Veteran Motor Cars

by Lanham, Steve | Humanities
Published 25/06/2020 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (Shire Publications) in the United Kingdom as part of the Shire Library series
Paperback | 64 pages, Fully illustrated throughout
149 x 209 x 6mm | 148g

This colourful introduction to the first decades of the motor car covers its earliest iterations, when the automobile represented the very peak of technological innovation. It is packed with fascinating facts about the experimental origins of the motor industry, when these 'horseless carriages' were largely constructed in back-street workshops, many simply resembling the frame and bodywork of a horse-drawn carriage but fitted with a petrol engine. Experimentation was rife, however, and there was much debate as to whether petrol, steam or electricity should lead the way, with endurance runs, hill climbs and organised races pitting them one against the other. Early motorists had to employ novel measures to overcome challenges such as the rudimentary engineering of early cars, the difficulty of fuel supply, the poorly maintained roads, and hostility from other road users.