The Birth of Chrysler Corporation and Its Engineering Legacy (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Anthony J. Yanik (Author, Editor), Sae Historical Committee (Corporate Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 388 pages
• Publisher: SAE International (December 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560915242
• ISBN-13: 978-1560915249
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,110,752 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A detailed account of Chrysler Corp's formative years., September 29, 1998

By	[e-mail] (San Leandro, CA) - See all my reviews

One of the trio of engineers that company founder Walter Chrysler dubbed his "three musketeers", Carl Breer offers an even-handed recounting of many of Chrysler Corporations's engineering triumphs.

He spares no detail when describing any of a number of Chrysler's firsts, from sorting out the mysteries of the carburettor to perfecting the Lockheed hydraulic braking system. He offers no apologies for Chrysler's biggest flop, the 1934 Airflow, instead highlighting the revolutionary advance it made in the area of the quality of ride for passengers. But he tends to gloss over the negative effect the car's styling had on sales, pausing only to criticize production for adding needless weight to the design. Perhaps the Airflow was just one of those times when the three musketeers won the swordfight at the risk of losing the castle.

There's a real feeling - more intense than in Walter Chrysler's own autobiography, or even in the just-released book by Robert Lutz - that Breer was one of the true pioneers in the automobile industry. Engineering detective work emerges as valuable history as he describes how various technical breakthroughs become possible after careful analysis of often conflicting customer comments and complex circumstantial evidence.

Included also is his fascinating eyewitness account of his trek as a young university student from Stanford in Palo Alto to the devastated city of San Francisco during the great earthquake of 1906.

This book is not light reading, but not only did it hold my interest, but I also find myself returning to it from time to time to refresh my memory of the steps taken in solving various engineering puzzles of the automotive age. For in these solutions one may find inspiration for resolution of technical challenges in any of a number of modern fields of endeavor.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting historical perspective, May 12, 2007

By	R. Howell - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are at all interested in the development of the American auto industry this book is a must read. As insightful on the development of one particular manufacturer as this book is, it also gives views in to the competitors during the early days. As relevant to Detroit as "The Soul of a Machine" was to Silicon Valley and Boston.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable look into early automotive history, January 11, 2007

By	Wayne Paterson "allpar2" (Teaneck, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Some of the key inventions in early automobiles - modern engine mounts, modern hydraulic brakes, and more - are described along with the processes that led Chrysler, for a time, to consistently beat Ford in sales and to beat just about everyone in technology. Though much has changed since then, Breer's insights can help both historians and modern engineers and managers.