Abstract
This article draws attention to how automobilisation as a mobility paradigm is shaped by social agencies such as national automobile owners associations. The author argues that by means of their reflexivity and their distinct responses to the risks of automobilisation, these clubs contribute to the reproduction of automobilisation. They do so, in that they mediate between the omnipresent expert systems that are embedded in the car and the individual lay user. Hence, these 'car custodians' enable what can be seen as the 'auto-man' - a hybrid consisting of the car and its user. (A)