Automotive Engineering Commons^™

Automobiles And Auto Manufacturing, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

In several important respects the automobile and automobile manufacturing proved to be at the heart of North American life during the 1950s. The decade was one characterized as the age of tail fins and chrome, and the automobile was recognized as something far more than ordinary transportation.

Rolls Royce Declares Bankruptcy, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

Despite more than sixty years of engineering excellence, Rolls-Royce failed in its attempt to design and manufacture a radically new jet engine to meet contractual obligations with the Lockheed Corp. Consequently, both British and U.S. governments had to step in to avoid an unprecedented economic catastrophe.

The Ilo And The Regulation Of White Lead In Britain During The Interwar Years: An Examination Of International And National Campaigns In Occupational Health, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

Despite the International Labour Organization's (ILO) significance for much of the twentieth century, little has been written on its early history. This case study examines the thin tightrope that the ILO had to walk in balancing the needs and demands of government, employers and labor related to the ILO's Convention No. 13 (1921), "White Lead in Painting.' Great Britain was a leading producer of the pigment white lead prior to the First World War. A government investigation was published in 1915, but measures were shelved during the War. With the peace, the focus of activity shifted to the ILO.

Preparations …

Doing 'True Science': The Early History Of The 'Institutum Divi Thomae,' 1935-1951, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

This essay focuses on the origins and early history of the Institutum Divi Thomae (hereafter referred to as the IDT or Institutum), thus describing one particularly rich episode illustrating the relationship between American Catholicism and science during the middle of the twentieth century. The IDT was established by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1935; its faculty and students, while working in the area of cancer research, published hundreds of scientific and technical papers, developed a number of commercial products, and received considerable publicity in both the religious and secular press during the first two decades of its existence. However, with …

Auto Racing, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

As a consequence of new sponsors, personalities, race tracks, and television exposure, automobile racing — and in particular NASCAR — reached unprecedented popularity during the 1990s. Indeed, NASCAR became a "way of life" for many Americans.

Drive-By Shootings, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

Although often associated with Southern California and young gang behavior, the drive-by shooting became commonplace during the 1990s across America.

Review: 'Fighting Traffic: The Dawn Of The Motor Age In The American City', John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

During the early 1960s, as the Golden Age of the automobile in America began to wane, several commentators, including Lewis Mumford, raised the critical question of whether the automobile existed for the modern city or the city for the automobile. How and when the automobile became central to urban life is deftly addressed in Peter Norton’s Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City. This study is certainly one of the most important monographs focusing on the place of the automobile in American society within a historical context to appear in recent times; it interestingly supplements …

Review: 'Storied Independent Automakers: Nash, Hudson, And American Motors', John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

Nash, Hudson, and now even American Motors are automobile brands that have largely disappeared from the American memory. Yet, despite riding the twentieth-century economic roller coaster and operating in the shadow of the Big Three, these firms made sustained, significant technological and economic contributions. Charles K. Hyde’s Storied Independent Automakers is the author’s latest foray into the area of automotive business history, following work on the Chrysler Corporation and the Dodge brothers. A professor of History at Wayne State University, Hyde has written a needed critical business history on an important topic that complements the vast amount of “buff” and …