For generations that came of age in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, cars were as much a part of their identity as the clothes they wore and the music they played. Cars were louder and brighter, and the body work required to make the fins of a Cadillac or the classic bubble of a Beetle is an almost dead art — try finding a body shop that’ll work on classic cars. They’re few and far between, and the knowledge gets passed down in trade schools and on-the-job experience.
Examining the roles cars have played in culture, from self-expression to political movement, gives way to the fascinating evolution of our society’s relationship to travel, art, and dying skills. When what was once fashion gives way to function, a piece of culture starts to slip away, and it’s up to us to renew it.
Automotive Evolution
We could go all the way back to the steam-powered vehicles of the late 1800s, but that doesn’t truly serve our purpose. The first widely manufactured automobile was the Ford Model T, which debuted in the early 1900s. With the advent of the assembly line, Henry Ford made manufacturing cheaper and faster than ever, thereby making the automobile accessible to middle-class families.
Cars were initially met with anger and public outcry; no one wanted the polluting emissions in their city, and there was concerns about the danger high speeds could pose to both pedestrian and passenger. Over time, though, the dissent settled and cars became a way of life. Everywhere you look in our modern age, cities and urban living have been influenced by the car.
Suburbs evolved with the availability of vehicles and development of infrastructure; people no longer needed to live within walking distance of work and the need for farmland was diminishing with industrialization. Cars and trucks were used to haul food and other goods to urban centers, slowly outstrippnig the train as a means of shipping. Nowadays, our cities aren’t designed to be traversed by foot, and the sprawling nature of most urban areas necessitates having a car.
As cars became more integral to our lives, they also became safer and more comfortable. Before being approved as roadworthy, modern cars undergo a literal battery of tests to ensure safety standards are met. Beyond functional features, though, cars have been designed to be more comfortable; you can get heated or cooled seats, top-tier sound systems, and just about any electronic assistance that you can think of. Cars have come a long way from the massive metal automobiles that lacked seat belts, airbags, and safety glass.
Cultural Movements
As cars became more common, they started to diversify; what was once a choice of a Model T or a Model A became became a choice of makes, models, colors, and styles. The car you chose to drive defined a piece of you and became as much a part of your public image as the clothes you wore and how you did your hair.
In the 50s, 60s, and 70s in particular, American automobiles came into their own with muscle cars. There’s debate about which car truly started the movement, but soon enough, teenagers and young men were buying and selling cars the way we might think about baseball cards, modding their vehicles to go a little faster and look a little cooler.
Alongside American muscle came the family car, and with it, the road trip. Families no longer packed into trains to go traveling; instead, everyone loaded into the car and drove across the country to see sights (or visit relatives) previously inaccessible. The truly adventurous hitched up airstream trailers and made a life of being on the road, paving the way for today’s RVs and the modern family vacation.
Into the 80s and beyond, America’s “car culture” began to slow down. While we still value a car as part of a person’s identity, the hobbies surrounding tuning and restoring cars are left to a select few that have both the money and the skill to enjoy to the activity. Cars themselves are much more function over form, leaving behind the bright colors and expressive lines of their ancestors. Now, flashy cars with extra personality are equated with wealth as the most outlandish cars also tend to be the most expensive.
More than a show of wealth, though, cars have become a political statement. With the move towards greener living and reducing emissions, electric and hybrid cars are pushing the market. Cities that were built for the gas-powered engine aren’t abandoning their roots in cars, but are installing electric charging stations in parking garages and outside stores. Local governments host public-transportation promotions and push to make commuting by bike or bus easier. These days, it’s as much of a statement to not have a car as it is to own one.
Artistic Impacts
As we slowly drift away from cars, and the ones we do have evolve to be safer, cheaper options, we find ourselves simultaneously saying goodbye to a sect of American art. As cars get made of newer materials, it becomes increasingly difficult to customize cars. Body work requires an intimate understanding of welding and metal-shaping, and society’s unfair skew against blue-collar work makes learning to weld or create custom body panels an uncommon career choice.
Beyond manual labor, digitalization has essentially required that anyone aiming to become a mechanic needs a background in digital tech. Rather than a mechanic looking at, listening to, and driving your car to diagnosis it, the cars can diagnose themselves with their internal computer, and it simply requires a readout to understand what part is dysfunctional. The mechanical intuition required to work on engines is fading, and along with it, so is the personality of the American car.
In its wake lies art inspired by yesterday’s generation of vehicles. Burning Man attendees take the functionality of a vehicle and dress it up, parading it into the desert in a celebration of art and creativity. Polish artist Mariusz Olejnik takes the bodies of old cars and makes them into testaments, carefully building beautiful cars out of the scrap from retired ones.
Classic car clubs and hot rod cruise-ins still exist throughout the nation, showcasing custom work. Drag strips run street legal grudge-racing nights that let you pit your car against your neighbor’s. They tease and smack talk, but it’s all for the love of the cars. It’s there, among the gearheads, that the individuals keeping American muscle alive and well are found. They keep their cars running, trade stories of the car that got them into it in the first place, and pass their knowledge on to the next generation that’s willing to ask.
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