How the Automobile Culture Changed America Essay

Imagine how life would be if our society did not have cars. Today, our society is dependent on cars for our daily routines. From transporting our food, clothes, and technology to just going to the store across the street, cars are a very important part of our society. In the 19th century, only the wealthy and upper middle class had access to automobiles, and they only used cars for fancy transportation and to show off their money. This was due to the extreme prices of cars in the 19th century. With these high prices not many people could afford them, especially not the working class. Henry Ford revolutionized the automotive industry in the

The automobile has had a profound impact on the United States. It has brought us

The automobile began as a rich man’s toy, and in today’s society almost every single person owns one of these miraculous inventions. After the automobile became more popular, society has evolved around it, creating highways and fast food chains. The automobile has revised from a bare invention, such as the horseless carriage, to now technologically advanced motor vehicles with bluetooth and wireless internet. Since the beginning age of the automobile in 1885, the invention has advanced, prospered, and changed society throughout the world.

American culture, its society, and its landscapes are all shaped by the automobile. The automobile is more than just a vehicle or a means to get from one point to the next. A car is a symbol, upon which Americans project their dreams, desires, goals, values, beliefs, and identities. In Dagoberto Gilb's short story, "Love in L.A.," the protagonist's name is Jake. Jake envisions his ideal car, with crushed velvet interior, an FM radio, electric controls, and a heater because "he could imagine lots of possibilities when he let himself," (p. 432). Jake's vision is more than a vehicle; it is the American Dream epitomized.

The document “The Social Influence of the Automobile” was written in June of 1922 by Allen D. Albert. In this article Albert is saying that since the creation of automobiles the life has shifted for the better. “…almost without a pause in our thinking have we adjusted our lives to these factors new since yesterday”1 while automobiles brought a drastic change in life as it was, people adjusted to it quickly. In 1920’s cars were available to the general public at an affordable price, therefor offering the public a better, faster way of getting from place to place. Most importantly according to the document cars brought a change in the social aspects of life. With the help of a car travel times were decreased. Cities were now in reaching distance.

The automobile "is making leisure-time enjoyment a regularly expected part of every day and week rather than an occasional event." (Document 11) Along with other early 21st century innovations, the automobile greatly changed the way Americans lived their lives. However, not all cultural changes regarding the automobile were positive. The automobile lured many families into an investment they could not afford to upkeep.

Cars in the 1920s completely impacted daily life and greatly influenced the cars that we use everyday. Back before cars were popular, everyone traveled by horse and buggy. They had no source of cart heating, nothing to absorb shock, wheels without tires. All they had for streets back then were dirt roads with a top layer of gravel. This was not a problem for horses and buggies, but cars didn’t handle well in the mud. Because of this, the invention of the paved road we use now came about. After that, they needed a more organized and efficient way to navigate to faraway places, since the people could now travel at ease. An interstate highway system was created as a result of the First Federal Highway Act, passed in 1921. The highways heading

American society has been changed by many different creations throughout history, such as telephones, fridges and credit cards. The creation that has affected American society the most is the automobile. The automobile has affected the American society in several ways: first, it has created more jobs. Second, it allowed people to travel to destinations they could not before. Third, it has polluted the environment. Lastly it has changed the urban and rural landscapes. All of these reasons prove that the automobile has altered the American society.

something that everyone once dreamed of owning. Now after the war. they could finally own one. Automobiles of the 1940’s were dull and very plain. This was because designers were too busy designing tanks, planes, etc... for the ongoing war. The major event that took place that changed the way cars looked and how they performed happened on October 14, 1947. This was when Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. From this point on everyone wanted to go faster.

The automobiles made a huge impact in United States history. The first car was the electric car and was one of the most popular cars but didn’t have a battery that lasted or could go fast. Then the steam-powered car was built and lasted into the 1920s, but the price was high and there was a risk of the engine exploding, so the car wasn’t very popular. The gas-powered cars became very popular in the 1920s and Ford sold over a million automobiles.

Karl Benz invented the first automobile in 1866; it has changed the world in how we commute every day. From riding in carriages to now cutting our time travel whether it is riding a bus or our on car. It has become more of a necessity in today's world to have a car because its something that we choose to have in our daily life that it is a choice that is high on the priority list to own. As to wealthier people the type of car you drive puts in a different class. Where some get the choice of car that they want others have a certain budget on what to look for. The way an automobile symbolizes today, changed in society, and how a car has become a collection.

The Automobile played a big part in the way people go to place to place and it also played a part in the economy and the rapid growth in the United States in the twentieth century. With the higher incomes, it meant that people had money to spend on cars and goods. The inventing of the automobile was the greatest thing people have come up with because know that is the only way people get around these days.

The automobile has had a tremendous impact on society and the environment since its development in the beginning of the 20th century. Today, there are over 500 million motor vehicles on the earth. The automobile's efficiency, style, and performance have changed over the years, but there is one thing that has not - the pollution the automobile generates. Because of the pollution, people find themselves asking whether this technology has helped our society or hurt it. Should the consequences of the automobile be cause to eliminate it? Or should science develop technology to eliminate the pollution caused by the car?

Since the development of the steam engine people had been interested in creating self-powered vehicles, this manifested during the industrial revolution as the train. However, as time went on people became interested in creating a vehicle that wasn’t confined to tracks. The earliest attempts were moderately successful but served little practical purpose. Automobiles first began to truly spread with the invention of the electric motor which created cheaper, more powerful, and safer automobiles. Still the automobile still had numerous problems and were mainly in the hands of the rich. It was the development of the internal combustion engine and the assembly line that was truly able to create a practical vehicle that could be used by all and

In the beginning, man’s only form of transportation was his own feet. Later, to comfort his journey on foot, was the invention of footwear. Through envy of the speed of other animals he would learn to tame these animals. People who live in the desert ride atop camels. The people who live in the frigid climates travel by dogs. Some people from places like India ride elephants. But the must widely used form of transportation by animal power was by horse. Man would soon develop boats and ships to travel long distances over water and time would flow like the rivers and hundreds of years later, in the late 1700s steam power became the new craze. Steam power got the wheels turning amongst many inventors who