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Automotive Milestones: The Technological Development of the Automobile: Who, What, When, Where, and How It All Works
“If you are just looking for a general understanding of the automobile, looking for inspiration in support of a new idea, or just want a concise history of automotive milestones, this book is a must read.”
—Parker Ackley, Antique Automobile Enthusiast
“Automotive Milestomes is a clear presentation of the internal workings of the automobile over the years…you will enjoy reading this book.”
—William J. Crochetiere, Professor Emeritus, Tufts University
This is a general-interest trade book that describes the development of automotive technology and engineering from the start of the industry before 1900 to the present day. It explains how various systems and elements in the automobile work in layman’s terms, without resorting to mathematics, and highlights the key milestones in the historical development of automotive technology. All photos and illustrations are in full color.
The intended audience is older teens to adults of any age who are interested in cars and may be involved with them as a hobby. Sometimes referred to as “gearheads ” or “motorheads,” they form a huge market. Over the years, many of the author’s engineering students were in this category, and he often would meet with on-campus car clubs to explain the internal workings of automobiles, being careful to damp down or eliminate any complicated mathematics—just as he does in this book.
The other books that cover this subject are either “hard-engineering oriented”— such as publications from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) — or just compendiums of dates without much explanation at all of how the changes in technology actually work, which is the aim of this book.
—Parker Ackley, Antique Automobile Enthusiast
“Automotive Milestomes is a clear presentation of the internal workings of the automobile over the years…you will enjoy reading this book.”
—William J. Crochetiere, Professor Emeritus, Tufts University
This is a general-interest trade book that describes the development of automotive technology and engineering from the start of the industry before 1900 to the present day. It explains how various systems and elements in the automobile work in layman’s terms, without resorting to mathematics, and highlights the key milestones in the historical development of automotive technology. All photos and illustrations are in full color.
The intended audience is older teens to adults of any age who are interested in cars and may be involved with them as a hobby. Sometimes referred to as “gearheads ” or “motorheads,” they form a huge market. Over the years, many of the author’s engineering students were in this category, and he often would meet with on-campus car clubs to explain the internal workings of automobiles, being careful to damp down or eliminate any complicated mathematics—just as he does in this book.
The other books that cover this subject are either “hard-engineering oriented”— such as publications from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) — or just compendiums of dates without much explanation at all of how the changes in technology actually work, which is the aim of this book.
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 25, 2018
This book covers the advancements from automotive technology since the 1900’s and how far it has come. The audience for this book is older teens and adults, that are interested in cars as a career or as a hobby. You better be pretty good at math and understand it well when you pick this book up, because Robert Norton goes in depth into mathematical equations. He also includes key parts from the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) from dates in which things have changed in cars since the 1900’s.
The book starts with an introduction on what the book covers: “This is a book about all things automotive and how they work. The root of the word automotive is “self-moving” or self-propelled. That covers every non-living thing that moves under its own power. The word automobile was coined in 1897. We will focus on the technology of the automobile in particular, but sometimes will stray into related areas such as aircraft or locomotives.” Which is like a small summary of what to expect in the book before you read it.
A technical advancement that made a huge impact was the Starter. Because before this people would start the cars with their hand by spinning a lever, which was a pretty dangerous thing to do because one bad move and you could break your arm.
Some people may say “not much has changed in the technology that goes in the cars”, but they have been improving the engines and transmission to run better and be more fuel efficient. Some automotive companies have turned to Electric motors only such as Tesla. But cars that run on batteries has been around for a while already, again they’re improving the way they function to be able to get more mileage on a single charge. Currently Tesla is at the top of the electric game and has the highest or longest mile range on a single charge of 335 miles.
More and more car companies are turning to hybrid cars that are a mix of an Electric motor and an engine, many companies have already declared to go all hybrid by 2020 such as Ford. Hybrid cars are better at fuel efficiency than regular engine cars. Pretty much all car companies are switching to hybrid vehicles, like Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet, BMW, and the list goes on…The numbers are there if you compare two cars one that is completely regular engine and one that is Eco boost they make relatively the same power and torque which is really impressive for the engineers that are making these Ecoboost engines.
Many people aren’t happy with this trend that is happening in the automotive field, I personally don’t like Electric cars I don’t see the appeal of them I understand why their good but as someone who likes working on the cars, with an electric car you can’t work on the battery. Once that battery goes bad you have to buy new ones whereas in regular engine cars you can do mods to the car to make them run better, faster and sound better.
The book starts with an introduction on what the book covers: “This is a book about all things automotive and how they work. The root of the word automotive is “self-moving” or self-propelled. That covers every non-living thing that moves under its own power. The word automobile was coined in 1897. We will focus on the technology of the automobile in particular, but sometimes will stray into related areas such as aircraft or locomotives.” Which is like a small summary of what to expect in the book before you read it.
A technical advancement that made a huge impact was the Starter. Because before this people would start the cars with their hand by spinning a lever, which was a pretty dangerous thing to do because one bad move and you could break your arm.
Some people may say “not much has changed in the technology that goes in the cars”, but they have been improving the engines and transmission to run better and be more fuel efficient. Some automotive companies have turned to Electric motors only such as Tesla. But cars that run on batteries has been around for a while already, again they’re improving the way they function to be able to get more mileage on a single charge. Currently Tesla is at the top of the electric game and has the highest or longest mile range on a single charge of 335 miles.
More and more car companies are turning to hybrid cars that are a mix of an Electric motor and an engine, many companies have already declared to go all hybrid by 2020 such as Ford. Hybrid cars are better at fuel efficiency than regular engine cars. Pretty much all car companies are switching to hybrid vehicles, like Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet, BMW, and the list goes on…The numbers are there if you compare two cars one that is completely regular engine and one that is Eco boost they make relatively the same power and torque which is really impressive for the engineers that are making these Ecoboost engines.
Many people aren’t happy with this trend that is happening in the automotive field, I personally don’t like Electric cars I don’t see the appeal of them I understand why their good but as someone who likes working on the cars, with an electric car you can’t work on the battery. Once that battery goes bad you have to buy new ones whereas in regular engine cars you can do mods to the car to make them run better, faster and sound better.
January 6, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. It is very difficult to find a comprehensive history of automotive technology and What Makes Cars Tick that isn't either a $100 textbook, geared toward auto tech majors in an academic program, or based on math.
This book is readable for the layman with enough meat in it to pique further interests, and explains concepts in a way that is understandable for all. It really gets you 'under the hood' of car history and technology alike.
This book is readable for the layman with enough meat in it to pique further interests, and explains concepts in a way that is understandable for all. It really gets you 'under the hood' of car history and technology alike.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews