James May's Cars of the People - First Season English Subtitles

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In the early days of the car, it was
believed that the spread of this new

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motoring fad would be limited
by our ability to train chauffeurs

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and supply leather
for the upholstery.

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Only the rich would have cars.

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The rest of us just walked on.

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But we, the shuffling masses,
had seen the cars.

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And we saw that they were good.

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This is the story of how
motoring came to the masses...

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how dictatorships

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By the second half
of the 20th century

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the word "consumption" already
had positive connotations.

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It denoted economic growth,
choice, happiness even.

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But it was also still also
the name of a wasting disease,

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one in which the sufferer
grows smaller and weaker

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and eventually fades away.

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In the '50s, '60s
and even the early '70s,

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both definitions could be applied
to the Cars of the People.

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A lifetime ago,
car ownership was a great privilege.

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We can all remember our grandparents
saying, "Only the doctor had one."

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But, by the time I was born,
having your own wheels was

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beginning to look like an
inalienable right,

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and public transport was a hangover

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from an earlier,
less enlightened time.

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So now definitions must be revised

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if we are to separate mere
motor vehicles

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