The automobile symbolizes both the promise and pitfalls of modern society. It revolutionized transportation, allowing people to move freely throughout the nation and the world, connecting distant towns and cities with each other. It brought urban conveniences, such as jobs, shopping, restaurants and housing, to rural areas. And it fueled the growth of oil-based, energy-consuming industries. It also caused environmental degradation, polluting the air and draining dwindling world petroleum supplies.
The car, the first of which was introduced in the late 1800s, is a four-wheeled vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine that burns gasoline or other fuel. Its development was the culmination of efforts by several inventors and engineers, including Nikolaus Otto, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz. The development of the automobile was greatly accelerated by Henry Ford’s introduction of mass production techniques. By the end of the 1920s, it was a common sight on America’s roads and highways.
Although automobiles are now a part of everyday life, few people fully understand their importance. They are more than just a means of transport; they have become the backbone of a consumer goods-oriented economy. It is no exaggeration to say that modern life would be impossible, or at least extremely inconvenient, without them.
During the early 1920s, the automobile industry produced one out of every six items of industrial production. Its demand for ancillary products such as steel and petroleum spurred technological advancements in those fields. It also stimulated the growth of services such as service stations, motels and roadside restaurants. Its demand for highway construction prompted the creation of many new government jobs. The automobile also brought suburbanization, urbanization and an enormous increase in consumption. Its impact on the country’s landscape was profound, transforming farmland into towns and cities and closing the gap between rural and urban populations.
Although automobiles were not invented in the United States, the American manufacturing tradition and the availability of cheap raw materials encouraged their rapid expansion in the first half of the 20th century. The huge demand ensured that cars could be sold at affordable prices and the absence of tariff barriers promoted sales over a wide geographic area. The automobile was also a key component of America’s rise as a world power, enabling it to compete successfully with the more established European manufacturers. This was largely because America had a much larger population and more equitable distribution of income than Europe.