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6 | THE MAROON TIGER
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2003
Automobiles
The Detail
by Christian Nwachukwu, Jr.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: ASHTONDUNN/MAROON TIGER
I dream of Germany. Not always, but
often. When I think of brandished metal
and menacing chrome; when I envision
gloved leather and groped cloth; when
I am reminded of burnt rubber, or
electric sound, or vintage vinyl. These are the
tools of love and war, of desire and penance,
of drive and despair. And they are the pulse
points of the car.
The automobile reshaped American life
and culture. But its perfection was realized in
Germany and France toward the end of the
nineteenth century. Nicolaus Otto, Gottlieb
Daimler, Carl Benz, and Emile Levassor.
Some of the names are more familiar than
others, but they all speak the language of
horsepower.
We can add another: Wilhelm Maybach.
The surname has become synonymous with
extravagant luxury with a summer home price
tag. In 1901 he designed the Mercedes for
Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, and he will
forever deserve the credit for being the
inventor of the first modem motorcar. The
Mercedes had a thirty-five-horsepower engine
that marveled the industry with its fourteen
pounds per horsepower and its top speed of
53 miles per hour. Later, in 1929, would come
the Maybach Zeppelin, outfitted with the
world's first series-produced twelve-cylinder
engine. Then came the Zeppelin DS 8 model.
In 1931 it boasted 200-horsepower and a top
speed of 106 miles per hour.
While the Europeans had cornered the
market on superior design. Ransom E. Olds
shuttled America from place to place between
1901 and 1906 in a one-cylinder, three-
horsepower, tiller-steered Oldsmobile.
Historians often refer to the ancestor of the
modern Oldsmobile as little more than a
“motorized horse buggy.” But the buggy with
a motor sold for around $650 and brought the
vehicle to the middle class. In 1904, Olds was
producing 5,508 units while Daimler was
producing less than a thousand.
And here is where America enters the
drama as a major player. The dilemma that
plagued the automobile industry for its first
decade was how to combine European design
with American low operating expenses.
Necessity, then as now, lead to productivity
and viability. The sheer size and isolation of
much of the American landscape created a
need for cars on this side of the Atlantic that
did not exist in Europe. Furthermore,
Americans enjoyed a higher per capita income
and more equitably distributed income, than
their European counterparts.
Henry Ford would go on to perfect mass
production, and, after 1906, he was able to
make over 100 deliveries of his Model N per
day. The car was a necessity for the rural
farmer and traveler, alike. As more Americans
began buying the four-wheeled wonder, the
automakers’ policy of “installment sales”
became a significant thread in our cultural
fabric. According to The History Channel, “It
was the automobile that established the
purchasing of expensive consumer goods on
credit as a middle-class habit and a mainstay
of the American economy.”
Another major player, Alfred P. Sloan, Jr„ • •
would take the world’s love of the automobile
to its logical conclusion. General Motors
innovated “planned obsolescence of product”
and we haven’t been satisfied since. GM put
emphasis on styling and largely cosmetic
annual model changes, with the goal of having
consumers trade in and up to a more expensive
model far before the useful life of their cars
had ended.
Steel and petroleum just aren’t sexy. Mold
that steel into an aerodynamic frame and use
the petroleum to power the weekend special
and you’ll create the lifeblood of a country’s
economy. The car opened the American
frontier in ways that horse drawn carts just
could never manage. Highways and urban
expansion soon followed. Tourism, roadside
restaurants, service stations and motels are the
children of the car. The modem city with its
surrounding residential and industrial suburbs
is a result of cars and trucking. No other force
has so revolutionized the way we live, work
and play.
Here at The Maroon Tiger, we love the
car. And we figured you might, as well. Not
all of us are so fortunate to drive while away
at school, but for those of you who are so
fortunate, keep the radio volume up and the
rims spinning. A little vicarious action every
once in a while never hurt anyone.
This section will be recurring. If you
would like to review an automobile or give
tips on car care, please send your
submissions to stajf@maroontiger.net.