The day I joined Motor Age, we had a meeting to discuss the upcoming 100th anniversary issue, and we spent much time during
the next year reading back issues. At first it was just a nice retreat from day-to-day activities, but I soon realized this
trip through time also was an education in the history of automotive technology, the automotive industry and trade publishing.
One of the more surprising things I learned was that almost every idea in automotive technology had been tried or at least
described in drawings and patent applications by about 1915. Some ideas, such as the pneumatic tire (1887) and the electric
starter (1912), worked out pretty well right away and are still in use today.
Other inventions, such as the sleeve-valve engine (1903) and magneto ignition (1899), worked well enough in their day, but
eventually were replaced with more capable technologies. Some ideas, like the scroll compressor (1905), the exhaust-driven
turbocharger (1905) and the gasoline/electric hybrid powertrain (1901), had to wait for improvements in tooling or materials
or for electronic control systems.
When Motor Age published its first issue in 1899, America's automotive industry already was booming. There are many books describing its
glorious history and the inspirations and passions of the great men who made it. But Motor Age is about the tools, parts and techniques needed to repair machines that are worn-out or broken. Just as a car looks different
when viewed from a creeper, an industry that's held such an important and celebrated place in American history looks very
different from underneath. Magazine advertisements and humor pages reveal much about a society, often unintentionally. Those back issues show the history
of our readers' attitudes toward customers, the auto industry, auto mechanics and women; and that history is not always flattering.
Though it's been two generations since we published cartoons or mass-market advertisements, today's business advertising still
reveals much about our attitudes, once you learn what to look for.
Those back issues also present interesting lessons in journalism and writing styles. Journalists of the early 1900s were artists
who painted pictures with words. There was a notable shift in the early 1920s when long descriptive passages gave way to something
more like today's newspaper reporting. Later issues introduced instructional narrative, service bulletins and industry analyses.
Opinion columns were introduced in the mid-1960s, allowing the writer to be creative once again.
Today, I think any student of journalism would agree that the Internet is changing everything, just as any student of automotive
history would agree that the introduction of on-board diagnostics was a watershed event. The influences of both on technology,
government regulations and the behavior and expectations of customers have profoundly changed day-to-day life in the service
bay. Both technologies were just entering the service bay when I became Motor Age's technical editor. Looking back, I can't imagine a better place to witness some of the most radical and far-reaching changes
in the history of this industry. Now it is time for me to watch the industry from somewhere else.
I'm not leaving the industry, but am moving on as a full-time freelance writer. I will still write in this segment of the
industry exclusively for Motor Age. My sincere thanks goes to all who supported me and to all who opposed me over the past decade. Both provided education and
inspiration.
