Frustrated by the limitations of personal transportation, rival engineers Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler set out to liberate humanity from their dependence on the horse by harnessing the power of the internal combustion engine.

As the car becomes more than a curiosity, early car makers gain traction with their inventions. The outbreak of WWI catapults the industry into a new era of competition, paving the way for a new generation of engineers.

As the roaring twenties bring cars to the American masses, Germany lags far behind--and Japan struggles to modernize. The car could be the answer to the problems of both nations, as Germany searches for a "people's car" to help pull them from an economic depression, and a small group of industrialists and upstarts see the car as the way to claim Japan's rightful place in the world. Then World War II changes everything.

As America enters a golden age of car design, German and Japanese car makers struggle to recover from the devastation of World War II.