Automóviles: libros - coches de los años 00, 10 y 20

Vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg gab es zeitweise mehr als 170 Hersteller, die Automobile auf den Markt brachten. Kaum jemand kennt noch ihre Namen, doch Halwart Schrader nimmt seine Leser mit auf eine Zeitreise in die Schnauferl-Ära.

Er widmet sich nicht nur den Anfängen vertrauter Marken wie Daimler, Benz und Opel, sondern auch den fast vergessenen wie Brennabor, Dürkopp, Adler & Co. Dazu kommen Erläuterungen technischer Begriffe aus der Uralt-Autozeit, Datentabellen sowie fast 800 Fotos und Illustrationen: Die opulente Dokumentation einer längst vergangenen Ära und eine wunderbare Ergänzung der Reihe.

Germany is most often credited with the birth of the internal combustion engine. France gave rise to the first credible motor industry. The United States added a little Yankee ingenuity and came up with its own version of both. While the American automobile industry got off to a bumpy start, by 1908, U.S. automobile production had surpassed that of European manufacturers.
When the outbreak of World War I all but halted European production of passenger cars, American auto makers took advantage of the opportunity to establish a toehold in Europe. During the war and for two decades after, American automobiles, which were considered reliable and cheap, were a common sight on the streets of many European cities and towns.

This book contains a unique and unprecedented collection of period photographs, recording American automobiles - and their owners - in various locations throughout Europe between the years of 1900 and 1940.
Captions include the make and model of each car; information on the setting of the photograph; and remarks on interesting details, unusual accessories or distinguishing features of each car. Argo, Jewitt, Durant and Reo automobiles are represented here along with household names such as Buick, Chevrolet and Ford.

At the end of 1900 the auto industry was set to become a huge force in America over the following ten years or so as the car moved from being a plaything of the rich to being a mass market item, increasingly available to most segments of society. The electric vehicle seemed poised in 1900 to be a leader, or even the dominant force. It had large advantages over vehicles driven by the other two main motive powers, steam and gasoline.

Electric cars were clean, odorless, noiseless and they were mechanically simple, compared to their rivals. They rarely broke down and they were easy to operate. An electric car could be started instantly from the driver's seat; no other machine could claim that advantage.

But then it all went wrong. The hope and confidence of 1900 collapsed and just two decades later the electric car was dead; two makers continued to produce until late in the 1920s but it was all over for the electrics by the start of the 1920s. Inherent advantages paled in the face of disadvantages that were never resolved.

The machines were costly and never came down in price while gasoline cars saw dramatic price reductions over time. Most of all the storage battery was an endless source of problems. Even the genius of Thomas Edison, who worked for over a decade to try and produce a better battery, was unable to prevail.

All the electric car industry was able to mount in the guise of dealing with myriad problems was to present an increasingly frantic public relations campaign of lies and deceptive advertising; but never any solutions to the industry's problems.