The Automobile - Unwanted Technology - Part I-The Early Years 900841
When the raucous, fragile, imperfect American automobile made its debut there was much concern and consternation.
The costs, complexities, choices and confusion in the marketplace resulted in an ultra conservative attitude towards untested innovation or new technology.
Its frailties made the American car no match for its European counterparts and despite an early movement in the direction of a small inexpensive sturdy car to handle atrocious roads, most early manufacturers opted to produce expensive more profitable large models.
However, many innovative minds worked to solve the early problems and imperfections of the automobile and although their efforts were not initially approved or accepted, they provided the framework or perhaps the inspiration for later development. The long developmental history of innovation clearly illustrates that many novel concepts must wait for manufacturing methods, materials, money management, and motorist acceptance before they become practical realities.
Citation: Kollins, M., Wren, J., Godshall, J., Wagner, J. et al., "The Automobile - Unwanted Technology - Part I-The Early Years," SAE Technical Paper 900841, 1990, https://doi.org/10.4271/900841. Download Citation
Author(s):
Michael J. Kollins, James A. Wren, Jeffrey I. Godshall, James K. Wagner, Anthony J. Yanik
Pages: 38
Event:
International Congress & Exposition
ISSN:
0148-7191
e-ISSN:
2688-3627
Also in:
SAE Transactions Journal of Passenger Cars-V99-6
Related Topics:
Research and development
Historical reference
Technical review
Suppliers
Roads and highways
SAE MOBILUS
Subscribers can view annotate, and download all of SAE's content.
Learn More »
