Engines of Change

A History of the American Dream in Fifteen Cars

By: Paul Ingrassia

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

America was made manifest by its cars. From the assembly lines of Henry Ford to the open roads of Route 66 and Jack Kerouac, America's history is a vehicular history-an idea brought brilliantly to life in this major work by the acclaimed author of Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry's Road from Glory to Disaster.

One of the nation's most eloquent and impassioned car nuts, Paul Ingrassia offers a wondrous epic in fifteen automobiles, including the VW Beetle, the Chevy Corvair, Robert McNamara and Lee Iacocca's Mustang, the Pontiac GTO, Honda's Accord, the BMW 3 Series, and the Jeep, among others. Through them, the author shows us much more than the car's ability to exhibit the particularly American tension between the lure of freedom and the obligations of utility; he takes us through the rise of American manufacturing, the suburbanization of the country, the birth of the Hippy and the Yuppy, the emancipation of women, and so much more, including the car's unintended consequences: trial lawyers, energy crises, and pollution. Narrative history of the highest caliber, Engines of Change is an entirely edifying new way to look at the American story.

©2012 Paul Ingrassia (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A thoughtful, propulsive assay of the machine that changed a nation, a world." ( The Wall Street Journal)

I loved this book

Would you consider the audio edition of Engines of Change to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ed Cole and his fight to save his reputation over the Corvair.

Have you listened to any of Sean Runnette’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, when the author pointed out that the two most important cars in American history were the Model T and the Corvair.I owned 3 Corvairs so it was especially moving to hear the car's reputation vindicated on many levels.

Any additional comments?

The book put me in touch with my roots of the 1950/60s.

Great story

Engines of Change ranks as one of the best Audible books I have listened to, engaging and full of the history of how automobiles reflected the American culture. It was also a plus that it was read by my favorite narrator.

Nice survey of key cars

This was a nice overview of many of the most culturally and socially important cars in the American automotive experience. How were they conceived, designed, produced and marketed. Interesting insights, successes and failures. Not mechanically technical, but a light listen.

Great overview

Every new car has a story. The author picked some of the huge historical brands and the human backstories behind the development of their most memorable cars. The determination and guts it took to move these gargantuan companies is described perfectly.

If you grew up in the 1950s or 1960s..LISTEN.

Fascinating history that brought back so many great memories and a first rate piece of business history that was fun and worth hearing more than once.