The Automotive mechanic

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The Automotive Mechanic

By definition a mechanic is a person who repairs or maintains machinery. An automotive mechanic is a person who maintains, repairs, and customizes automobiles. My father was a mechanic, and throughout my life I too have developed a passion for automobiles. Before the introduction of the assembly line by Henry Ford, there were no automobile mechanics. If an automobile owner’s vehicle broke down or required new parts, the owner had to maintain the vehicle themselves. Most automobiles were made using the same parts, so often finding spare parts was not challenging. However, when a spare part could not be found, people would often turn to bicycle mechanics, machinists, plumbers or blacksmiths to repair or fabricate the parts they needed. The earliest for of mechanics were treated more like servants and chauffeurs by the wealthy.
Those who could afford it would hire chauffer-mechanics to both maintain and operate their automobiles for them. These employees were much more independent than the average carriage driver or footman they superseded. Unfortunately the wealthy of the time were not so kind in the treatment of their chauffer-mechanics, and treated them more like servants; forcing the workers to use their specialized knowledge to wager better pay and privileges from their

DuFour 2 wealthy bosses. After the mass production of the automobile made vehicles commercially available, a demand for mechanics who specialized in automobile maintenance was created. Most early automobiles were made with the same parts so many parts were easy to find and replace, but some had to...

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..., and repair a problem. Normally automotive shops are open from nine in the morning to five in the evening. There is a wide pay range as automotive mechanics can expect to make anywhere from 30,000 dollars a year to 90,000 dollars a year paid hourly. The boss of an automotive shop is usually known as the shop supervisor or the shop owner and will have a number of mechanics who work under him or her and no one works under the mechanics.
Without automotive mechanics every automobile owner would be expected to maintain and repair their own vehicles. In today’s instant gratification society we can assume that without the automotive mechanic industry automobiles would break down more frequently and be less reliable. People may even still turn to bicycle mechanics, machinists, plumbers or blacksmiths to repair or fabricate the parts they needed to repair their vehicles.

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