How Automobile Benefited America During The Twentieth Century

The automobile began as a rich man’s toy, and in today’s society almost every single person owns one of these miraculous inventions. After the automobile became more popular, society has evolved around it, creating highways and fast food chains. The automobile has revised from a bare invention, such as the horseless carriage, to now technologically advanced motor vehicles with bluetooth and wireless internet. Since the beginning age of the automobile in 1885, the invention has advanced, prospered, and changed society throughout the world.

The introduction to the document stated “…Yet I think there can be no serious question that the motor-car has come to be more important to us socially than the horse.”2 It is evident, A. Albert was saying that cars became much more important than horses. An automobile was something that every person should have, it became a necessity. There is a reason why this time period was called the “roaring twenties”. It was an age of mass production, mass consumption and an age of social and economic advancement. Automobiles were made with a simple purpose, to help shorten the travel time, however it made traveling also interesting and fun. Big automobile industries such as “Ford” began making stereo systems. Now people could listen to the same music, or radio stations which made people have something in common. Looking at the big picture automobiles were a part of the “roaring twenties”. The reason 1920’s were the “roaring twenties” was in fact because of automobiles. Without automobiles, there would not have been such a drastic increase of people moving/commuting to cities. Since cars ran on gas it meant gas stations were also a necessity. A large amount of cars were being made therefor a lot of materials were needed and new roads were being paved which meant that there were more jobs and a decline in an unemployment

The concept of the automobile was first started in England during Industrial Revolution in the Eighteenth Century. The automobiles were powered by steam engine. Later on, inventors like Henry Ford began thinking further ahead about gasoline engine to produce powerful cars because steam engine cars were not enjoyable because it takes almost ten to twenty minutes to heat up the engine before driving. On June 16, 1903 Henry Ford started the ford motor company (Wikipedia). Almost 500,000 workers were employed in the automobile industry (Nick). Following this many Americans found job opportunities to make their life better in other hand they help the economy and expedite the growth of the country. Soon Ford motor company produced automobiles that were affordable like the Model-T. ”By 1927 the Ford Motor Company had sold over 15.5 million Model Ts in the United States.” (My Life and Work 560). “Nearly half of all American families owned a car in 1929” (561). According to this cars become big part of American's life. Families can go visit family or friend living farther away. Workers drive their automobile to workplace and arrive on time. Overall automotives boost up the productivity and efficiency which led American people to live cozy life, besides give them more time to entertain and refresh

- - -, prod. “Route Talk.” Episode #5. Serial. This American Life, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 23 May 2016.

something that everyone once dreamed of owning. Now after the war. they could finally own one. Automobiles of the 1940’s were dull and very plain. This was because designers were too busy designing tanks, planes, etc... for the ongoing war. The major event that took place that changed the way cars looked and how they performed happened on October 14, 1947. This was when Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. From this point on everyone wanted to go faster.

The first automobile was made useful in France and Germany in the late 1800’s. America’s industry of automobile started in the early 1990’s. Henry ford had a big production that was used everywhere and made America’s production well known in the world. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/11430673/Environmental_Challenges_Facing_the_American_Auto_Industry

The automobiles made a huge impact in United States history. The first car was the electric car and was one of the most popular cars but didn’t have a battery that lasted or could go fast. Then the steam-powered car was built and lasted into the 1920s, but the price was high and there was a risk of the engine exploding, so the car wasn’t very popular. The gas-powered cars became very popular in the 1920s and Ford sold over a million automobiles.

Karl Benz invented the first automobile in 1866; it has changed the world in how we commute every day. From riding in carriages to now cutting our time travel whether it is riding a bus or our on car. It has become more of a necessity in today's world to have a car because its something that we choose to have in our daily life that it is a choice that is high on the priority list to own. As to wealthier people the type of car you drive puts in a different class. Where some get the choice of car that they want others have a certain budget on what to look for. The way an automobile symbolizes today, changed in society, and how a car has become a collection.

The invention of the automobile dates all the way back to the mid 18th century with the development of the first steam powered automobile by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot. As time went on in history other types of automobiles were developed to enhance the transportation system in the United States. The cost to develop all these different types of automobiles over the years was very expensive, which caused the cost to purchase any type of automobile to be too expensive as well. At first it was a luxury type item, that only the rich and powerful could own because many could not afford to purchase any types of automobiles developed at the time. It was not until the early 20th century, when Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company changed the way of transportation

In 1769, the first automobile, a steam-powered carriage that would carry up to four people at two miles per hour, was created. Years pass as gasoline engines, wheels, and a steering device were added to the automobile, which began to make it useful but expensive (“The Invention of Automobiles”). They were hand-crafted at this time, therefore making it unaffordable. Until Henry Ford introduced the assembly line in 1913, automobiles remained expensive. His discovery of the assembly line turned the hand-crafted machines to mass-produced automobiles. Since automobiles were being mass-produced, the cost for assembling a single car dropped low enough for it to be affordable to many families (“The Invention of Automobiles”).

Cars were suppose to have a big impact on the United States of America. Towards the end of the 1800’s it was perfected in Germany and France by some men. Their names are Nicolaus Otto, gottlieb Daimler, Carl Benz, and Emile Levassor.

Climate change and transportation play a big role and it is important to be concerned for our future generations. The use of gasoline cars is a major producer in carbon dioxide emissions, although they are not entirely responsible for it—they play a role in it. Other form of transportations like buses and taxis also contribute to carbon dioxide emissions. The total amount of carbon dioxide emissions from an average car is seventy six percent which comes from usage of a vehicle containing gasoline. Efficiency has increased by twenty percent in regards to electric motors, especially when it comes to their wheels using no power when the car is at rest. Car ownership will increase and with this, improvements in technology could be a vital

The Automobile played a big part in the way people go to place to place and it also played a part in the economy and the rapid growth in the United States in the twentieth century. With the higher incomes, it meant that people had money to spend on cars and goods. The inventing of the automobile was the greatest thing people have come up with because know that is the only way people get around these days.

Rudi Volti’s Cars and Culture: The Life Story of a Technology (Greenwood Press, 2004) examines the evolution of the automobile, starting from 1765, with Nicholas Cugnot’s steam-powered vehicles, to the present day. The goal of the book, as stated by Volti in the introduction, is to “pay particular attention to the automobile’s technical evolution while at the same time delineating the cultural, social, and political context in which that evolution has taken place” (xi). Thus, Volti also demonstrates the cultural and societal effects that resulted from the emergence and mass production of automobiles. Volti divides the history of automobiles into seven time periods, each a separate chapter that achieves his goal. He accomplishes his objectives by stating the technological advances and societal context under different headings, occasionally linking the two topics together.

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