McPherson College is starting “Wheels of Change: How the Automobile Shaped Our Lives,” a six-week summer series webinar on on the people, innovations and the art that helped shape the automotive industry.
This webinar features car insiders from around the country.
The first webinar is June 25 at 12 p.m. CDT, with the topic, Four Epic Road Trips that Upended the World. Space is limited, so each week’s webinar will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Online registration is on the college website at https://www.mcpherson.edu/autorestoration/wheelsofchange/
“Wheels of Change will spotlight our college’s uniqueness as a leader in the auto industry, while providing participants dynamic conversation with special guests,” said Amanda Gutierrez, vice president for automotive restoration at McPherson College.
“Wheels of Change” will cover a wide variety of topics, including how the automobile liberated women, the creation of mega auto corporations, and how the former General Motors executive Harley Earl revolutionized and democratized automotive designs. The full schedule is online and below:
June 25: Four Epic Road Trips that Upended the World: Bertha Benz, Ransom Olds, Horatio Nelson Jackson, & Alice Ramsey. Guest: Kyle Smith, McPherson College alumnus and associate editor at Hagerty.
July 2: Paving the Way for the Automobile: Roads, Steam Omni-busses, Bicycles, and the Entrepreneurs Behind Them.
July 9: Thar be Giants in Them Thar Hills! Henry Ford, Billy Durant, and the Megacorporation. Guest: Bob Casey, retired curator of transportation, Henry Ford Museum.
July 16: The Road to Perdition: How the Automobile Liberated Women and Captivated Teenagers. Guests: Abbey Paulsen — a high school junior restoring (and driving) a Model T and Tabetha Hammer, a McPherson College alumna and director of the Greenwich Concours.
July 23: The Great War: Industrial Pacifism, Mobilization, and Mechanization. Guest: Casey Maxon, a McPherson College alumnus and historian at the Historic Vehicle Association.
July 30: Art for the People: How Harley Earl and Automotive Styling Democratized Beauty. Guest: Donald Osborne, host of recurring segments of “Assess & Caress with Donald Osborne” and “Behind the Bowtie” on Jay Leno’s Garage. Osborne is also an SCM columnist and editor at large.