Central conceptual themes in the sociology of the automobile are epitomized in Buckminster Fuller's 1970 book / Seem to Be A Verb:
“The automobile is an extension of the house. Young people used to court in the parlor, then on the front porch, then in the automobile–the porch-on-wheels. Today, the porch-on-wheels may be observed at the local drive-in movie 'house'. Movies are better than ever.”
“We are still producing 2-ton, 18-foot-long automobiles to carry one person. Half that weight of materials, properly designed and employed would be enough to carry 6 persons.”
The automobile is one of the great democratizers, and while it was not included by Fuller in circumnavigating the globe, it has certainly produced almost instantaneous intra-navigation for short distances.
This editorial is about to suggest that, with the government stimulated rampage toward lightness and fuel efficiency, chemical stability will inevitably be left behind–as it is in all...
