The War on Cars

TEASER: The Romance of the Automobile

Jan 28, 2025

Dive into the fascinating world of a 1916 book that idolizes the automobile, revealing its influence on health, prosperity, and even eugenics. Discover surprising insights that didn’t make it into a forthcoming book. The discussion highlights the extravagant praise for automobiles and their cultural significance, while also poking fun at the lavish illustrations of the era. Get ready for an entertaining exploration of how cars shaped society, mixing history with unexpected twists!

04:12

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The 1916 book showcases early automotive culture, promoting cars as revolutionary, with claims of societal benefits that echo technological enthusiasm.

Doolittle's narrative intertwines the automobile's perceived efficiency with troubling ideas like eugenics, prompting critical reflection on technology's societal implications.

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The Enigmatic Book on Automobiles

A fascinating exploration of an old book titled The Romance of the Automobile Industry, published in 1916, reveals insights into early automotive culture. The book, authored by James Rudd Doolittle, serves as a marketing tool filled with detailed illustrations and information about the automotive industry, portraying it as a revolutionary force in modern society. Doolittle's unwavering enthusiasm for cars is evident as he attributes countless societal benefits to the automobile, positioning it as the most significant invention of mankind. His exuberant claims, including the view that the automobile's impact surpasses that of historic tales like Romeo and Juliet, highlight the early 20th-century conviction in technological progress.

Exploring the Ideology Behind the Romance of the Automobile

4min

This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, pre-sale tickets to live shows, and more, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars.

You’ve probably heard us talking about how we have written a book that will be coming out this fall. We are super excited to share more about that very soon. We’ve spent a lot of the last year in the research and writing process. And what became apparent very soon was that there were a lot of things that we weren’t going to be able to fit into the book, no matter how hard we tried.

So we put together a little bonus episode for you on one of the fascinating things we found that just didn’t make the final draft. It’s a book called The Romance of the Automobile Industry: Being the Story of Its Development—Its Contribution to Health and Prosperity—Its Influence on Eugenics—Its Effect on Personal Efficiency—and Its Service and Mission to Humanity as the Latest and Greatest Phase of Transportation.

Published in 1916, it’s essentially a 460-page ad, lavishly illustrated with pictures of bewhiskered white men and their inventions. And even after all the time we’ve spent thinking about cars, this book still had some surprises. (And yes, you read that right…he talks about eugenics. We’ll explain.)

Subscribe on Patreon for access to the whole bonus episode!

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The War on Cars

TEASER: The Romance of the Automobile

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Enigmatic Book on Automobiles

Critique of Automotive Utopia

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts