Book on Canadian automotive history highlights Windsor’s influence

As the Canadian automotive industry faces an uncertain future, a new book chronicles Canada’s century-long relationship to the car for clues on what the road ahead might look like.

Car Nation Canada: An Illustrated History, reviews the cultural and economic changes that have shaped Canada’s love of — and dependence on — the car, the primary mode of transportation for four out of every five Canadians.

Drawing on more than 100 archival images, the book’s author Dimitry Anastakis argues that the car was much more than a mere consumer product; rather it marked Canada’s shift into “modernity,” completely rewriting how cities are built and how Canadians perceive their own freedom and their cultural sense of identity.