The 2012 Automotive History Conference continues the Society's tradition of a biennial symposium of researchers and academic professionals who will present their recent work on the history of the motor industry, its products and their impact on social and cultural development. We will meet in Philadelphia at the Sheraton Suites Philadelphia Airport Hotel for two days of seminars focusing on the conference theme:

A World of Cars: Manufacturers, Drivers and the Impact of Globalization – the international growth of the industry initially by North American, later by European and more recently by Asian manufacturers leading to the dominance of integrated multinational corporations. Papers will address the impact of the automobile in producer and non-producer nations and the influence of international developments on business policies and vehicle design.

The conference will include presentations by historians from American and foreign institutions. The final afternoon we will visit the Hagley Museum and Library, the original home of the DuPont Company, to inspect the historic gunpowder works where the business was founded. The concluding dinner will take place in the spectacular setting of the Simeone Foundation's world-class racing sportscar collection. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Mira Wilkins, Professor of Economics at Florida International University. Professor Wilkins is a path-breaking scholar of international business. Her research on multinational corporations began with her much-acclaimed work on Ford Motor Company's international business activities — American Business Abroad: Ford on Six Continents, published in 1964. She is the author of four additional books and multiple articles and essays on the history of international business and is currently working on a history of foreign investment in the United States.

Sessions will be held at the host hotel and a block of guest rooms has been established for reservation by participants. The conference promises to be an excellent opportunity for networking and professional development.

The Society wishes to express its gratitude to sponsors whose generosity has made the conference possible and whose sponsorships are recorded on the Program Schedule.

Instructions for reserving guest rooms and the conference registration are on this page. For additional information about the Society of Automotive Historians, visit the SAH website www.autohistory.org or call Arthur Jones, Conference Chair, at 215-985-4714 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Program and Schedule

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Board of Directors Meeting
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Overbrook Room

Registration
2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Main Lobby

WELCOME RECEPTION
6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Terrace
Sponsored by Racemaker Press
Greetings: Joseph S. Freeman, President

Friday, April 13, 2012

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
Sponsored by McFarland & Company, Publishers
7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Merion Room

MORNING SESSIONS – Merion Room
Chair: Arthur W. Jones

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
"The Evolution of the Barcelona Automobile Cluster,
1889-2012: Node Firms, Inheritance and Long-term Cycles"
Speaker: Jordi Catalan, Professor in Economic History and Institutions, Universitat de Barcelona

9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
"Stealing Cars: Some International Aspects of Auto Theft, the United States and Mexico, 1919-2011"
Speakers: John Heitmann, Professor of History, University of Dayton and Rebecca Morales, Independent Historian, former curator San Diego Automotive Museum

9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
"Politics and Profitability in South Africa, 1961-2011–A Case Study of Toyota and Lexus"
Speaker: Hans Heese, Assistant Professor of History, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

BREAK – 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
"Creating an American Icon: Theodore F. MacManus, James R. Adams, and the Coming of Cadillac – 1909-1956"
Speaker: Edwin Benson
Society of Automotive Historians

11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
"The Color Revolution in Detroit"
Speaker: Regina Blaszczyk, Visiting Scholar, University of Pennsylvania

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
"The New Biomorphs, An Emergent Trend on the Automotive Design Scene"
Speaker: William Porter, General Motors Design Staff, Retired

LUNCH
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Terrace

AFTERNOON SESSIONS – Merion Room
Chair: John A. Heitmann

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Panel: "The German Automotive Industry and the Challenge of Globalization"

"The Economic Challenge: Foreign Competition and the Daimler-Benz Company before World War II"
Speaker: Christiane Katz, RWTH Aachen University

"The Logistic Challenge: Changing Patterns of Locations and Logistics in the Automotive Industry – The Case of Daimler AG"
Speaker: Florian Woeltering, RWTH Aachen University

"The Ecological Challenge: The Reaction of the German Automotive Industry to Ongoing Changes in Raw Material Supply and the Resulting Technological Changes"
Speaker: Philine Sander, RWTH Aachen University

BREAK – 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
"On the Shoulders of Steam Giants – Necessary Evolutionary Precursors to the Automobile"
Speaker: John Laurence Busch, Independent Historian, Connecticut

4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
"The 1903 Gordon Bennett Race: Did It Really 'Save' Racing?"
Speaker: Patricia Lee Yongue, Associate Professor of English, University of Houston

Dinner is on your own

7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Meeting
International Motorsports History Section
Patricia Lee Yongue, President

Saturday, April 14, 2012

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Merion Room
MORNING SESSIONS – Merion Room
Chair: Judith E. Endelman

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
"Joint Ventures, Mergers and Acquisitions in the Automobile Industry: The False Route to the Automobile Paradigm"
Speaker: Michael Wynn-Williams, Lecturer on International Business, University of Greenwich, London

9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
"Ford in Shanghai"
Speaker: Judith Endelman, Benson Ford Research Center, The Henry Ford, Dearborn

9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
"Champion of the Lark: Harold Churchill and the Presidency of Studebaker-Packard Corporation"
Speaker: Robert Ebert, Professor emeritus of Economics, Baldwin-Wallace College

BREAK – 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
"The Chrysler Minivan in Global Perspective: Design, Production and Use Worldwide – Observations and Analysis"
Speaker: Thomas Adamich, Society of Automotive Historians

11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
"Get Your Kicks on Route 141: The Z. Taylor Vinson Transportation Collection at Hagley Museum and Library"
Speaker: Emily Cottle, Project Archivist, Hagley Museum and Library

Lunch on your own

AFTERNOON

2:00 p.m.
Bus departs from hotel entrance for tour to Hagley Museum and Library. 4:45 p.m. return to Simeone Museum, Philadelphia

5:30 p.m.
Arrive Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum. Visit sponsored by the Museum

6:30 p.m.
Buffet Dinner and Keynote Address
"Foreign Investment in the U.S. Automobile Industry – An Historical Perspective"
Mira Wilkins, Professor of Economics, Florida International University

8:30 p.m.
Return to hotel

Hotel Information

The conference hotel is the Sheraton Suites Philadelphia Airport Hotel located adjacent to the Philadelphia International Airport at 4101 Island Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19153. The hotel has 251 newly-renovated, smoke-free suites, each with high-speed internet access, plasma televisions, in-room movies, refrigerators and large work desks, an indoor heated pool with whirlpool and 24-hour fitness center. Dining is available at the informal Atrium Café. Free shuttle service is provided to access the airport terminal. Rate: $135 pus taxes and fees.

Although a room block has been established at this special rate, the hotel will book quickly so please make your reservations as soon as possible. Reservations must be made by March 21, 2012.

Hotel reservations may be made by telephone at 1-800-325-3535. Give hotel name, Sheraton Suites Philadelphia Airport Hotel, and group name, Society of Automotive Historians, to obtain the group rate.

Hotel reservations may also be made online via a special web page provided by Sheraton Suites Philadelphia Airport Hotel for the conference. To reserve online please click: NINTH BIENNIAL AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY CONFERENCE HOTEL RESERVATION FORM.

Click Here for Conference Registration