History Of The Automobile

History of the
Automobile
Automobiles are one of the most important
and prominent inventions possibly ever created. Without automobiles
our lives would be completely changed and different. Automobiles
changed the way people traveled and lived. Without cars there would
be no drive-ins, drive-thru fast food restaurants, and shopping centers.

People depend on their cars whether they’re earning their living, or traveling
to their dream vacation spot. The United States is the leading producer
of automobiles and is often called the “Nation On Wheels.” The U.S
has become very dependent on cars for transportation. Racing automobiles
is also a very popular sport which attracts millions of enthusiasts nation-wide.

Whether it’s a local race track, or a huge Nascar track, people love racing
and the thrill, and also the danger.

The history of automobiles is a long, and
laborious one. From the first self propelled road vehicle created
in the 1790’s, to the modern road machine of today, it hasn’t been an easy
road to follow (no pun intended) for the automobile. Many people
mocked the car, and you used to hear the phrase “Get a horse” a lot back
when cars were first mass produced. Even with these vicissitudes,
the automobile has overcome these hardships to become one of the most required
inventions ever assembled.

The steam car was the first road vehicle
that could travel by themselves, even though they had a top speed of a
whopping 3 miles per hour, and had to stop every 10 to 15 minutes to build
up steam. The first vehicle that could carry passengers was produced
until 1801. These steam carriages annoyed people very much by being
noisy, dirty, and by frightening horses. Many american inventors
tampered with steam automobiles such as J.N Carhart, Richard Dudgeon, and
Sylvester H. Roper, but the most sucessful were the Stanley twins, Francis
E. and Freelan O.

The electric car was actually popular in
America in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. One of America’s pioneer electric
cars was built in about 1890 by William Morrison in Des Moines Iowa.

People liked the electric car because it was easy to operate, ran quietly,
and didn’t excrete putrid fumes. But of course there were drawbacks
like you couldn’t go over 20 miles per hour and the battery had to be recharged
constantly. For these reasons the electric car was replaced by the
gasoline engine.

The general design of modern automobiles
was developed in France. Emile Levassor and Rene Panhard built their
first cars in 1890 using a Daimler engine. These cars used chains
like those found in bicycles to carry the engine’s power to the back wheels.

Many American inventors experimented with gasoline powered vehicles in
the early 1890’s. Many claimed that they were the first to design
and build sucessfully a automobile. Most pioneers of the automobile later
became famous in the industry.

The creation of the first auto assembly
line was caused by a fire that destroyed the Olds Motor Works in Detroit.

This caused Olds to sign contracts with the owners of small machine shops
to manufacture many parts for his cars. With this method, the company
built 425 cars in 1901, 3750 in 1902, and 500 in 1903. Most car companies
followed the Olds company by using mass production. Henry M. Leland,
president of the Cadillac Automobile Company developed the concept of using
interchangeable parts. This was a big step because the interchangeable
parts could be used to assemble or repair any car of the same model.

Henry Ford’s goal was a low-priced car
that many people in all walks of life could afford. The outcome of
his goal: The Model T. It sold for $850, but Ford installed a moving
assembly line in his factory and they could then produce a car in a hour
and a half which then caused the car to be sold for $400, the lowest price
of any automobile. Over 15 million were sold.

During the 1920’s it was a race between
Ford and GM. They were the leading producers of cars at that time.

By 1937, GM was producing about 35% of the worlds automobiles. Design
changed a lot during 1920’s. Body lines became more graceful and
the closed car became popular. Engines became more powerful and quieter
and many other improvements came during this period. During
World War 2 production of cars for civilians almost halted because the
factories were being used for military supplies. After WW2, more
improvements were made and foreign cars became more popular. Today
41 millions vehicles are produced every year in which one third come from
the U.S Gasoline shortages and