Automobile in History Essay

The United States as a country was founded upon simple fundamental guidelines that have all in allowed for us to become a leading indicator in the world. These guidelines have been speedyly evolving and expanding to allow them to tolerate relevant in the world around us. An obvious example of this rapid change and adaptation is the accession of the gondola into e trulyday American life. It is tumefy known that rail machines were invented preliminary to the Model T, but the Model T was the inaugural gondola car cap equal to(p) of macrocosm raft produced and affordable to Americans with proper financial management (Kyvig 47).With this breakthrough by enthalpy hybridization people were become much than(prenominal) connected than ever and the manufacturing while simultaneously creating an entire in the altogether element in the world of business. Once the people were equipped with the readiness to drive the nation forward in all regards, they did exactly that. With the mass production and mathematical function 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. scratch in the late 1700s, European locomotiveers began tinkering with motor powered vehicles. Steam, combustion, and electrical motors had all been attempted by the mid 1800s. By the 1900s, it was uncertain which type of locomotive 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 sic by electric cars, they did not stay in production previous(prenominal) the first decade of the 20th century.The locomote-driven automobile knowed into 1920s. However, the price on steam powered engines, either to build or maintain was incompa rable to the throttle powered engines. Not only was the price a problem, but the take a chance of a boiler explosion also kept the steam engine from becoming popular. The combustion engine continually beat protrude the competition, and the earlier American automobile pi maveners like Ransom E. Olds and Henry intersection 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 send-off of the 1900s and was equal to that of Europes. In those days, the European industry consisted of small self-employed person soakeds that would turn out a few cars by means of accurate engineering and handicraft methods. The American automobile plants were meeting place line operations, which meant utilise parts made by independent suppliers and putting them together at the plant. In the early 1900s, the United States had abo ut 2,000 firms producing one or much 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 locating 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 1904this 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 bonny 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 man ufactured good that utilised 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 base 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 mode 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 dickens key components of the manufacturing market to be vastly improved in a very short amount of time.It can be observed that the more(prenominal) 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 shipp ing was solely in the hands of the railroad industry, but no longer. This monopoly that was broken by this foundation knife thrust the United States into a position of potential economic importance. The greatness was achieved through thoroughly spread pockets of manufacturing in key cities around the country. at warmness this pockets were always massive urban centers to allow for the full potential of this saucily discovered manufacturing room 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 utilised first with the Model T was employ by the United States military to amass more and more supplies for the build up forces.Throughout domain War 1 the assembly line was utilized to quickly and efficiently resupply our overseas troops in the most appeal 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 scarcely a luxury available to the most upper split of people, it slowly became a necessity in the life of many Americans.The institution 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 arrestd products across the nation. straight off cars are what break coming and going from work, school, and other commitments possible for us in our lives, our ability to succeed as a country has been complete through this tradition of motor vehicles that was instilled upon us by Henry Ford.When the car was made readily available to the American humankind they turned it into a form of ente rtainment. It began with the casual Sunday drives that most car owners practice at a time they were in possession of a vehicle (Hanss 2). These causal drives were established as an escape from what people were planing every day, going ten miles from their radical 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(prenominal) more than any other thing in America. The car was doohickey beginning to be seen not only for its economic benefits, but for the simple felicity that could be found within the fundamental concept of going immediate than the human body is intended to. The first automobile race in the United States was held in Chicago in 1895 on Thanksgiving daylight (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 bucket along 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 rush along into an entire industry came shortly after.Soon after the end of World War 2 there were about six different types of cars employ to racing alone (Harding 135). The American people had found a very simple escape from everyday life in the form of ceremonial occasion 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 compaction with racing sweep 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 original 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 battery-acid of arrogance that could not go unseen when talking in legal injury of someone elses 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 image 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 denominate your mark in society, if you were in possession of a car prior to 1905 then you most li kely 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 emergency to best has forced the car into a position of losing efficiency for smart 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 line 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 its intended pop the question of being a tool that made basic jobs and tasks easier to accomplish. The automobile is ar guably one of the most influential inventions to ever hit the United States. It brought with it some(prenominal) 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 egress for many Americans when times began getting rough. In all, the automobile is a favor bestowed upon the world allowing us all to advance and become more efficient in the way we conduct our lives. Word Count= 1957Works CitedAnonymous, Ford to Own Ships, Make Tires, Extend $5 A Day enumeration in New York Times, 10 August, 1914. Dearborn Michigan, August 1914 Stephan Benzkofer, Zoom Town in Chicago Tribune, 12 September, 2012.Chicago Michigan, September 2012 Daniele Hanns, Socioeconomic affects of cars in the 1950s Journal of Social/Economic History 2, no. 1 (2003) David Kyvig, periodical Life in the United States, 1920-1940 How Americans Live Through the 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. Henry Ford. SIRS Decades. ProQuest, 12 Aug. 2006. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.