Automobile in History Essay

The United States as a country was founded upon simple fundamental guidelines that have allowed for us to become a leading power in the world. These guidelines have been rapidly evolving and expanding to allow them to remain relevant in the world around us. An obvious example of this rapid change and adaptation is the introduction of the car into everyday American life. It is well known that cars were invented prior to the Model T, but the Model T was the first car capable of being mass produced and affordable to Americans with proper fiscal management (Kyvig 47). With this breakthrough by Henry Ford people were becoming more connected than ever and the manufacturing while simultaneously creating an entire new element in the world of business. Once the people were equipped with the ability to drive the nation forward in all regards, they did exactly that. With the mass production and use of the Model T the United States improved greatly within our own economy, leisurely drives and motor sports were derived from the traditional use of the car, and the car soon became a mark of status within American society. 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 full year of business. Henry Ford produced the Model T to be an economical car for the average American. By 1920 Ford sold over a million cars. It is a well known fact that the Model T was the byproduct of a much larger scheme; it was the first manufactured good that utilized the assembly line (Kyvig 78). The assembly line has proven to be one of the most significant factors in American manufacturing throughout time. This revolutionary introduction into the business world allowed for the expansions of industry into parts of the country it had never been able to touch before (American Decades 84). By incorporating these techniques into his company the term Fordinomics was coined (Anonymous 1). The implemention of this Fordinomics was simple focus on your small portion and in the end put it all together for cheaper and better quality (Anonymous 1). This specific assembly line allowed for two key components of the manufacturing market to be vastly improved in a very short amount of time. It can be observed that the more obvious of the two is the simple efficiency of the assembly line and much less strenuous work it brought. The other is the production of the car and its use in shipping efforts. Prior to this time shipping was solely in the hands of the railroad industry, but no longer. This monopoly that was broken by this introduction thrust the United States into a position of potential economic greatness. The greatness was achieved through thoroughly spread pockets of manufacturing in key cities around the country. Within this pockets were always massive urban centers to allow for the full potential of this newly discovered manufacturing style to be maximized (Kyvig 105). By implanting this new style into the heart of industry Americans were now receiving more steady incomes, thus allowing the purchase of more of the goods they themselves were producing. This style of production utilized first with the Model T was utilized by the United States military to amass more and more supplies for the armed forces. Throughout World War 1 the assembly line was utilized to quickly and efficiently resupply our overseas troops in the most cost effective way possible (American Decades 132). Henry Ford has single handedly thrust the United States into a position of opportunity through his ingenious style of production matched with the most basic form of the car. With the car now being used as a more practical tool rather than just a luxury available to the most upper class of people, it slowly became a necessity in the life of many Americans. The introduction of the car was not only beneficial to the American consumer, but to consumerism as a whole. It allowed for every aspect of consumerism to be fully maximized to every last detail from raw product to shipping the completed products across the nation. Today cars are what make coming and going from work, school, and other commitments possible for us in our lives, our ability to succeed as a country has been established through this tradition of motor vehicles that was instilled upon us by Henry Ford. When the car was made readily available to the American public they turned it into a form of entertainment. It began with the casual Sunday drives that most car owners practice once they were in possession of a vehicle (Hanss 2). These causal drives were established as an escape from what people were seeing every day, going ten miles from their home was uncommon prior to the introduction of the car. These allowed people to begin to be more ambitious in their opportunities to leave the traditional home and go out into the unknown world to fulfill their dreams. The dreams of people were more often than not farfetched and highly unlikely, yet they seemed to be sought after more than any other thing in America. The car was device beginning to be seen not only for its economic benefits, but for the simple joy that could be found within the fundamental concept of going faster than the human body is intended to. The first automobile race in the United States was held in Chicago in 1895 on Thanksgiving Day (Harding 39). This race was prior to the availability of a car to the common public solely due to too high of prices. Due to this beginning of racing before the access to cars was affordable for the common American family it can be assumed that the urge to own a car was heightened. Now the car has effectively proved to be another source of entertainment to the American people. With the taste of what a car is capable of doing the rapid expansion racing into an entire industry came shortly after. Soon after the end of World War 2 there were about six different types of cars dedicated to racing alone (Harding 135). The American people had found a very simple escape from everyday life in the form of watching races. There was something about the way the cars sounded, or the cheering of drivers that allowed people to make a connection with this new sport and become mesmerized by its blinding speeds and incredible skill set required. The infatuation with racing swept across the nation like something never seen before, and to this very day the affects of this infatuation can be seen in NASCAR and other racing based professional sports leagues in the United States (Benzkofer 1) The car originally intended as a tool, like a wrench of screwdriver, to simply accomplish tasks one cannot complete without the require tool has become a symbol for more than just that. The car was a sign of prestige and accomplishment coincided with a dose of arrogance that could not go unseen when talking in terms of someone else’s money (American Decades 84). With the use of the car as a sign of accomplishment and success came the need create images for celebrities and political figures to ensure they were valued, respected, and cherished. It was necessary to create these images to portray to the public the stability and prosperity in times of doubt (Kyvig 49). Your car was also the stamp given that labeled your mark in society, if you were in possession of a car prior to 1905 then you most likely were a wealthy person, but after the creation of the Model T it was much more common to see people in possession of vehicles thus creating a new way of judging and labeling each other. Throughout the life of vehicles there has always been a message sent to potential owners that the looks and appearance of the car is vastly more important than it actually is. Over exploitation of human nature to want to best has forced the car into a position of losing efficiency for trendy looks. By the 1940s there were hundreds of different makes and models to choose from (Harding 124). The plethora of decisions to be made during the purchase of a vehicle was absurd, from the color of the inner lining of the tires to the type of materials used to create the interiors of the car. The car had been developed into a device of status, income, and prestige in society rather the it’s intended purpose of being a tool that made basic jobs and tasks easier to accomplish. The automobile is arguably one of the most influential inventions to ever hit the United States. It brought with it several different political, economic, and social changes to society. Politically the car was a sign of power and accomplishment, without a beautiful car you were nobody. The development of the Model T and the assembly line thrust the United States into a manufacturing economy allowing growth and prosperity. With the introduction of higher speeds and travel came the leisure side of cars in racing. Racing was an outlet for many Americans when times began getting rough. In all, the automobile is a blessing bestowed upon the world allowing us all to advance and become more efficient in the way we conduct our lives. Word Count= 1957 Works Cited Anonymous, â€Å"Ford to Own Ships, Make Tires, Extend $5 A Day Schedule† in New York Times, 10 August, 1914. Dearborn Michigan, August 1914 Stephan Benzkofer, â€Å"Zoom Town† in Chicago Tribune, 12 September, 2012. Chicago Michigan, September 2012 Daniele Hanns, â€Å"Socioeconomic affects of cars in the 1950’s† Journal of Social/Economic History 2, no. 1 (2003) David Kyvig, â€Å"Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940: How Americans Live Through the â€Å"Roaring Twenties† and the Great Depression† Library Journal 129, no. 12 (2001) Parker, Dorothy. American Decades: 1900-1909. 1st ed. 7. New York: Random House, 2001. Print. Harding, Elizabeth. â€Å"Henry Ford. † SIRS Decades. ProQuest, 12 Aug. 2006. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.