GETTING OUT OF THE VICIOUS TRAFFIC CIRCLE: ATTEMPTS AT RESTRUCTURING THE CULTURAL AMBIENCE OF THE AUTOMOBILE THROUGHOUT THE 20TH CENTURY. IN: ELECTRIC VEHICLES: SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROSPECTS AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES

This chapter provides a discussion of the social construction of the automobile in the twentieth century, with reference to how this development relates to the adoption of electric vehicles. The way in which perceptions of a car were formed through the history of the automobile during this century is described. Since closure has been reached in this technology, the prospects seem limited for introducing a transportation technology that does not have the central features of the automobile as it has come to be defined. For a technology such as electric vehicles to develop a significant market presence, a network of organizations, consisting of users, manufacturers and regulatory bodies, must be constructed that is devoted to the continuous maintenance and development of the technology.