found intriguing: the car industry today is obsessed with advertisements. You can't watch TV for long without seeing a commercial for a car. This found it's roots in the way automobile companies handled business in the aftermath of the second World War and continues today. Another observation would be how many cars proved to be a massive mistake. One can take an example like the PT cruiser or the "Hummer" model, which were at first wildly successful and then gradually become non-existent. This has been a part of the industry since it's inception.



There are four major let-downs in this book: the first has to do with the little data on the car industry in Eastern Asian countries. As we know, brands like "Toyota" dominate the car market today. I was a bit perturbed on the one chapter dedicated to how the car industry sprang up in Japan and Korea, and even more menacingly, China. Parissen explores the rise and fall of the Western car companies, which reached their height in the late 1950's, but I thought more could be said about their Eastern counterparts. The second is Parissen's future thoughts on the car industry. He says that with oil becoming more scarce, her replacement will eventually be hydrogen fuel cells. While the book only covers up to about 2012, just the last couple of years have seen electric cars become increasingly popular. Matthew Debord recently wrote an interesting article where he pronounced Tesla as "the most important car company." I was disappointed with the lack of emphasis on the electric car movement, which I personally see as the future of automobiles in a time where our dependance on oil is waning. Third, it is somewhat irritating to read all this information about the automobile, and then see brands on the road that it seems Parissen has missed. I found myself wondering, "I wonder what the story is behind that particular car?" I know Mr. Parissen spent quite a lot of time researching his book, but I wonder how practical it would have been to include all the off-shoots of a company. Lastly, there are pictures in this book of the various different cars that the author speaks about, but they are all at the end of the book. I found it would be more helpful to have pictures of the cars within the text and not a separate chapter so one can picture what the car looks like and not leave it to the imagination.



I would recommend this book because it is so interesting to see the vast history of something that is so important to our culture as the automobile. Overall, Parissen has not shirked on his responsibility to portray the history of the automobile. While there may be deficiencies, this is definitely an interesting read!

[Joseph Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

As many others have pointed out, the title of this book does not necessarily match the content. 'A History of Motorcar Manufacturers' would probably be more accurate. But this makes the book no less fascinating and indeed quite enjoyable. A couple of glaring factual errors do make themselves known to even the most general enthusiast of motoring history and selected middle chapters seem to have been missed by the editor entirely, but there is much to be enjoyed and learned throughout the book by both car enthusiasts and lovers of general history.

[Charles Biggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed but Fascinating

Bottom line if automobile fascinated you along with the industry that builds them then this book is for you. Very detailed and precisely written. While the author jumps around a bit he definitely keeps the discussion interesting. My only complaint is that has become dated especially with the last chapter. I would love to see this author write and publish an updated version. I would enjoy seeing what he has to say about Elon Musk and the automotive changes that have occurred in the last 8 years since the book was published

[Caroline Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great deep-dive into car history

Great historical insight into how car companies evolved, dissolved and developed throughout the ages. How car companies marketed and decided direction, and how mistakes were made along the way.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly if you’re a petrolhead, this will give you an insight into the machine you’re diving and how the company got to where it is now!

[Shane Spadafora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read packed with facts. It has me thinking of all periods of history as Before the invention of the Automobile and After the invention of the Automobile. It touches upon on the major players throughout the years, and goes into depth about the transformation of the Automobile from it's conception until today. It was exactly what I needed to read at the time and I didn't feel the need to read other books on the subject after because he covered what there is to know.

[Bill Yancey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Documents the entire history of the automobile from the exciting "new" technology days to the present and all the political and world changing results of its invention. The only suggestion I would make is that you have access to the internet while you read it, so you can see pictures of all the automobiles the author didn't include. That would have added another 1000 pages, probably.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm definitely not a car guy but I found this to be a very informative and entertaining overview of the autos evolution. The author divides the focus equally between significant individuals in the industry and car models that became classic successes or lemons. My only minor disappointment was that Carroll Shelby and his iconic Cobra of the 1960s received no mention.

[Celes · Rating 4 out of 5]

美汽车企业在汽车行业最初确实遥遥领先，从外形设计到发动机制造，但到了二战后创始人和高管沉迷于过去的辉煌，没有与时俱进改进自己的产品，推出小型，省油等特性的产品，也没有改进自己的生产管理，最终被后起的的日本，德国，韩国，中国车企超越，美国汽车三巨头只能坐视底特律成为美国车企的坟墓，英国车企更惨，除了捷豹外，老牌英国车企不是破产就是被收购，即使有政府的注资也改变不了，这是老牌英帝国做派的必然结局。书中提到的李亚科卡在顶峰1984年后的昏招，和福特二世一模一样，克莱斯勒的再次衰落也是他一手造就，他只是一个高级打工仔和超级网红，并不像本田丰田创始人一样是发明家和企业人士，明显对企业的未来发展缺乏规划，只想到买买买和自己的高额年薪，通用的史密斯比他更不堪。

[Joe Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

You want a world wide overview of a 100 years of the auto biz, this is your book. At times it was oddly both a bit too much information and at times too little about what I actually wanted to know. For more depth, I'm thinking I'll try to find books about the big auto companies and the birth of the auto, but this is a solid is slightly daunting overview.

[Metricwrencher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too many factual errors to be recommended. Since the author is English, perhaps his knowledge of the British and European auto industry history is more accurate, but his stated facts about Detroit and other American car manufacturers and their product were just too often wrong.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts out quite interesting, shrivels a bit towards the end.

[JR Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun romp through vehicular history. No pictures in the expensive kindle edition, but the paperback has a few dozen.

[Rodrigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good journalism, stops around 2013

Albeit a bit on the long side, this book can serve as quick ‘factoid’ reference for any car enthusiast. Enjoyed it very much

[Akinola Oyekemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading about the history of cars.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book contained a lot of interesting information about the early history of automobile industry. For example, the story of how a British military officer kept VW alive after WWII was good and the description of various early cars sent me off to Google Images to see what he was talking about. It also contained a lot of information about the careers of various designers, which was interesting. His description of the lives and deaths of various auto makers is interesting, but it is scattered throughout the book and difficult to follow.

Beyond a quick scan at your local library I do not think the book is worth buying. When he starts talking about American cars in the 60s and 70s, the facts become less useful and accurate. For example he states the original 70s Camaro was based on the Chevette (257). He states the Gremlin was a reliable and economical car while the Vega was a total disaster. Having owned both, I can state the former is not the case.

He also gives great credence to the Nader side of the Corvair story, totally ignoring GM's redesign of the offending rear swing axle to a full independent rear suspension.

He panned the performance of most American 60s and 70s cars, ignoring the nuance of the range of performance options offered in those cars that would have overcome at least some of the shortcomings he spoke of in these cars.

At some point, I stopped reading this book, because it became tedious. Not because of the factual errors, but because the time line blurred, and he kept going over and over the same time periods, not adding much new information and greatly confusing a simple mind such as mine which operates in a linear, sequential fashion.

I would have liked this book more if it had been more clearly organized.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are few inventions which have done more to define our lives today than the automobile. Because of this, any understanding of the modern world requires understanding the car and how it has changed our lives. Yet for all the promise of its subtitle, Steven Parissien doesn’t do this. His book is not so much a history of the automobile as it is a history of the companies that manufactured them. He provides numerous summaries of the lives of the executives and descriptions of some of the key cars their companies produced, but little in the way of the broader social or cultural impact of the car. The driver is almost completely absent from his narrative, reduced in Parissien’s narrative to a lumpenconsumerariat with as much definition as a herd of milling sheep.

But the most disappointing problem with this book is its sheer sloppiness. The book is plagued with minor factual and technical errors, the apparent result less of author ignorance than of poor editing. It gives the entire work a feeling of one of those 1980s American cars Parissien describes as being rushed to market before all of the flaws were ironed out. These flaws are unfortunate, as the author generally comes across as knowledgeable and passionate about his subject, but together they limit his labor to a book that book that only scratches the surface of a deep and fascinating subject.

[Iantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the easiest read--lots of jumping around chronologically--but I can forgive that because Parissien packed so much information in these pages. A great overview of the history of the automobile, this book would be most fun for someone who already knows a fair amount about cars. The overview was great for me who am fairly ignorant, but my ignorance made for the more difficult read. I was fascinated by the constancy of the peaks and valleys in the auto industry over the past century, and I was particularly interested in the fate of the industry after the two world wars. I was also disgusted by the behavior of many of the leaders of these companies throughout the world; companies' success rises and falls based on the vision and passion of these CEOs for their products. Here's hoping for some great leadership now and in the future to help us deal successfully with the challenges of fuel and urban/suburban sprawl in the future (topics that are nicely covered in the book). Finally, Parissien nicely handled the impact of the car on our culture.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is boring. That is not to say I didn't learn anything from it but it was horribly dry and dull. The wording often trips over itself trying to get the story out and the large scope makes things especially fractured. It got too close to current events and as this is now 2016 not 2013 some of the things it discusses at the end are void. The authors favorite words are either embryonic, ______-cum-_________, or exhumed. There was no ending the text just stopped.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A highly intriguing subject, but the writing style and organization suffers from being too predictable. The author draws some connections between culture and the automobile industry, but I felt that he merely glossed over it, which was rather disappointing given the fact that it was one of the stated objectives of the book.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, a decent book on the history of the automotive industry, with a focus on Britain. But who the hell proofread the manuscript? Dodge was not owned by GM in the 21st Century and the Lordstown plant has never been in Pennsylvania.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess given the title I expected something more than a dry regurgitation of facts (some erroneous) about automobiles, companies, and the men at the top who run them. I kept hoping it would improve, but overall it was a pretty dull read.

[Alden · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is a PhD, and a museum curator, and it shows. 400 pages of almost excruciatingly detailed history of the automobile, from the Benz Patent Motorwagen in 1885 to the Chevy Volt of 2010. It's not a bad read, but there is just so much of it.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive and enjoyable

This book is well written in a relaxed style which assisted comprehension of the many facts. Remembering cars as they had their histories described was an enjoyable aspect.

[D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. A little Anglo-centric, and a few possible errors, but what a great read!