Automobiles are motor vehicles that are used to transport passengers. They usually have four wheels, run on a liquid fuel such as gasoline or diesel, and can carry one to eight people. They are the third largest mode of ground transportation, behind trains and airplanes. Automobiles were first perfected in Germany and France toward the end of the nineteenth century by such men as Gottlieb Daimler, Karl Benz, and Nicolaus Otto. Daimler’s 1901 Mercedes, designed by Wilhelm Maybach for the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, deserves credit as the first modern motorcar in all essentials. It weighed only fourteen pounds per horsepower, and reached a top speed of fifty-three miles per hour. In America, large-scale, assembly line production of automobiles was introduced by Ransom E. Olds at his Oldsmobile factory in 1902, and greatly expanded by Henry Ford in the 1910s. An abundance of cheap raw materials and a more equitable income distribution than in Europe encouraged great demand for automobiles. Cheaper manufacturing labor and a long tradition of using machine tools enabled automobile manufacturers to produce cars at a lower cost than in Europe.
The automobile was the backbone of a new consumer goods-oriented society. By the 1920s it ranked as the number one industry in terms of value, and was the main customer of the petroleum industry, the steel industry, and other industrial products. It also was a leading user of electricity and provided jobs for hundreds of thousands of people. It helped end rural isolation and brought urban amenities such as schools, medical care, and recreation to rural areas, and it fueled the growth of services such as motels and restaurants along highways. It also caused harm to the environment, releasing polluted air and consuming undeveloped land for road and highway construction.
Owning a car gives you the freedom to go where you want, when you want. It means no more altering your schedule to accommodate other people or relying on public buses, friends, or family members for rides. It’s a luxury that can make your life much more enjoyable. And, of course, it saves you time in the form of shorter commutes and more time for shopping and visiting with family and friends. Ultimately, the cost of an automobile can pay for itself in the savings you’ll enjoy.