Smyrna, South Carolina, USA

Here's what the family car looked like in the 1950s, big enough inside for all the baby-boomer kids, plus a Christmas tree on the roof. Today, 85 percent of Christmas trees are artificial, but before the 1960s you had to drive out into the country and cut one yourself or buy one from a seasonal tree lot. [2022]

New Harmony, Indiana, USA

When New Harmony was founded by the pietist Harmonites in 1814, they sought a location isolated from the world. And, isolated it remains, even to this day. That wasn't enough for the Harmonites, though. They abandoned the town a decade after they founded it. The so-called Harmonites appear to have been malcontents. [2022]

Tangier Island, Virginia, USA

What are the preferred modes of transit on Tangier? Walking and golf carts. In fact, there was a time when there were no motorized vehicles on the island. Today, there are quite a few utility vehicles and a car or two. You only need wheels if you are traveling to the mainland, so most islanders garage their cars in Crisfield, Maryland. [2022]

Winooski, Vermont, USA

In the 1970s, no one was impressed with a building just because it was over a hundred years old. In fact, the Winooski Block was lucky to have survived the urban renewal movement: The rest of the neighborhood was leveled. In the 1980s (see the cars!), the building was refurbished and now hosts stores on the ground level and 24 apartments upstairs. [1983]

Hartford, Connecticut, USA

Where? That's the fundamental geographic question. Where do you charge your electric vehicle? Eighty-five percent of drivers charge their EVs at home. The remainder look for free-standing stations like this or use facilities at their work place, hotel, or some other public or private establishment. How will more EVs change the cultural landscape? [2022]

Fes, Morocco

Arabic doesn't have a nice round O sound like the one you hear when you say Mobil. Arabs use the U sound instead: See the red letters in the dueling Mobil signs? What's the third language to show up here? French, of course. As for the handshake: That grip is so American. The Arab handshake is soft and gentle, not a vice to show someone how powerful you are. [1989]

Hobbs, New Mexico, USA

What do we put on a pedestal in American culture? Trucks. They represent a working-class life that parallels another icon of American culture, the cowboy and his horse. Of course, we put cars on a pedestal, too. [2018]

Millford, Ohio, USA

What do we put on a pedestal in American culture? Private enterprise. In this case, the message of capitalism is carried by a corporate van. It functions as something of a three-dimensional billboard, and its unusual position seems to be well-suited to catch your attention. [2017]

Hinton, West Virginia, USA

November expires today. The plates on this pickup expired June 30, 1949. Welcome to a time warp, where you can plop down in The Market and become part of a national historic landmark. That's because, decades ago, Hinton's entire downtown was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. [2021]

Jamestown, North Dakota, USA

In the United States we do anything we want with our flag. That's because the flag belongs to us: We, the People. Do you know that in many other countries the flag belongs to the government and its use is restricted to officially sanctioned places and events. But wait! Isn't there a U.S. Flag Code? [2021]

San Juan Capistrano, California, USA

"The gasoline that flowed through this collection of antique pumps found in San Juan Capistrano, California, transformed the American urban landscape in this century. No other state exalts the automobile as much as California." That was the caption provided for this photo when it was published in a book in 1993. [1988]

Williams, Arizona, USA

Next month, Williams will cash in on its location along Route 66 by using its annual classic car show to bring back some semblance of normalcy. Watching over it all will be a permanent fixture of the town's cultural landscape: an old Ford Bronco. [2019]

Elkhorn, Montana, USA

No one his age or driving a new FWD lives in Elkhorn today. He seems to be someone, however, who wants to spend a little time exploring one secluded corner of his home state. (Either that, or he's a ghost who haunts the road to the cemetery!) [2020]

Elkhorn, Montana, USA

The railroad was far more important to Elkhorn than all-weather roads. In fact, the road into town has never been macadamized. Judging from the artifact seen here, though, at least one early 20th century denizen got a car up the mountain to a resting place where its spirit of early automobility co-mingles with the spirit of place. [2020] 

Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

"Properly care for your car's tires." That's the message of this globe. See the tread marks and tire pressure nozzles? An efficiently running car eliminates thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere: Carbon dioxide pollution is what it was called in the 1970s; but, after the election of 1980, we didn't take it seriously. [2020]

Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, USA

Could it be a Ford Fairlane? Perhaps a little too humble to be a Cadillac. But, in the 1950s and 1960s dozens of models had fins. And, that baby blue was popular, too. Now, the era is nostalgically mimicked by a mailbox. [2008]

Hollywood East, California, USA

When it comes to the names of our favorite burger joints: No judgment! After all, you can't argue with success, even though southern California does not seem like a place where people would admit liking Fatburgers. Perhaps part of the appeal is their convenient drive-through window. Where did that originate? [2020]

Wilshire, Ohio, USA

Drive-in restaurants date back to 1921, well before drive-through pick-up lanes. Whether this is a real drive-in, though, is questionable. It doesn't appear they will send a waiter out to the car. Then, again, in the decades after World War II, all custard stands called themselves drive-ins. [2018]

Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

Does anyone else think these high-rise apartments look like corn cobs? Plant that idea in your head: You could build an apartment building that looks exactly like an ear of corn with an apartment in every kernal. Now think how cool it would be to make it look like an ear of Indian corn! [2020]

Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

 "Letters mingle souls, for thus, friends absent speak." That was the judgment of John Donne (a contemporary of one William Shakespeare) in the late 1500s. Today in Spain, that is the job of la oficina de correos (see it?). Or, is it the job of the teléfono móvil? Mobile phones are everywhere taking post offices out of the soul-mingling business. [2017]