Helpful Driving Information

DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUTOMOBILE

French engineer Nicolas Joseph Cugnot built the first self-propelled vehicle in Paris in 1789: a heavy, three-wheeled, steam-powered carriage with a boiler that projected in the front.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUTOMOBILE

Another German engineer, Gottlieb Daimler, built an improved internal-combustion engine around 1885.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUTOMOBILE

In 1903, Henry Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company and proclaimed, "I will build a car for the great multitude." In October 1908, he did just that, offering the Model T for 950 dollars. Over nineteen years of production, the Model T's lowest price was 280 dollars.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUTOMOBILE

Nearly 15,500,000 Model Ts were sold in the United States alone. The Model T heralded the beginning of the Motor Age. The car evolved from luxury item for the well-to-do to essential transportation for the ordinary man.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUTOMOBILE

General Motors, Ford's main competitor, became the world's largest automobile manufacturer in the 1920s. U.S. leadership of the field continued until the 1970s, when American manufacturers were challenged by the growing sales of Japanese and German cars.

SOCIOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGES CAUSED BY THE AUTOMOBILE

Eventually, the automobile changed the face of the United States. Brick streets were covered with asphalt to provide a smoother ride for automobiles. Midway through the century, cars became a central feature in the lives of young people. Cars meant mobility, status, challenge, and freedom.

SOCIOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGES CAUSED BY THE AUTOMOBILE

In addition to positive economic changes, automobiles have created problems for our society. Chief among them are increased air and water pollution, the high cost of injury and property damage caused by unsafe driving, and urban sprawl.

In the near future, there will be significant challenges to the continued use of the car:

• Automobile use is a significant factor in pollution and contributes to global warming.
  
• Increasing population and prosperity are increasing traffic congestion.
  
• Reserves of fossil fuels, particularly oil, are limited.
  
• Automobiles are a dangerous form of transportation. One million people die each year in car collisions worldwide.