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History of the car essay
An executive summary about the history of automobiles
History of the car essay
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Starting in the late 1700's, European engineers began tinkering with motor powered vehicles. Steam, combustion, and electrical motors had all been attempted by the mid 1800's. By the 1900's, it was uncertain which type of engine would power the automobile. At first, the electric car was the most popular, but at the time a battery did not exist that would allow a car to move with much speed or over a long distance. Even though some of the earlier speed records were set by electric cars, they did not stay in production past the first decade of the 20th century. The steam-driven automobile lasted into 1920's. However, the price on steam powered engines, either to build or maintain was incomparable to the gas powered engines. Not only was the price a problem, but the risk of a boiler explosion also kept the steam engine from becoming popular. The combustion engine continually beat out the competition, and the early American automobile pioneers like Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford built reliable combustion engines, rejecting the ideas of steam or electrical power from the start.
Automotive production on a commercial scale started in France in 1890. Commercial production in the United States began at the beginning of the 1900's and was equal to that of Europe's. In those days, the European industry consisted of small independent firms that would turn out a few cars by means of precise engineering and handicraft methods. The American automobile plants were assembly line operations, which meant using parts made by independent suppliers and putting them together at the plant. In the early 1900's, the United States had about 2,000 firms producing one or more cars. By 1920 the number of firms had decreased to about 100 and by 1929 to 44. In 1976 the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association had only 11 members. The same situation occurred in Europe and Japan.
The first automobile produced for the masses in the US was the three-horsepower, curved-dash Oldsmobile; 425 of them were sold in 1901 and 5,000 in 1904--this model is still prized by collectors. The firm prospered, and it was noted by others, and, from 1904 to 1908, 241 automobile-manufacturing firms went into business in the United States. One of these was the Ford Motor Company which was organized in June 1903, and sold its first car on the following July 23. The company produced 1,700 cars during its first ...
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...hing, more prominent than the effect on the farms. The automobile has radically changed city life by accelerating the outward expansion of population into the suburbs. The suburban trend is emphasized by the fact that highway transportation encourages business and industry to move outward to sites where land is cheaper, where access by car and truck is easier than in crowded cities, and where space is available for their one or two story structures. Better roads were constructed, which further increased travel throughout the nation. As with other automobile-related phenomena, the trend is most noticeable in the United States but is rapidly appearing elsewhere in the world.
Before the automobile, people both lived in the city and worked in the city, or lived in the country and worked on a farm. Because of the automobile, the growth of suburbs has allowed people to live on the outskirts of the city and be able to work in the city by commuting. New jobs due to the impact of the automobile such as fast food, city/highway construction, state patrol/police, convenience stores, gas stations, auto repair shops, auto shops, etc. allow more employment for the world's growing population.
By the early 1900’s, automobiles had become a common sight on the roads of the United States. Edison tried to create an electric battery that could power an electric car. Due to the abundant availability of gasoline, the electric car did not receive the response that Edison hoped for. However, the car battery was a huge success, and still plays a pivotal role in the automobile industry.
Car culture had caused some serious headaches for city planners in the 1950s. They had not anticipated the added traffic when building cities and were forced to adjust their plans with mixed results. There were many side effects to the restructuring of the city, and most were not good for the city center. Business and customers were no longer funneled into the now crowded city center in favor of the more spacious and convenient periphery. Community life as well as business in the city center really suffered as a result of suburbanization caused by the car. Jane Jacobs says in her chapter called "Erosion of Cities or Attrition of Automobiles" in the book Autopia, "Today everyone who values cities is disturbed by automobiles (259...
In Three stages of American automobile consciousness, Flink states that the automobile industry growing rapidly in both urban and suburban area , and it gradually becomes a core industry of the economy in the 20th century. The auto industry facilitates the relation between city and suburban area and speed the pace of building modern agriculture. So, it seems like that automobile do more good than harm in the rural area. For example, in Flink’s article, it says “The general adoption of the automobile by farmers promised to break down the isolation of rural life, lighten farm labor and reduce significantly the cost of transporting farm products to market. (p6,Three Stages of American Automobile Consciousness)” Whereas in fact the Kline and Pinch
In the twentieth century, the introduction of the motor vehicle in the United States became not only noteworthy, but also vital in the development of modern American civilization. This technologically complex machine led citizens to vast future dependence on the invention. While mobility was suddenly not limited to alternative, more convoluted options such as railroad stations or bicycles, yet copiously amplified to aid convenience and expanded leisure opportunities. From auto-racing to redesigning infrastructure, motor vehicles allowed progression, digression, and essentially uttermost change to the lifestyles of the American people. This radical idea of the automobile permeated throughout America with most, if not all, credit renowned to Henry Ford.
He received investments from all over to help form the Henry Ford Company in 1899. Ford’s father was proud to see his son’s name on automobiles, but was frustrated when Ford needed to constantly improve the efficiency. Ford left his namesake company in 1902 for financial reasons. After he left, it changed names to the Cadillac Motor Car Company. Later that year, Ford founded the Ford Motor Company. A month after the company was formed, the Ford Model A was built at the Ford Motor Plant in Detroit. Only a couple of these cars were able to be made every day, so sales were slow. There were only about 2 to 3 workers to assemble these cars. But Ford was motivated to create an efficient and consumer friendly automobile. These innovations resulted in the Ford Model T. The Model T was a great liftoff for Ford and his company, and as a result, he practiced techniques of mass production the would change American Industry, including using large production plants. The mass production technique made it easier for people to assemble cars and the rate of producing these cars were much quicker. It was also a cheaper way to produce automobiles, and in 1914, Ford was able to raise the daily wage to 5 dollars. Production skyrocketed for the Model T and by 1918, half of America had purchased these inexpensive and readily available cars. In 1919, Ford made his son Edsel as the president of the company, but Ford still kept control of the company’s day to day operations. That same year, Ford stopped making the Model T and invented the New and improved Model A , which had better horsepower and brakes, and better overall improvements. By this time, Ford had sold 15 million Model T’s and had opened plants that manufactured the Model
The automobile had changed America in many ways since it has been created in the early 1900’s. When the automobile was first invented it was a thing only the rich could afford. After the invention of the mass production line more and more people were able to buy automobiles because they were being produce and sold for cheaper. A historian once said that Henry ford is the reason why common people have no limitations of their geography.
Factories and places of work were changed by welfare capitalism the provided workers with shorter hours, paid vacations, and sick days. The workplace also changed due to the invention of new products. One product that was developed in the 1920s was the automobile. The automobile was already invented at the time, but it was made much cheaper and more accessible to the general public. Henry Ford was the founder of the Ford motor company who “built the famous Model T car that was affordable to the middle class due in part to the efficiency of his signature assembly-line manufacturing technique”(Riggs). Not only did Ford make a model of car that was affordable to people in the middle class, he also developed techniques for manufacturing, like the assembly line, that we still use today. He was able to find a way to modernize the model and price of the cars and also the workplace that they were made in. The development of cars also made it possible for suburbs to develop. Judith Baughman says that the suburbs were developed due to the ability to get there with automobiles (Baughman). Cars made is possible for people to easily get in and out of the city, and since more people were able to afford them, the suburbs were able to expand even more. The advancement of automobiles was a step in modernizing the country because of the new methods of transportation and the new techniques used in
The United States was also in the process of industrialization. Industries were built and electricity was the new form of power. Electric lights became available and the first movies were made. "By 1916, 21,000 movie houses were testimony of a new industry" (Hacker and Zahler 99). Automobiles became prevalent and that caused the need for roads to be built: "The early growth of the automobile industry wakened a new and much stronger demand for surfaced roads" (Hacker and Zahler 101). Henry Ford was a major contributor in propelling the automobile industry. He improved the assembly line and mass production of parts. "By 1914, the automobile industry had developed such characteristic features as standardization of parts, minute subdivision and mechanization of labor, and even the assembly line in manufacturing" (Hacker and Zahler 100). The United States experienced great social and industrial change on a national scale as well as international scale.
Model T’s were everywhere in America, even long after Ford stopped production in 1927. (Henry) While Ford was the number one brand, selling the most cars throughout the early 1900’s, the Model T created a new industry that is distinctly American; the auto industry. Three manufacturers, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler dominated the American auto industry, and all three companies still produce cars today. The Model T gave birth to the competitive auto market. To this day, car companies in America are constantly racing to innovate, improve, and outsell their competitors. Manufacturing of cars “became the backbone of a new consumer goods-oriented society. By the mid-1920s it ranked first in value of product, and in 1982 it provided one out of every six jobs in the United States.” (history –idk yet) The demand for cars also resulted in a booming petroleum industry, and a high demand for metals, like steel. ( History idk yet) Furthermore, with so many people driving cars, construction of roads was necessary. The popularity of automobiles set off a chain reaction that created new opportunities all across the country. All sections of the modern automotive industry, from marketing to manufacturing, as well industries like petroleum refining, steel production, and road construction, can trace their beginnings to the Ford Model
In the 1950s, everybody is dreaming of having a big car and cars became increase among the suburban and they are the heist who bought almost eight million cars in 1955. “Nine out of ten suburban families owned a car, as compared to six of ten urban households.” (Tindall and Shi 1255). New Technology changed everything, there transportation system were easy and this makes them travel from one place to another, the car changed their social life and make it suitability for them to go for shopping, better than riding animal and walking.
Because most of the people moved out from the cities to the suburbs, people needed cars to move between the suburbs and the cities. As a result of that, the car production improved and become one of the largest industry segments and until now the car production is one of the biggest industries all over the world. “The United States became the world's largest manufacturer of automobiles, and Henry Ford's goal of 40 years earlier that any man with a good job should be able to afford an automobile was achieved”( H. Eugene Weiss, Chrysler, Ford, Durant and Sloan: Founding Giants of the American Automotive Industry). In addition to the car culture, TV and entertainment played a big role too in the 1950s. The television helped to build consumerism and it helped to advertise all the products and furniture to make the housewife's buy them, the same thing is happening these days where the companies pay a lot of money just for few seconds advertisements.
Due to automobiles now being affordable to the public, the everyday lives of Americans was now completely different. By 1930, there was an average of nearly one car per family in America. Not only this, but “the production of automobiles replaced the railroad industry as the key promoter of economic growth” according to John J. Newman and John M. Schmalbach. This shows how much the production
In 1916 the Ford Model T wasn’t the first car in America it was the first car of the American people forging the beginning of a transportation revolution. Progressing into the 1920s and 1930s cars got a lot better at being cars with higher top speeds, more refined design, and safer construction. With these advancements cars were rapidly becoming tools in more Americans lives as they got better. When the United States became involved in World War II automotive development was shifted into military vehicle development to design and produce the all terrain vehicles tanks and other machines needed in the war effort. After WWII American automotive companies went back to building consumer vehicles fairly similar similar to the prewar models until
Did you know that the early automobiles used levers not steering wheels? The first automobile was made in 1769 for the French army. Though, people believe that the first true automobile was made by Karl Friedrich Benz in 1885.This automobile was powered by gasoline and hade three wheels not four. The first carriage-sized automobile suitable for use on existing wagon roads in the United States was a steam powered vehicle invented in 1871, by Dr. J.W. Carhart. It induced the State of Wisconsin in 1875, to offer a $10,000 award to the first to produce a practical substitute for the use of horses and other animals. Over the years automobiles have become more and more complexed, but over the years it still is being used and it still has a big impact on our lives.
329) There was not one specific person who "invented the automobile," but, there were many people who contributed to the invention of the automobile.(Ingrassia, 5) (Boyne, 31) These people include Isaac Newton, who developed a power carriage in the fourteen twenties, and Joseph Cugnot, who built the first steam powered automobile in seventeen sixty nine. The first American to develop an automobile was Nathan Redd.(Brown, 329) The use of the automobile in the United States became common due to the convenience and reliability of a quick, easy to operate source of transportation. The American people began to build their homes further from their jobs, and further from civilization because they could commute back and forth much more quickly.(Simanaitis, 337) The convenience, reliability, and easy commute were only a few positive effects of the development of the automobile in the United States. The invention of the automobile also directly stimulated the economical growth and success of the United States.