Automobiles are one of the most important inventions in history. They allow people to get where they need to go faster and more conveniently than ever before. They provide access to jobs, places of recreation, and services like restaurants and convenience stores. They also help us to spend more time doing the things we enjoy. This is a great advantage for the busy lifestyle that many of us live in today.
The automobile revolutionized transportation for both industry and society. It created new industries to produce and repair cars, as well as fuel and oil, steel and rubber, and plastics. In addition, it changed how we travel and move around the world. It also made cities and towns larger, and led to development of roads, highways, and other transportation systems.
Automakers innovated manufacturing techniques to keep up with demand, and the automobile became a symbol of the new consumer society in the twentieth century. The automobile is also an important economic factor, a major contributor to industrial growth and providing employment for millions of people.
Before the advent of the automobile, people had to carry their belongings by hand or on horseback or sailboats. The earliest automobiles were powered by steam. In 1769 Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built a three-wheeled steam-powered vehicle. Throughout the 1800s manufacturers experimented with different types of engines, until in 1890 Emile Levassor and Auguste Doriot of France completed the longest trip by a petrol-powered car. The French company, Peugeot, soon caught up with the progress of the American cars, and in 1891 Armand Peugeot and Louis Rigoulot completed a 2,100-kilometre (1,300 mi) trip from Valentigney to Paris, Brest, and back again.
Henry Ford revolutionized automobile production with the introduction of the Model T in 1908. It was the first mass-produced car to combine state-of-the-art design and moderate price. Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal called the four-cylinder, fifteen-horsepower Model T runabout “a complete modern motorcar at an economical price.”
After World War II, the American automobile manufacturers funneled production to the military as they struggled to retake the low-price market from their competitors. But by the late 1950s, American cars began to suffer from market saturation and technological stagnation. Engineering was subordinated to the questionable aesthetics of nonfunctional styling, and quality deteriorated. High unit profits from gasoline-guzzling road cruisers came at the social cost of increased air pollution and a drain on dwindling global oil supplies.
As demand for automobiles continues to rise worldwide, automotive companies are working to reduce their carbon footprint. The industry has also become a global enterprise with the emergence of Japanese and European companies producing small, functionally designed, fuel-efficient vehicles. This shift away from traditional large passenger vehicles is expected to continue as the world seeks ways to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The future of the automobile is uncertain, but it will likely remain an integral part of human civilization. Until we develop better alternatives, we will continue to need the convenience and speed that automobiles provide.
