Since the development of the steam engine people had been interested in creating self-powered vehicles, this manifested during the industrial revolution as the train. However, as time went on people became interested in creating a vehicle that wasn’t confined to tracks. The earliest attempts were moderately successful but served little practical purpose. Automobiles first began to truly spread with the invention of the electric motor which created cheaper, more powerful, and safer automobiles. Still the automobile still had numerous problems and were mainly in the hands of the rich. It was the development of the internal combustion engine and the assembly line that was truly able to create a practical vehicle that could be used by all and propelled the automobile into the heart of American culture and made it one of the most significant inventions of the post-industrial revolution era, resulting in a complete revolution of society.
The earliest prototypes of self-powered vehicles began in the 1700’s with the first one being built by Nicholas Cugnot, weighing over 8000 pounds and clocking in at a top speed of 2 miles per hour (Bottorff). This large size and slow speed meant that it was impractical as an automobile. Several other prototype vehicles were built in this style by various inventors but were so heavy that they required metal rails to drive on, and so over time they evolved into trains and locomotives (Bottorff). Trains and steam power continued to develop and interest in a self-powered vehicle that didn’t require tracks faded, until the mid-1800’s when new developments in power sources encouraged the development of the automobile.
The earliest automobiles were powered by steam; however, it was a very poor power source due...
... middle of paper ...
...8-1969., 1954-1963
“The Fuel & Engine.” Car Bibles. N.p., 15 Dec. 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. .
“Henry Ford and the Assembly Line.” 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. .
“Henry Ford Changes the World, 1908.” Eye Witness to History. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. .
“Internal Combustion Engine.” Info Please. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. .
“World’s first electric car built by Victorian inventor in 1884.” The Telegraph. N.p., 24 Apr. 2009. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. .
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.
In the early twentieth century, a prominent Michigan businessman fathered the American automobile industry. This innovative engineer and machinist revolutionized the world’s manufacturing techniques with the advent of the “moving assembly line” technique for mass production. Henry Ford’s innovations will forever change transportation and the American industry. With his acquired wealth and power, Ford turned his head towards politics. In 1918 Ford became the leading candidate for a Michigan senate seat; however he was unable to achieve this goal.
After the steam engine was created in the early 17th century, many people and companies tried to take that same technology and apply it to automobiles. Nobody was successful until a British inventor by the name of Richard Trevithick created a multi passenger automobile that ran on a power source that was driven by a steam-propelled piston at high pressure (Bellis). Up until the mid 1900’s cars were only produced by specifically skilled blacksmiths, and were very expensive. There were only about 4,000 cars produced from the 1890’s to mid 1900’s (Bellis).
This radical idea of the automobile permeated throughout America with most, if not all credit renowned to Henry Ford. Observed as a technological mastermind, Ford commenced experiments involving machinery from the time he was adolescent to launching his career working at the Edison Illuminating Company. He examined internal combustion engines and gasoline buggy ideas eventually resulting in removing himself from Edison’s company and his introduction in the emerging automobile industry. Following in 1903, he established the Ford Motor Company, which expeditiously became a leader in the automotive industry and would gain extensive wealth within only a few decades. While other manufacturers strove to produce automobiles to be extravagant and luxurious predominantly for the wealthy, he immensely focused on efficient mass production of durable, affordable vehicles for the expanding middle-class market.
The 1920's were a time where North America became modernized. Whether it was the music, the culture or the growth in technology, this time era is known to most people as the point where America advanced itself to become a world renowned country. An advancement that will be focused on is the Ford Model T. During this time owning a car was a symbol of wealth. Henry Ford, the creator of the Model T, made a system that revolutionized the automobile industry as we know it today. Henry Ford made it possible for people with an average income to own a motor vehicle by creating the assembly line and the theory of mass production. "The horse, which had been the chief means of land transportation for 3,500 years, had given way to the automobile, and the country's largest industry had been born." (Gordon)
Henry Ford was one of the most important and influential inventors and businessmen in the short history of America. He revolutionized the business world and he changed forever the efficiency of factories around the world. One of the reasons that Henry Ford can be considered such an important man is that his ideas and concepts are still used today. Boron on July 30, in the year of 1863, Henry Ford was the oldest child of the family. His parents, William and Mary Ford, were “prosperous farmers” in his hometown of Dearborn. While they we’re well off for farmers, Ford certainly wasn’t spoiled and fed from silver spoons. Ford was just like any other typical young boy during the rural nineteenth century. From early on there we’re signs that Henry was going to be something more than a farmer. He looked with interest upon the machinery that his father and himself used for their farming, and looked with disdain at the rigorous chores of a farmer. In the year 1879, Henry being a meager 16 years old, he moved to the city of Detroit where he would work as an apprentice machinist. Henry would remain in Detroit working and learning about all varieties of machines. Although he occasionally came back to visit Dearborn, he mostly stayed in Detroit, picking up more and more valuable knowledge. This apprenticeship allowed him to work in the factories of Detroit and learn what a hard working blue-collar job was like. When he did return to Dearborn he was always tearing apart and rebuilding his fathers machines, along with the dreaded farm chores. Henry Ford was a hard worker and that was proven by him getting fired from one of his jobs in Detroit because the older employees we’re mad at him because he was finishing his repairs in a half hour rather than the usual five hours. Clara Bryant would represent the next step in now twenty-five year old Henry Ford’s life. The two lovers we’re married in 1888 and would endure good times as well as bad. In order to support his new wife Henry was forced to work the land as he ran a sawmill that was given to him by his father. His father actually attempted to bribe Henry to stay in the farming business as he gave him the land only under the condition that he would continue on as a farmer.
Steam powered harvesters and tractors were introduced by the end of 19th century. It started to gradually replace horses. However in some regions they created new problems as well. Vehicles proved to be too heavy for soft soils and often stuck and even sunk. Experiments with various sizes of wheels didn't produce good results. Increasing size of wheels just made vehicles heavier and more difficult to operate.
The invention that I am covering is the daimler quadricycle. The daimler quadricycle was one of the first vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine. It was first debuted to the world at the 1889 Paris world exposition however it made an appearance at the 1893 Chicago world exposition. The Daimler Quadricycle received a lot of intrigue around the word after the 1889 Paris world fair, because of its “V-twin engine” (Ling 97). The vehicle was also capable of going at a top speed of eleven miles per hour, an impressive speed for the times .Another
The most successful steam car was the Stanley Steamer, invented in Newton, Massachusetts in 1897 by Francis and Freelan Stanley. It was produced until 1924. The steam car did not fare well because it was not suited for long distance travel, was too hard to start and posed the hazard of an open fire. In the late 1890’s and early 1900’s the electric car was the most popular type of automobile. William Morrison was the creator of this type of car. People liked the electric car because it was easy to operate, ran quietly and did not give off fumes. Unfortunately for modern society, the electric cars could not go faster than 20 miles an hour, and the battery had to be recharged every fifty miles.
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
Technology has been enhanced significantly since the first invention, especially in the twenty first century. From medical machines to engineering equipment and from electronic devices to automobile industry. In the the automobile industry, specifically motor vehicles, technology has been integrated in every motor vehicle such as radars, GPS, radio, sensors, digital screens, and even cars have the ability to drive itself autonomously. People nowadays have the choice to buy a human-driven or driverless car. Both have some similarities and differences as well.
Before the invention of the modern day engine, lifestyles were completely different. Letters were sent by horse drawn wagons, people traveled by horses and other such animals, often taking an entire day to go twenty miles. The first direct injection fuel engine was not invented until 1923.[1] It only took a year before this engine was put into automobiles, making the lives of the general public much easier. The invention of the engine not only made it possible to travel by road, but also by water and air. Mail was no longer delivered by horses and families were able to travel from one place to another in less than an entire day. However, the affects of the modern day engine can be seen all over the world. Take Los Angeles for example; the city is filled with smog which is from the overcrowding of all the freeways with automobiles. Technology has escalated to a level where engines are no longer made by the working man. Now, engines can be made simply machines and computer based tools. However, these thought of simple ways of creating engines are not as easy as the first seemed. There are many positive and negative aspects of using technology to design engines.
The electric motor is an innovative way of making a new greener way of developing and designing automobiles. Throughout history the first known electric car was built in 1837 by chemist Robert Davidson of Aberdeen. It was powered by galvanic cells also known as batteries. It weighed 6 tons and went approximately 4 miles per hour. It would travel a distance of 1 and a half miles before the batteries would die. This made the electric car very impractical and unreliable, people did not think it would become a factor in the automotive world.
The history of car is really a legend. The first steam-powered car was designed by Nicolas-Joseph. The top speed of this car is only 6 km/hour (GOCURRENCY, 2011). Furthermore, the weight of the car is very heavy, it was impossible to drive it on the road because there was not any bituminous road then. When the second industrial revolution came, internal-combustion engine appeared and it really changed the future of car. In 1807, Francois Isaac de Rivaz designed the first internal combustion engine, using a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen to generate energy, which made car become lighter. In September of 1893, after several small changes to Lenoir's design , the first gasoline powered car appeared. Henry Ford was considered as the first car on the road. Then they began to sell cars with the Ford Motor Company formed in 1903. So car became a new tool to travel instead of the carriage .
Imagine a world without transportation, have you ever taken the time to think how much more difficult our lives would end up being. Once the first cars were invented, the world changed forever. Most people attempted to make other forms of transportation. A German engineer by the name Gottlieb Daimler invented the first gasoline-powered motorcycle in 1885 (The World Book Encyclopedia). When people were aware of this new form of transportation, companies began to sprout.