--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was nothing like it before in…" description: "\"“There was nothing like it before in history: a machine that promised liberation from the daily bondage of place. And in a free country like the United..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/377/james-howard-kunstler-2886_automobile_there-was-nothing-like-it-before-in-hist_2515643.jpg" --- # There was nothing like it before in history: a machine… ![“There was nothing like it before in history: a machine that promised liberation from the daily bondage of place. And in a free country like the United States, with the unrestricted right to travel, a vast geographical territory to spread out into, and a national tradition of picking up and moving…” quote by James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/377/james-howard-kunstler-2886_automobile_there-was-nothing-like-it-before-in-hist_2515643.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/377/james-howard-kunstler-2886_automobile_there-was-nothing-like-it-before-in-hist_2515643.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/377/james-howard-kunstler-2886_automobile_there-was-nothing-like-it-before-in-hist_2515643.jpg) > ““There was nothing like it before in history: a machine that promised liberation from the daily bondage of place. And in a free country like the United States, with the unrestricted right to travel, a vast geographical territory to spread out into, and a national tradition of picking up and moving whenever life became intolerable, the automobile came as a blessing.”” [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cars promised freedom but also reshaped society, fostering mobility and dependence on highways. **In simple terms:** Automobiles gave liberty, yet created new constraints. Key Takeaway Balance mobility with community planning. Themes freedom mobility urban planning technology culture Mood reflective critical Type analysis philosophical When to use this quote - city development - personal travel - policy making - environmental activism Key Concepts Transportation theory environmental impact Questions to Reflect On - What would a car‑free society look like? - How can we design cities that reduce car dependence? A Different Perspective Reliance on cars can increase inequality and environmental harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Automobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/automobile/) [Automobile Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/automobile-came-1199678/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Free country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-country/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Intolerable Automobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intolerable-automobile-1199679/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Like History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-history/) ## Related quotes > [“A large American automobile came crawling close to us, and we could hear from behind its thick windows the deep bass of the radio,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/a-large-american-automobile-came-crawling-close-to-us-and-we-could/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I like to call it 'the national automobile slum.' You can call it suburban sprawl. I think it's appropriate to call it the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/i-like-to-call-it-the-national-automobile-slum-you-can-call-it/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [“Voters, like history, are under no obligation to make sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-mandery/voters-like-history-are-under-no-obligation-to-make-sense/) [Evan Mandery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-mandery/) > [I like to go back over history and check out what people have written and whether I agree with it or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-pekar/i-like-to-go-back-over-history-and-check-out-what-people-have-written/) [Harvey Pekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-pekar/) > [I've always been interested in the Vikings - that's, like, part of my own history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustaf-skarsgard/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-the-vikings-that-s-like-part-of-my-own/) [Gustaf Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustaf-skarsgard/) > [I'm from Arizona where I feel like our history, as a state, is so young in comparison to some of these wonderful southern cities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-m-from-arizona-where-i-feel-like-our-history-as-a-state-is-so-young/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [I love people, I love studying people more than history. 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That certain people will never forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakay-kaichi/sometimes-we-should-know-that-ex-is-like-a-history-a-history-is-a/) [Shakay Kaichi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakay-kaichi/) > [If things continue like this, the history of our age may one day be written under a caliphate's supervision .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-selbourne/if-things-continue-like-this-the-history-of-our-age-may-one-day-be/) [David Selbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-selbourne/) > [Once I beat Gervonta Davis like I've been calling it, that's going to be like history repeats itself with Sonny Liston and Muhammad Ali.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-garcia/once-i-beat-gervonta-davis-like-i-ve-been-calling-it-that-s-going-to/) [Ryan Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-garcia/) > [Re-recording 'Naino mein sapna' for me was like being a part of history. 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