Automobilery

Near-synonyms: automobilism, automobility, motordom

The Madison Square Garden Automobile Show, January 14th to 21st, presented an array of automobilery which took even the New Yorkers by surprise. It was a revelation. The most impressive feature was the variety of styles, and next the magnitude of the machines.

What has to be the briefest, and perhaps the saddest, plant expansion saga of the crapshoot world of automobilery took place early in December 1977. It began about the first of the month when Chrysler Corp. announced the beginning of a $50 million program to revitalize the aging Jefferson Avenue (Detroit) complex.

I squirmed against the seat belt. "Kind of," I said. "Just forward and backward, mostly. Nothing really impressive." For the last couple of weeks, I'd been happy to sit in the backseat and watch everyone else pull off three-point turns and parallel parking and other magnificent feats of automobilery. And even though I'd managed to drive a few times without killing anyone, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do the same thing here, in the driver's ed Volvo, with Mr. Kane feeding me instructions instead of Jim. But the idea of driving with Jim was that someday I'd be able to drive other places, with other people. On my own. I thought it might be nice to tell Jim that I'd successfully driven four feet without him in the passenger seat.