Abstract
Cars are technologies that re-shape corporeal existence, material environments and social temporalities in diverse and complex ways, with impacts on all people, spaces and times, not only those that are explicitly ‘automobilized’. This article aims to interrogate claims that the new technologies of mobile data processing, information transmission and wireless communication that have been brought into the ‘banal’ performance of car driving are affecting not only the driving experience but the entire body-person. The first part reviews recent phenomenological approaches to the embodied car driver–road assemblage, including claims that kinaesthetics and haptics are significantly transforming ‘movement-space’. The second part presents a content analysis of US corporate advertising, car industry websites, sales brochures and media reports on new technologies to consider whether and how reconfigurations of mundane mobility systems might be impinging upon the performances, practices and materialities of the human and the car, in particular the habituation of the luxury car driver to new technologies. In contrast, participant observation in the Philadelphia International Auto Show (5–13 February 2005) and analysis of local advertising markets suggests that changes in the embodied experience of driving have been minimal. The third part draws on internal industry reports and publications by road safety and oversight agencies in the USA (with some attention to Europe) to show that the most significant changes are actually taking place in less visible software-driven systems, automated communication, surveillance and ‘intelligent transport systems’, which are transforming the quotidian infrastructures and ‘infostructures’ of cars, streets, highways and cities in ways that are more mundane yet more far-reaching than the individualistic and personalized rhetoric of commodity marketing would suggest.
Les voitures sont des technologies qui donnent, de manières diverses et complexes, une nouvelle forme à l'existence corporelle, aux environnements physiques et aux temporalités sociales qui se répercutent sur l'ensemble des personnes, espaces et temps, et pas seulement ceux-là qui sont déjà automobilisés. Le but du présent article est de pouvoir examiner les allégations voulant que les nouvelles technologies en matière de traitement de données mobile, de transmission de l'information et de la communication sans fil, qui ont été introduites dans le cadre de la performance «banale» de la conduite automobile, ont des incidences non seulement sur l'expérience de conduite, mais aussi sur le corps-personne en entier. La première partie est une recension des approches phénoménologiques récentes à l'égard de l'assemblage incarnant la voiture, le conducteur et la route, y compris les assertions selon lesquelles les kinesthétiques et les haptiques sont en train de transformer le « mouvement-espace » de manière significative. La seconde partie présente une analyse de contenu portant sur la publicité institutionnelle des entreprises américaines, les sites web de l'industrie de l'automobile, les prospectus et les reportages médiatiques sur les nouvelles technologies en vue d'étudier si et de quelle façon les reconfigurations de systèmes de mobilité banals pourraient avoir des effets sur les performances, pratiques et matérialités de l'être humain et de la voiture, notamment en ce qui touche l'habituation à la voiture de luxe et aux nouvelles technologies. Pourtant, l'observation participative effectuée au salon international de l'automobile de Philadelphie (du 5 au 13 février 2005) et l'analyse des marchés locaux de la publicité donnent à penser que les changements au niveau de l'expérience incarnée de la conduite ont été négligeables. La troisième partie s'appuie sur des rapports internes des entreprises et des documents d'agences responsables de la sécurité et de la vigilance routières aux États-Unis (et en partie aussi en Europe) pour montrer que les changements les plus significatifs ont lieu au sein de systèmes informatisés moins visibles, de communication automatisée, de surveillance, et de «systèmes de transport intelligents», qui transforment les infrastructures et «info-structures» ordinaires des voitures, rues, autoroutes et villes d'une manière qui soit plus banale mais d'une portée plus vaste que ne le préconiserait la rhétorique individualistique et personnalisée sur la commercialisation de marchandises.
Los coches son tecnologías que dan nueva forma, de modo diverso y complejo, a la existencia corpórea, entornos materiales y temporalidades sociales. Tienen un impacto sobre todo el mundo, y todos los espacios y tiempos y no sólo los que ya son explícitamente ‘automovilizados’. Este artículo pretende interrogar las afirmaciones de que las nuevas tecnologías de informática móvil, la transmisión de información, y comunicación inalámbrica, que han llegado a formar parte del ‘performance’ banal de conducir un coche, tienen un impacto no sólo sobre la experiencia de conducir sino también sobre la persona-cuerpo entera. La primera parte examina recientes enfoques fenomenológicos de la asemblaje encarnada de coche-conductor-carretera, e incluye afirmaciones de que la quinaestética y lo háptico están transformando de modo importante el ‘movimiento-espacio’. La segunda parte presenta un análisis del contenido de la publicidad institucional de los Estados Unidos, los sitios de Web de la industria del automóvil, folletos de venta, y reportajes en los medios de comunicación sobre las nuevas tecnologías para considerar si es cierto que las nuevas configuraciones de sistemas de movilidad rutinarios afectan a los performances, prácticas y materialidades del ser humano y el coche, en particular la adaptación de los conductores de coches de lujo a las nuevas tecnologías, y de qué modo los afectan. Por contraste, la observación de participantes en el Philadelphia International Auto Show (Feb. 5–13 2005) y un análisis de mercados locales publicitarios sugieren que los cambios en la experiencia encarnada de conducir han sido muy pocos. La tercera parte hace uso de informes internos de la industria y publicaciones de agencias de la seguridad de carreteras en los Estados Unidos (también prestando atención a la situación en Europa) para demostrar que los cambios más importantes están teniendo lugar en los menos visibles sistemas operados por software, comunicación automatizada, vigilancia y ‘sistemas inteligentes de transporte’ los cuales transforman las infraestructuras cotidianas y las ‘infoestructuras’ de coches, calles, carreteras y ciudades de modos más rutinarios y, sin embargo, de un mayor alcance que la retórica individualista y personalizada sugerido por la comercialización de mercancía.
Notes
1 Thus, contra Dant's (2004) dismissal of ‘hybridity’ and the ‘cyborg’ as useful concepts for thinking about what he calls the ‘driver–car’ assemblage, when we also take into consideration the melding of data, information and communication systems into cars and their associated infrastructures, including traffic-management and road-pricing systems, these concepts may be of some use, as I shall outline further below.
2 Trucks (19 per cent of total US sales in 2005) and SUVs (25 per cent) together out-sell cars (44 per cent) in the US market, and are predicted to increase their market share despite higher fuel prices according to a Newsweek article using statistics from auto industry research group J.D. Power. Contrary to trends in Europe, US manufacturers continue to offer ever more heavy and fuel-inefficient models, or at best so-called ‘PC SUVs’ that get 20 mpg; hybrid gas–electric models made up only 4 per cent of the market in 2005 (Naughton, Citation2005: 46).
3 < http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/gm31e_20050131.htm> (accessed 2 October 2005); see also < http://www.onstar.com/us_english/jsp/index.jsp>. OnStar is described as follows: ‘OnStar starts with sophisticated Global Positioning System Satellite information to locate the vehicle, wireless communications to seamlessly link the vehicle to the OnStar Center, integration of the OnStar system to the wiring in the vehicle, and a professionaly staffed center that's available 24 hours a day, seven days a week with access to sophisticated computer databases and mapping software. OnStar utilizes the vast resources of state and local emergency, fire and police departments to provide assistance. An OnStar Advisor facilitates—on behalf of the subscriber—the location and contacting of an emergency services provider’ ( < http://www.smartmotorist.com/ons/ons.htm>, accessed 2 October 2005).
4 Acura ‘The road will never be the same’ advertisement, Travel and Leisure (February 2005), pp. 32–33.
5 In the USA there are currently two satellite radio systems, SIRIUS and XM Radio, which offer ‘commercial-free’ music, news, talk and sports channels, but require a monthly subscription fee. New car models are in some cases offered with a few months of ‘trial’ access, which subsequently must be paid for. In contrast to the twentieth-century project of universally accessible radio, it seems that the radio spectrum is now increasingly being fragmented into pay-services.
6 Concept cars developed by Johnson Controls, the largest supplier of parts for auto interiors, included as early as 2001 the Lego InMotion, which has ‘an electronic table called the Go Pad for Kids, which combines a DVD player with a digital camera and an Internet connection’ (Patton, Citation2001: F1). Another of their concept cars, the Kion, ‘began with the concept of designing the interior as a sort of rolling living room’, but one in which ‘[e]ach member of the family would have a personal data storage unit, much like a credit card, that would link the car's main computing system with … [v]ideo screens, audio equipment and laptop computers’ (Patton, Citation2001: F1).
7 < http://www.mbusa.com/brand/index.jsp> (accessed 4 February 2005).
8 The Mercedes-Benz ‘Tele Aid’ system operates with a subscription and ‘only where cellular and Global Positioning System coverage are available’. It includes a ‘wrench button’ that connects to a Roadside Assistance service, an ‘SOS button’ that connects to emergency response personnel, and an ‘i-button’ that connects to a Customer Assistance Center with optional services such as ‘Route Assistance and Traffic Information’ with the option of ‘real-time, voice-delivered traffic reports that are based on your vehicle's current location’ (Mercedes-Benz brochure, 2005). Similar systems are already or will soon be available from many car makers, and again suggest a kind of personalization of scheduling, a new kind of habituation to the technology of the car, and a changed relationship to the road and city-scape.
9 < http://infinit.msn.com/?id = 24> (accessed 2 October 2005).
10 The Philadelphia International Auto Show, produced by the Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia, is described as one of the largest in the country, featuring more than forty automobile manufacturers, more than 700 vehicles, and special displays of new production, rare, vintage concept, specialty and exotic/luxury vehicles (see < www.phillautoshow.com>).
11 The author carried out interviews in 2005 with ten luxury-car drivers in the Philadelphia area, identified via a snow-balling technique. Most interviews were carried out while driving in the cars, to demonstrate navigation, phone and audio systems in use. These data were not sufficient to be made central to the argument here, but are used anecdotally to inform my interpretation.
12 Inevitably one can foresee potential resistance to such automation of vehicle control in view of the already existing resistance to less intrusive safety measures, such as the use of radar-detection equipment to outsmart speed cameras in the USA, or resistance to the introduction of digital speed cameras in the UK.
13 The 12th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (WCITS) took place in San Francisco in November 2005; the 13th WCITS was hosted by ITS (UK) and was held in the Excel Exhibition Centre in London from 8 to 12 October 2006.
14 Honda (Japan) press release, < http://world.honda.com/news/2005/c050902.html> (accessed 25 December 2005).
15 Federal Highway Administration Report, ‘Travel information systems in Europe’, August 2003, < http://international.fhwa.dot.gov/travelinfo/> (accessed 15 December 2005).
16 Presentation on ‘Mobile Technologies’ by Andrew Scott (Department of Computing, Lancaster University) at the Mobile Communications Workshop, sponsored by the Centre for Mobilities Research and the Institute for Advanced Study in Management and Social Science, Lancaster University, January 2004.
17 WiFi is short for ‘wireless fidelity’ and refers to interoperable products based on IEEE 802.11, an industry standard that allows data to be sent over the radio spectrum rather than through a cable or phone line. Philadelphia is in the process of becoming the first city in the world with blanket wireless access, via a novel ‘cooperative wholesale’ model in which the wireless provider Earthlink will install more than 4000 wireless antennae throughout urban public places over the next year, potentially providing access to 1.5 million residents, but the City of Philadelphia will continue to own all the hardware (Dodson, Citation2005; Schimmel, Citation2005a, 2005b).
19 None of these high-tech developments has had any impact on the region's roads, which remain as unintelligent, dangerous and congested as ever, or the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which runs local rail and bus services perennially faces dramatically ‘slashed’ services and ‘massive’ fare hikes. Battles between this largely Democrat city, a largely Republican state legislature and powerful telecoms companies like Verizon are thus influencing (or blocking outright) the adoption and shaping of new intermodal mobility systems, as they are throughout the USA.
20 Here I draw on the work of Sarah L. Jain who uses the example of BMW advertising to demonstrate how the car and driver violently or aggressively take urban space from other potential public users. (Jain, Citation2003, Citation2004, Citation2006 ).
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