James May visits Russia, Japan and Europe to discover how motoring came to the masses.
A look at European cars: the VW Beetle, the Trabant, the Wartburg 353, the Fiat 500, the Fiat 124 and the Lada which was based on the Fiat 124.
A look at two extremes: the massive American gas-guzzling "automotive palaces" with their excess of chrome and fins, and the low-powered three-wheeler microcars which could be driven without a driving licence or on a motorbike licence.
James continues to take a look at the examination of the social significance of cars by taking a look at how aspiration and new wealth were behind the development of some of the greatest cars ever built.