In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

AUTOMOBILES
Although fenders emerging from the runningboards are beginning to
cover the high, slender tires, automobiles tend to display their anatomy
as a technical construction. The axles are visible, the headlights project
from the body, and many cars have a starting crank. Martin Heidegger
chooses another isolated part of the automobile, the turn signal, as a
paradigmatic reference in a discussion of sign usage and sign interpretation:
"Motor cars are sometimes equipped with an adjustable red arrow,
whose position indicates the direction the vehicle will take-at an intersection,
for instance. The position of the arrow is controlled by the
driver. This sign is a device which is ready-to-hand for the driver as he
maneuvers the car, and not for him alone: those who are outside the
car-and they in particular-also make use of it" (Heidegger, 78). As if
to symbolize the separateness of their individual elements, most automobiles
display majestic spare tires just ahead of the driver's door. Only
some models, usually built by private firms, have a more compact form
(Annees-memoire, 173; Romer, 24). As a general rule, the engine, passenger
compartment, and trunk of the automobile are contiguous rectangular
boxes of different sizes, rather than elements within a unifying
shape.
With large cars-and when weather conditions allow-passengers
customarily sit in the open, behind a chauffeur, whose uniform resembles
that of a railway conductor. They often wear sporty leather caps. In this
particular arrangement, the automobile may serve as a status symbol
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