electric vehicles — Bunk History

The first electric car model.

Three Maintenance Philosophies Fought for Control of the Auto Industry

At the very beginning of the auto industry, no less than three radically different design-for-maintenance philosophies fought it out.

by Stewart Brand via Books In Progress on June 29, 2023

Highways & Horizons, front and back covers of brochure for the General Motors pavilion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. [Prelinger Library]

Highways and Horizons

The Interstate Highway System created a national polity defined by circulation. To rethink the Interstates is to rethink the United States.

by Reinhold Martin via Places Journal on June 20, 2025

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, flanked by the U.S. and Chinese flags.

Back to the ’80s?

Trump, Xi Jinping, and the tariffs.

by Andrew Liu via n+1 on January 30, 2025

The front of a large truck.

We’ve Hit a Grim Milestone We Haven’t Seen Since 1981. Why Can’t We Do Anything About It?

An irresistible trend took hold 50 years ago, and we’re all paying the price.

by David Zipper via Slate on December 18, 2023

Eight and Skate

The age of optimism that lasted in the US from the 1940s to the 1970s looked, basically, like a car.

by Gabriel Winant via New York Review of Books on September 23, 2023

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain shaking hands with union members.

Can the UAW Transform America Again?

By thinking big, Shawn Fain is summoning memories of Walter Reuther and the autoworkers’ union’s finest hour.

by Timothy Noah via The New Republic on September 15, 2023

A police officer stands beside a crashed automobile, 1905. (Photo by Robert Alexander / Getty Images)

The Reckless History of the Automobile

In "The Car," Bryan Appleyard sets out to celebrate the freedom these vehicles granted. But what if they were a dangerous technology from the start?

by Paris Marx via The Nation on March 13, 2023

Interior of car dealership.

Why Car Shopping is So Bizarre in the United States

The reasons have to do with the complexity of the transaction, but also with the industry’s explosive growth in its early years.

by Peter Valdes-Dapena via CNN on May 9, 2022

President Joe Biden behind the wheel of an electric car.

Stagecoaches Could Fix Our Electric Car Problem

One solution to climate change may come from our pre-automotive past.

by Woody Holton via Made By History on May 18, 2021

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