In the 1920s, the automobile industry was being quickly innovated by companies coming out with new cars, very quickly. In 1901 the new Detroit factory burned down and the only automobile to be rescued from the flames was a gasoline powered runabout, the “curved dash” Oldsmobile. Also in 1901, there was a discovery of a seemingly “inexhaustible” supply of oil near Beaumont, Texas. These rich deposits of petroleum made gasoline readily available and gave added impetus to the internal combustion engine in its competition with steam and electric power. In March, fires destroyed most of the Olds Plant and the only car that was saved was the Curved Dash olds. Olds rebuilt immediately and put all the production resources into the little Curved Dash Olds, the “Merry Oldsmobile”. A car was envisioned which weighed 500 pounds and could be sold for $500. Actually, when the famous Curved-Dash Oldsmobile runabout car was finished, it weighed 700 pounds and was sold for $650. Between 1901 and 1904, over 12,000 Oldsmobile cars were built and sold. This was the first volume production car in the world. Speedometers appear first on Oldsmobile. To serve as an advertisement, a Curved Dash Olds was driven from Detroit to New York. This was the longest automobile trip that had been made in the U.S. until that time. Later, in about 1923, standard equipment included four wheel brakes, foot-controlled headlamp dimmer switches, and power operated windshield wipers. On Feb. 2, "Ethyl" gas was first put on the market. The lowest priced T was the runabout, selling at $265. 1908 October 1, Henry Ford put the first of his T's on the road. The 4-cylinder, 20-horsepower T was available in two styles. The runabout sold for $825, the touring for $850. During the last three months of 1908, the Ford Motor Company sold 6,000 cars. William C. Durant sold 9,000 Buick’s during 1908. The Ford Motor Company greatly outpaced its competitors in reconciling state-of-the-art design with moderate price. Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal called the four-cylinder, fifteen-horsepower, $600 Ford N (1906-1907) "the very first instance of a low-cost motorcar driven by a gas engine having cylinders enough to give the shaft a turning impulse in each shaft turn which was well built and offered in large numbers." Deluged with orders, Ford installed improved production equipment and after 1906 was able to make deliveries of a hundred cars a day.
Over the next few years however, Chevy's continuous remodeling, unlike Ford's, caused Chevy to take first place. By 1925, Chevy was offering multiple trucks and cars. Introduced the six-cylinder in 1929. In 1929 but mainly in the Thirties The Great Depression became more difficult, Chevy's slogan: "The Great American Value" stilled helped them manage to sell an ample amount of vehicles. Chevy's were known for both style and class thanks to designer Harley Earl, who gave Chevy cars, like the 1932 Deluxe Roadster, the look of the luxurious Cadillac brand. Also he incorporated the first 'Knee-Action front suspension in low price category. In 1935, the Chevy Suburban was introduced. It was the first continuously produced line of truck based 'wagons', now known as SUVs. Chevy's style had similar characteristics to that of Cadillac, although Chevy's were priced much lower, like the Sports Roadster, priced around $445 during the Depression years. Over the past 81 years, the Chevy Suburban has become that longest continually produced vehicle 'nameplate' in the U.S., still having many of the same purposes now in 2016, as it did in 1935. Chevrolet entered the Forties with a bright outlook and new models of cars, then World War 2 started. Chevy had massive war efforts and helped the Allied forces. After WWII, people couldn't wait to get new cars & trucks, with newer
As James Flink points out in The Automobile Age, the village store and the local banks were the businesses most vulnerable to the new competition (47). Robert E. Wood, former vice president of Sears, explains how businesses moved to the suburbs, "When the automobile reached the masses, it changed this condition [the funneling of consumers into the town centre] and made shopping mobile. In the great cities Sears located its stores well outside the main shopping districts, on cheap land, usually on arterial highways, with ample parking space (Wollen 13)." Thus city centers came to be seen as sites of congestion, whereas the surrounding areas were regarded as accessible and convenient. The rapid proliferation of shopping complexes outside of the city center in the 1950s left down town a crime-ridden wasteland of vacated stores. City centers no longer featured traditional shops; instead they contained gas stations, parking lots, and inns whose focus was on the travelers and their cars (Wollen 13).
Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler surfaced as the “Big Three” auto companies heading into the 1920’s. The invention of the automobile revolutionized transportation; by the 1920’s cars made places easier to access to people. Many of the traditionalists did approve of the automobiles, but some of them just favored the old way of walking places. The traditionalists were fearful of car accidents with the upbringing of the automobile. During the 1920’s a driver’s license was not needed in most states, and there weren’t really any “rules of the road” quite yet. No signs, signals, or traffic guards, and the roads were not ready for automobiles or pedestrians yet. Some traditionalists were not for these life risking ways of automobiles, but they were accepted among most for an increase in transportation and their easy access to even those who were not rich. The modernists at this time were known to want the exciting new changes and risks, so they were all for the automobiles. This rebellious group knew the advancement of technology with automobiles meant transportation to explore, and not be stuck in the same places within walking distance. The 1920’s
In the July 1997 issue of Commentary, James Q. Wilson challenges the consensus among academia’s finest regarding the automobile in his bold article, Cars and Their Enemies. Directed towards the general public, his article discredits many of the supposed negatives of the automobile raised by experts, proves that the personal car is thriving and will continue to thrive because it meets individual preference over other means of transportation, as well as presents solutions to the social costs of cars. Wilson emphasizes that no matter what is said and done in eliminating the social costs of the automobile, experts are not going to stop campaigning against it.
Some say that automotive racing began when the second car was built. For over a hundred years, competition has driven innovation in the car industry, thus the industry maxim “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.” NASCAR and drag racing contributed greatly to muscle cars’ success. Muscle cars were born from these competitions as factory made race cars. Because of this, the muscle car quickly moved from a low quantity specialty item to the image of the American automotive scene. Each brand had to have one and each one needed better performance and personality than the next. The Golden Age began in the 1960s with the introduction of more performance models such as the Chevy SS Impala and the Ford Galaxy Starliner (Auto Editors).
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).
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.
The First production of the Model T came out on October 1, 1908 at the Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit. (www.hfmgv.org) At the time the Model T was going for a price around $850 and by the Twenties a newer model could be bought for at a price of $275.(Gordon) Although having a Model T, was a sign of wealth, it was awfully cheaper than other cars being manufactured by the other manufactures. The Model T was different from all other cars being made at the time because Ford found a way to make his car affordable. The Low Price of the Model T sent a boom around the nation. "Over the next 19 years, Ford would build 15,000,000 automobiles with the Model "T" engine, the longest run of any single model apart from the Volkswagen Beetle." (www.hfmgv.org) "In 1900 America produced 4,100 automobiles; in 1908, the year of the Model T's advent, the number had risen to 63,500; in 1909 it had nearly doubled, to 123,900. In 1916 it stood at 1,525,500." (Gordon)
During the 1960's the demand for sub-compact cars was rising on the market. Ford Motor Company, in competition with the foreign market, decided to introduce the Ford Pinto. The Ford Pinto was going to be the new wave for the Ford Company, but it was soon discovered that numerous problems existed. For example, the time that it took to manufacture an automobile was down from three and a half years to just over two years. Before production, however, the engineers at Ford discovered a major flaw in the cars design. In nearly all rear-end crash test collisions the Pinto's fuel system would rupture extremely easily (The Ford Pinto, n.d.). Other problems that were discovered compounded the problem that caused the fires. These included the gas tank being about six inches from the flimsy bumpers, the backend not containing rear sub frame members, and doors tending to jam shut in an accident. The fuel filler tube was prone to separate and create spillage (Alfred, n.d.).
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
Henry Ford originally intended the Model T to be the “farmer’s car.” But in order to make a car that was financially available to the common man, Ford needed an industrial revolution that would allow him to produce numerous automobiles at an inexpensive price. He succeeded in doing so by implementing his innovative assembly line and specialized labor for the production of the Ford Model T. By the 1920s, car manufacturing exploded due to Ford’s cheap and simplistic methods of production causing prices to drop significantly and allowing the Model T to fit within the average ...
in 1908 but by 1925 Model T car cost only $290. By the end of the
Honda, The Car Everyone Needs Beep! Beep! Beep! Goes the alarm clock in the other room. Oh man, surely it can't be time to get up yet, you think to yourself. As you scramble out of the bed and into the shower, the thought crosses your mind, I hope my car starts.
By 1899 Ford created a more proper looking motorcar with the help of wealthy businessman William Murphy. It had high wheels, a padded double bench, brass lamps, mud guards, and a "racy" look. In the same year Ford founded the Detroit Automobile Company. Within 3 years Ford had built an improved, more reliable Quadricycle, using a four-cylinder, 36 horsepower-racing engine. In 1901 his car beat what was then the world's fastest automobile in a race before a crowd of eight thousand people in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. The publicity he received for this victory allowed Ford to finance a practical laboratory for refining his auto ideas. In 1903 Ford launched his own car company, The Ford Motor Car Company, and by January 1904 he had sold 658 vehicles. By 1908 he built the famous Model T, a car that was affordable to the middle class. The automobile was no longer the toy of the rich.
In "The Street Car,” the Czech Republican writer Viktor Cepek illustrates what is like to be in the street as well as inside the street car in his country during the Christmas season. On the other hand, in the other essay called "There's No Escape," the Korean writer Chris Song writes about his observation of his classroom during his chemistry lecture back in middle school. Despite the fact that these writers have different cultural backgrounds and different target audiences, the writers are both insiders in regard to their topics, their essays are both observatory, and their essays are both organized spatially as evident from their writings. Both Cepek and Song are familiar with their topics that they write about in their essays. Cepek is originally from Czech Republic and, as written in his essay, he witnesses many different events happening in his hometown while feeling the coldness that he has not yet gotten accustomed to during the winter.