How the Automobile Changed History

Bailey, Diane. How the Automobile Changed History. Part of the Essential Library of Inventions series. 2016. 112p. ISBN 978-1-62403-781-8. Available at 629.2 BAI on the library shelves.

There are many inventions that have revolutionized the way people lived and changed the course history, but the automobile had a direct environmental and visual impact on how our society changed.

The coupling of a motor to a  horseless carriage (where the word car comes from) by inventor Karl Benz allowed people a new type of freedom they did not have before: the ability to travel long distances to destinations chosen by them, at their leisure. The first cars were noisy and not very comfortable, but as features were added and got better the motorized vehicle went from an object of suspicion to an accepted mode of transportation to a beloved symbol of success second only to one’s home.

Cars were expensive, but Henry Ford adapted the assembly line and managed to standardize the building process, reduce the price of each car, and mass-produce millions of model T. The car had arrived as the mode of transportation preferred by most Americans. Subsequent generations adapted the car for their own purposes, from the explosion of models and features following the Second World War to hot rods and the drive-in theatre and restaurants. Our entire society became centered around cars as an ever increasing number of roads were built to accommodate the growing number of vehicles.

Safety features had not kept up, however, and as the number of accident deaths climbed the American public clamored to make cars safer. At the same time, gas guzzlers found themselves crippled by the Oil Crisis of 1973, and Japanese cars, which were smaller and safer, made their entrance into the American market.

Today cars are safer than they have ever been, just as they continue to evolve to different energy sources such as electricity, hydrogen and natural gas. But fundamentally, Karl Benz would still recognize today’s automobile for what it was.