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Abstract
The postwar motorization boom in Western Europe implicated rising complaints about road vehicle noise. By the end of the 1960s, traffic noise abatement became an urgent topic for European regulators and automobile engineers. The article investigates how car sound, its measurement and the standardization of measurement procedures developed during the early postwar decades following World War II, and how this relates to European integration. It shows that the standardization of car noise measurement affected market integration and the harmonization of technical regulation on the European level, thus shaping the political integration process. Furthermore, standardization and harmonization stimulated the circulation of knowledge and the rise of a new field of knowledge organized around the standardized and harmonized issues. Although the standardization and harmonization efforts did not result in the homogenization of European automobile technology, they did contribute to the narrative construction of a European car identity.
Acknowledgements
The research for this article was funded by the Dutch Science Council, NWO, as part of the project ‘Selling Sound: The Standardization of Sound in the European Car Industry and the Hidden Integration of Europe,’ acquired by Karin Bijsterveld (Maastricht University) and Gijs Mom (Eindhoven University of Technology). I thank my colleagues Karin Bijsterveld, Gijs Mom, and Eefje Cleophas, the editor, and all others who have made helpful comments on my manuscript.
Notes
1. See Table .
2. Between 1950 and 1960 the number of miles driven for tourist purposes increased from 17 to 50 million and reached 177 million in 1970. Vidal, ‘Tourism,’ 480.
3. Annual Report of the Bureau of Public Roads (1951), 1, quoted by Seely, ‘Visions,’ 271.
4. For American air pollution in 1950s see McCarthy, Auto Mania.
5. One of the earliest postwar traffic noise studies was a German survey from 1954. Meister and Ruhrberg, ‘Messung der Verkehrslautstärke.’
6. The facilitation of cross-border automobile traffic was one of the early ‘European projects’ in the interwar period, see Schipper, Driving Europe, 259–74.
7. Anon., ‘Europe Seeks Common.’
8. For more information see the Tensions of Europe website http://www.tensionsofeurope.eu/
9. Schot and Oldenziel, ‘Tensions of Europe,’ 2.
10. Misa and Schot, ‘Inventing Europe,’ 2–7, 9.
11. Schot and Oldenziel, Tensions of Europe, 2.
12. For the notion of the co-construction of technology and Europe, see Misa and Schot, ‘Inventing Europe,’ 3.
13. Schot, ‘Building Europe.’ For information on the Eindhoven based research project ‘Transnational Infrastructures and the Rise of Contemporary Europe’ go to http://www.tie-project.nl. First results of this project are the PhD thesis by Schueler, Materialising Identity; Lagendijk, Electrifying Europe; Schipper, Driving Europe; see also essays in Van der Vleuten and Kaijser, Networking Europe; Badenoch and Fickers, Materializing Europe. In his review essay economic historian Christian Kleinschmidt even identifies the methodological approach of the tensions of Europe scholars with the ‘large technical systems’ approach affiliated with the work of Thomas P. Hughes and David E. Nye (Kleinschmidt, ‘Infrastructure, Networks’). See also History and Technology, No. 3 (2011), a special issue on ‘Infrastructural Europeanism’ edited by Frank Schipper and Johan Schot. Schipper and Schot, ‘Infrastructural Europeanism.’
14. Badenoch and Fickers, ‘Europe Materializing,’ 1.
15. Schot and Schipper, ‘The Role of Experts,’ 3–4. For the concept of epistemic communities, see Haas, ‘Epistemic Communities.’
16. Schot and Schipper, ‘The Role of Experts,’ 11–12.
17. E. Tuchfeldt, cited by Schipper, Driving Europe, 259.
18. The article takes German, French, British, and American trade journals into account.
19. Anon., ‘35. Automobilsalon in Paris.’
20. This was the observation of A. Kucher, president of the American Society of Automobile Engineers. Kucher, ‘My European Impressions;’ for the European motorization boom see also Laux, The European Automobile Industry; Spicka, Selling the Economic Miracle.
21. In the following I will speak of Germany meaning the Federal Republic of Germany.
22. Schmidt, ‘Die deutsche Kraftfahrzeugforschung.’
23. Le Grain-Eiffel, ‘L’evolution de l’industrie;’ Cramer, Der Welthandel, 102.
24. Berg, ‘Motorcars,’ 126.
25. Ibid., 125.
26. D’Ornhjelm, ‘L’Industrie automobile française;’ Cramer, Der Welthandel, 102.
27. ‘Common Market’ was used as a synonym for the European Economic Community, see Diez, ‘Speaking “Europe”,’ 602.
28. These four companies became known as the European generalists. Moguen-Toursel, ‘Defining a European Vehicle,’ 75–6.
29. Berg, ‘Motorcars,’ 135.
30. Ibid., 130–33.
31. McCarthy, Auto Mania, 100.
32. Ibid., 147.
33. These were still larger than most European imports but with a wheel base between 100 and 108-inches much smaller than typical American cars.
34. Anon., ‘European Production Methods;’ McCarthy, Auto Mania, 130–47.
35. Le Grain-Eiffel, ‘L’evolution de l’industrie.’
36. As early as the 1940s the Los Angeles region had to cope with heavy smog from industry and vehicle pollution (see McCarthy, Auto Mania), but this issue lies beyond the scope of this article.
37. For one of the earliest postwar traffic noise surveys, see Meister and Ruhrberg, ‘Messung der Verkehrslautstärke.’
38. Meister and Ruhrberg, ‘Messung der Verkehrslautstärke,’ 373.
39. Deischl, Kampf dem Lärm!, 2.
40. Schenker-Sprüngli, ‘Vorwort,’ 5.
41. Waller, Glück, and Vulkan, ‘Urban Traffic Noise,’ 291.
42. Wilson, Noise, XII.
43. Ibid., 22; see also Blitz, ‘Road Traffic Noise.’
44. Wilson, Noise, 27.
45. Ibid., 136.
46. Ibid.
47. The report itself referred to British Standard 3435: 1961, which was virtually based on the draft version of ISO 362. Ibid., 45.
48. Saccasyn, ‘General Report,’ 62.
49. The West German regulation originated from the 1938 Road Traffic Act.
50. Stadie, ‘Messung des Kraftfahrzeuglärms,’ 131.
51. Ibid., 132.
52. Bobbert, ‘Zur Kritik.’
53. Bobbert, ‘Verkehrsgeräusche.’
54. The regulation imposed a noise limit of 95 dB, measured in 10 meter distance.
55. Thiébault, ‘La lutte contre le bruit.’
56. WG7 consisted of delegates from Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States, the USSR, and Scandinavia. Private Archive Leif Nielsen (ALN), H ISO TC43 Møde Rapporter, Report of the 4th meeting of ISO/TC 43, Stockholm 1959.
57. Thiry, ‘Les mesures du bruit,’ 298.
58. Ibid.
59. ALN, H ISO TC43 Møde Rapporter, Report of the 6th meeting of ISO/TC 43, Helsinki 1961; idem., Report of the 7th meeting of ISO/TC 43, Baden-Baden 1962; idem., Report of the 8th meeting of ISO/TC 43, Aix-Les-Bains 1964.
60. Wang and Pereira, Handbook of Environmental Engineering, 401.
61. ALN, H ISO TC43 Møde Rapporter, Report of the 5th meeting of ISO/TC 43, Rapollo 1960.
62. Mills and Robinson, ‘The Subjective Rating,’ 173.
63. Bijsterveld, Mechanical Sound, 203–9.
64. Warring, Handbook of Noise, 407–6.
65. Priede, ‘Noise in Engineering,’ 214.
66. ALN, H ISO TC43 Møde Rapporter, Report of the 5th meeting of ISO/TC 43, Rapollo 1960.
67. Pfetsch, ‘Bargaining and Arguing,’ 53.
68. ALN, Measurement of noise emitted by vehicles, Letter Kleinhoonte van Os to Leif Nielsen, 2 February 1979.
69. Sheth and Gegesky, ‘The Influence of Test Site.’
70. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Guatemala, Israel, Yugoslavia, Madagascar, Norway, Peru, South Africa, Czechoslovakia, and Portugal. Matthes, ‘Nationale und internationale Gesetzgebung,’ 73.
71. Finland, Luxemburg, Sweden, and Suisse. Matthes, ‘Nationale und internationale Gesetzgebung,’ 73.
72. West Germany, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, and the USA (California and New York). Matthes, ‘Nationale und internationale Gesetzgebung,’ 73.
73. This is just an estimation as limits were given in dB, dB(A) and dB(B).
74. Warring, Handbook of Noise, 409–17.
75. See for example Stork, ‘The Cost Effectiveness.’
76. Buhler, ‘La lutte contre lebruit,’ 41.
77. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, World Forum, 5.
78. Ibid.
79. ALN, H ISO TC 43 SC 1 Møde Rapporter, Report of the 3rd meeting of ISO/TC 43/SC 1, The Hague 1973; idem., Report of the 8th meeting of ISO/TC 43/SC 1, Sydney 1980.
80. Council Directive 70/157/EEC, Permissible sound level and the exhaust system of motor vehicles.
81. Council Directive 77/212/EEC, Amendement of Directive 70/157/EEC.
82. Council Directive 70/156/EEC, Type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers.
83. Other directives concerned, for example, air pollution (70/220/EEC) or the mounting of rear registration plates (70/222/EEC). EEC approved 54 directives on motor vehicles during the 1970s.
84. Moguen-Toursel, ‘Defining a European Vehicle,’ 77.
85. Swaak, European Community Law, 120.
86. Ibid., 119–27.
87. Anon., ‘Europe Seeks Common Solution.’
88. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Urban Traffic Noise, 16.
89. Ibid.
90. Anon., ‘Europe Seeks Common Solution.’
91. Anon., ‘EPA Analysis of Noise;’ Wang and Pereira, Handbook of Environmental Engineering.
92. Vargovick, ‘Noise Source Definition;’ Wesler, ‘Traffic Noise Legislation.’
93. Laux, The European Automobile Industry, 192.
94. Macmillan, Mills and Aspinall, ‘A Survey of the Problems,’ 3–56.
95. The 1973 volume of the SAE Transactions published papers from conferences that took place a year earlier. There has no distinction been made between aircraft and road vehicle noise papers.
96. Rapin, ‘Introductory Lecture.’
97. See for the notion of knowledge circulation as a means of homogenization, Hård and Misa, ‘Modernizing European Cities,’ 10–11.
98. The founding of these organizations and conferences can be interpreted as an important step in the genesis of an independent noise control engineering discipline. Hixson, ‘Noise Control.’
99. Hillquist and Bettis, ‘Measurement of Automotive,’ 1052–53.
100. Hillquist, ‘Sound Measurement Standards,’ 131.
101. Priede, ‘Noise in Engineering,’ 228.
102. Hillquist, ‘Sound Measurement Standards,’ 131.
103. Vargovick, ‘Noise Source Definition,’ 1046.
104. Wesler, ‘Traffic Noise Legislation.’
105. Hillquist and Bettis, ‘Measurement of Automotive,’ 1059.
106. Sheth and Gegesky, ‘The Influence of Test Site.’
107. See for example Kihlmann, ‘Traffic Noise Control’; Kolya, ‘Geräuscharme und umweltfreundliche Kraftfahrzeuge,’ 1043–8.
108. Thiry, ‘Les mesures du bruit.’
109. Franken, ‘Criteria, Standards and Limits.’
110. Alexandre, ‘Traffic Noise Control.’
111. McCarthy, Auto Mania, 176–92, 222.
112. See for example Anon., ‘Das Opel-Konstruktions-;’ Wolff and Stehle, ‘Das Porsche Entwicklungszentrum’; Anon., ‘Les installations de mesure.’
113. Mills, ‘Noise Measurement,’ 113.
114. Lalor and Anderton, ‘Vehicle Noise,’ 619.
115. D’Ornhjelm, ‘L’industrie automobile française.’
116. Moguen-Toursel, ‘Community Bargaining,’ 102–11.
117. For the importance of historical narratives, see Hård and Misa, ‘Modernizing European Cities,’ 6.
118. Brownback, ‘Comment la voiture européenne.’
119. Kucher, ‘My European Impressions.’
120. G., ‘Deutsche Karosserien.’
121. Von G., ‘Allerlei neue Karosserien;’ see also von Gorrissen, ‘Deutsche Karosserien 1923.’
122. Peyrelongue, ‘Petits moteurs ou voitures.’
123. Brownback, ‘Why is the American Car,’ 564–83; see also McCarthy, Auto Mania.
124. For the example of the automatic transmission that failed in Europe, see Mom, ‘Translating Properties.’
125. McCarthy, Auto Mania, 107–8.
126. Womack, Jones, and Roos, The Machine that Changed, 46.
127. Jäger, ‘Theoretical and Methodological,’ 32–62.
128. Le Grain-Eiffel, ‘L’evolution de l’industrie.’
129. Rixmann, ‘Entwicklungstendenzen.’
130. Le Grain-Eiffel, ‘L’evolution de l’industrie;’ Sitterding, ‘Neue europäische Personenwagen.’
131. Kraus, ‘Der Audi 100.’
132. For the concept of imagined communities, see Anderson, Imagined Communities.
133. Fridenson, ‘Étendue et Limites.’
134. Swaak, European Community Law, 62.