The automobile is doubtless a most useful vehicle, but one is not likely to lavish upon it the fond attention he bestows upon his horse or dog. A man may admire his own carriage, but his affections are reserved for the horse that draws it and the dog that follows it.
New York Times 1908
Rail travel at high speed is not possible as passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia.
Dionysius Lardner 1830
It is apparent to me the possibilities of the airplane, that two or three years ago were thought to hold a solution... have been exhausted, and that we must turn elsewhere.
Thomas Edison 1895
A totally useless, hyper-polluting gimmick for a few ultra-privileged people in a hurry.
Deputy Mayor of Paris 2023
That final quote relates to plans to introduce electrical air taxis at the Olympic Games in Paris next year. Politicians rarely grasp science, our own Prime Minister overseeing the Covid pandemic on the basis of having given it up at fifteen.
What is significant about the Deputy Mayoral comment ~ in view of his responsibility for ecological matters ~ is that automobiles and airplanes were considered playthings for the rich too. Had they not been invented though, Dan Lest would neither be ferried in a limousine nor benefit from flights on business or holidays.
It is therefore a quote that could only emerge from a Europe far up it's own backside.
