New book chronicles 15 most important vehicles in automotive history

A Book Review
By Al Vinikour
MotorwayAmerica.com

All of us have read articles about people and events that have made a difference in the world’s development. While such examples are basically subjective in nature at least most can agree that there’s some validity for each of their selections. Such is the case for a new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Paul Ingrassia entitled Engines of Change.

In it Ingrassia chronicles what he considers the most important 15 vehicles that made a difference in the vehicle history of the world. It’s not only a great read but one that gives an in-depth look at basically those who were in the right place at the right time and read the pulse of an industry like a four-wheeled Gypsy.

In selecting his list Ingrassia chose vehicles not for their individual styling or sales numbers or even their value. Rather, they were chosen by what role each played to impact transportation history.

Some of Ingrassia’s selections are self-evident, like the Ford Model T. But not because it was one of the best-selling vehicles in history. What made the Model T so important was the building process that led to the development of the moving assembly line — a process by which construction of a vehicle would be done on a constantly moving line rather than one vehicle at a time. Workers down the line would be responsible for installing various components of the vehicle at their stations along the route. This led to what then was an astronomic increase in building numbers.

Other chapters dealt with design elements (particularly the development of larger and more pronounced tail fins), the infamous Chevrolet Corvair that started out as Detroit’s White Knight in warding off the invasion of smaller and more fuel-efficient cars; the Japanese invasion leader itself — Honda — and various enthusiast trends throughout the last half-century, like the legendary Ford Mustang, that created an entire industry of youthful freedom, the heralded Pontiac GTO, the ubiquitous Toyota Prius and the self-professed “Ultimate Driving Machine” (and arguably the “Ultimate Yuppie Carrier”), the BMW 3-Series.

The role of trucks and SUVs isn’t ignored, either. A fascinating chapter is devoted to the development of the Chrysler minivan.

It tells of the opportunity Ford Motor Company had to develop the first minivan for a vast audience but let it slip through their fingers because of the still-fresh fallout from the Edsel debacle. Ironically, the same pair of key individuals who were pushing for building a minivan at Ford found themselves both working at a competitive car company years later — namely Chrysler Corporation — and pursued their earlier interest in development of a family vehicle that would be something beyond the former utility vehicles that were generally called “station wagons.”

With the successes achieved by Chrysler with the new vehicle segment the rest of the industry had to jump through hoops to play catch up, including Ford , who could have given birth to the entire idea. Design and development of minivans wasn’t just a domestic event; it became a worldwide phenomenon. Practically every import manufacturer marketing their vehicles in North America had some type of minivan in their portfolio.

Another important chapter in the book is devoted to the sales king of the industry — Ford’s F-150 pickup trucks. It follows their anthology from “worker bee” farm truck to mainstream personal transportation. Same with the legendary Jeep, that’s traced from its original role as a World War II “foot soldier” to a luxury vehicle that can transport several couples to the Opera House or take those same people to the top of a mountain using only rocks as its roads.

What also makes Ingrassia’s book so interesting is the lists and the personality descriptions of the auto industry’s most famous individuals and what part they played in the development of, or the cancellation of some of the most important vehicles to grace the planet.

And he points out all the pros and cons of decisions that were made – good and bad – without making editorial comment of them. The readers are left with the facts to judge how they, themselves, would have used to make or break decision at the time.

As with previous books of this genre, Engines of Change is a non-fiction book that reads like a Tom Clancy thriller novel. Historic events have given us a clearer picture of how we got to where we’re now at and Ingrassia has contributed clearly and concisely how the automotive industry is what it is today.

Engines of Change, by Paul Ingrassia, is published by Simon & Schuster. It’s available at book stores and at Amazon.com.