Borg 2
at first automobiles were repaired by a wide variety of
tradesmen who had mechanical skills and interest
the bicycle was very much the immediate precursor
of the automobile, and some bicycle mechanics repaired cars as
well
- Safety
bicycle introduced in 1887--once the technology
stabilized bicycling became a major fad.
- bicycle riding expanded wildly--in the
mid-1890s the industry produced 1.2 million machines annually
(an important source of demand for good roads, which made the
automobile practical, and of the idea of independent travel).
- many gun and sewing machine manufacturers went
into the bicycle production business
- The fad for bicycling ended in 1897, bringing
the industry to an abrupt end.
- Some early car
manufacturers imitated the mass production of
bicycles--produced a standardized light-weight, low-price
automobile. Ford was not the originator of this
approach, but rather invented an improved method of mass
production. Pope had been a bicycle maker, Pierce-Arrow
started out making bird cages, then spokes for bicycle
wheels, then complete bicycles and motorcycles, then
automobiles.
- Ransom
Olds designed an early low-priced car in 1899 and
produced them in large numbers--5,000 in 1904--before
deciding to concentrate on touring cars. It wasn't
quite an early Model T--it was too small, too light, and too
low powered for family transportation--it
was more like a bicycle than a carriage.
Without a parts system, early mechanics often had to fabricate the needed part
but automobile
repair also required some understanding of
how an internal combustion engine worked--trade journals
in fields from blacksmithing to bicycle repair included articles about how to repair automobiles
To what extent did
blacksmiths (who not only shoed horses but
did all kinds of metal
repair) become auto mechanics?
- people were
accustomed to turn to blacksmiths to
repair things made of metal
- blacksmith no longer made
things, as they had early in the 19th century,
they shaped and repaired them
- the
automobile did not in the short
run take away the
blacksmith's other
work
- blacksmiths
were used to doing
essential
work for farmers--rich
motorists
were very
different
customers
- farmers
did the
repairs
themselves a
lot of the
time
Farmers were able to make many repairs themselves--the tradition of Yankee
ingenuity
association
between youth and automobiles
- emphasis on
tinkering with machines
- cars were useful for attracting young
women
What are the shifts between this
chapter and the present?
- we are less likely to
fix things ourselves
- more specialized knowledge is
needed
- in the earlier culture people had
a feeling of mastery of technology
