U.S. Automobile Manufacturing in the Twenty-First Century

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s the automobile was considered an expensive, custom made, consumer product that only the wealthy could afford to dazzle themselves with. In fact, in 1895 there was a report of only 300 cars in the United States, but that number grew dramatically in the years to come to nearly 1.7 million by 1914 (Car History, n.d.). This increase was due in part by two major shifts in the American society; the new consumer economy and the ideas that every family in America should be able to afford an automobile. Henry Ford was a large contributor to this massive increase in the United States and would make changes to the automobile industry that

The automobile industry put American citizens into action. Mass production was a big component in the success of automobiles. Although successful, it became very repetitive. Skilled workers who were once worshipped, were no longer needed. Henry Ford was described as racist, bitter, but he brought success to citizens in the 1920s. Ford started the Ford Motor Company in 1903 with the help of a limited amount of workers in a shed. It was not until 1914 where custom-made cars turned into many cars, such as the Model T, moving down an assembly line. The Model T was a very popular car that benefitted cheap labor and easy mobility for its owners. Ford became a billionaire from the help of the federal government’s actions. At this point, the government decided that funds should be spent more on roads. Automobiles introduced

Since the twentieth century, America has dominated the car industry business. Automobiles have made a major influence in the society and the economy of America ever since. Especially when Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, developed two of his inventions, Model T and Model A, flourished into a big success around the 1900’s. Nonetheless, the culture we live in today is influenced tremendously by the advanced technology we created, and it grants industries new opportunities that may evolve the automobile business as we know it.

These early automobiles were loud, uncomfortable, and often dangerous, but that didn’t stop the dreamers and innovators from pushing forward. Henry Ford was one such visionary. He knew early on the automobile industry was going to change America. He strategically positioned himself to be at the forefront of this new invention sweeping the nation.

Henry Ford had a dream to have every home in America have a car. Automobiles were around, but only affordable to the wealthy since they were all custom made. The first automobile that was affordable to everyday American people did not come around till the 1920’s. That is when the Model T was born, this car had no frills, or special colors, but it got the job done. America fell in love with what the automobile added to their everyday life. Changes in America’s economy and way of life resulted from this car.

The automobile industry has brought the United States economic growth due to the impact that automobiles have made on society. There has been a plethora of jobs associated with the auto industry, including manufacturing, auto repairs, insurance, and the development of roads, sales, and auto parts to enhance vehicles. Cars, trucks, and SUVs’ have become a way of life for people and have made an additional economic impact by becoming the primary means of transportation for consumers to commute to and from work, vacations, and travel between destinations. Most family households live on a budget and they must make the decision of how much of their budget they can allocate to transportation costs.

Over the course of the 20th century, the automobile has gone from being an expensive toy of the rich, to being the standard for passenger transport in most developed countries around the world (Urry). Not unlike the effects of the introduction of Railways into society, automobiles have changed social interactions, employment patterns, goods distribution and the basic face of urban society. The automobile itself is a rather controversial issue. Supporters of the automobile claim that it is a “marvel of technology” that has brought about prosperity, while opponents aver it leads to urban planning that discourages walking and human interaction, uses non-renewable fuels, generates

Did you know that Henry Ford was fired from his first job and that he failed with his first two companies before he was successful with the Ford Motor Company? He invented the Model T October 1, 1908, to help people with transporting to where they needed to be faster. The car had already had its Fame and all but it skyrocketed when the economy boosted in the early 1920s. Making the car the next big thing. The Ford Company became extremely famous, making Henry the only man producing vehicles. Ford had so much money just laying around that he did not know what to do with it. “To solve the problem, Ford decided to pay his employees $5 per day-nearly twice the going rate. Workers flocked to Ford’s gates” (The Man Who). Life in America during the

In October of 1908, Henry Ford, owner of the revolutionary Ford Motor Company, had released to the public the Model T, an automobile powered by a gasoline engine, namely called a “horseless carriage” since it was a similar form of transportation. Although early blueprints of automobiles were in Germany and France at the time, it wasn't them who took over the automobile industry, it was the Americans. Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Chrysler were the “big three” who dominated the car market. Their mass production of cars for the public exploded with popularity, especially Henry Ford’s company, and the Model T, almost every aspect of it was a draw to people. One of the model T’s biggest things going for it was its cheap price, back

In the early 1900s, the automotive industry was a burgeoning business with many competitors trying to out-do each other. Companies rose and fell on a regular basis. By 1903, 214 different companies had arisen in America to manufacture the automobile. However, by 1904, at least 84 of those had either ceased to exist or changed to a different line of work. (Ford, 234) When he joined the ranks of manufacturers in 1903, Henry Ford was determined to make his company work.

In 1903, Henry Ford did not know he was about to revolutionize the automobile world when he opened the Ford Motor Company in the suburb of Dearborn Michigan. After opening Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford saw several ways to improve the auto industry through a series of inventions and visions. In 1903 cars were a luxury item, and only the rich and well-off were able to afford them. Henry Ford had a different vision, he saw the potential that the automobile market held, if, he could create an automobile that could be affordable to the everyday American at the time. The everyday Americans were the ones who did not have a lot of money and weren’t able to afford the “luxuries” in life, they were the American’s who were just trying to keep ends tied and food on the table for their families. (“Henry Ford Changes the World”, 2003) Envisioning a world where cars were affordable for everyone, led to the birth of Ford Motor Company’s star child; The Model T. Henry Ford did something that was unheard of in 1903, he created an automobile that was lightweight, able to be operated by anyone with ease, there was no training or special skills needed to operate the Model T, and as an added bonus it had a great fuel economy! The model T got 25 miles to a gallon, but most importantly it was reasonably priced for the everyday American at a whopping $825.00. The price and features of the Model T made Henry Ford one of the most popular men and company in the country and put Ford Motor Company on

The impact that Henry Ford had on this innovating era clearly cannot be underestimated. Ford had the dream of creating a cheaper motorcar for the great multitude (“The Innovator and Ford Motor Company” 1). In fact, he came up with the first Model T on October 1, 1908. When that became known worldwide, he began trying to make that automobile in quantity for sale at more affordable prices (2). At the time, Ford was one of America’s greatest manufacturers (“Henry Ford in the 1920’s” 1). He helped improve

Ford is a prestigious motor company with a successful production history spanning more than a century and involving several influential automobiles, most notably the iconic Model T. Indeed, the Model T was a supreme mechanical innovation, a remarkable marriage of “technical design and social context” (Boyer & Dubofsky 275). Although simple in design, and relatively expensive, the vehicle performed very well against competitors’ models, surviving the primitive roads and almost nonexistent repair facilities thanks to a very robust frame, high wheel clearance and an easy-to-fix motor and suspension (Boyer & Dubofsky 275). The popularity of the vehicle was the impetus for Henry Ford to look at innovative production techniques in order to quench the high demand of the American public. The production breakthroughs initiated by Ford in his assembly plants became known alternatively as the ‘assembly line’ approach, or Fordism (Boyer & Dubofsky 275). Hence, outside of the automobile industry and culture of car aficionados, the Ford motor company has had its greatest influence on the world through its primary innovation – assembly line production.

In an era of increasing competitiveness, globalization, economic rationalization, deregulation, technological revolution and changing workforce there is an ever-increasing need for human resource management to be able to capitalize on the special challenges that this changing environment brings. For a company to be able to successfully keep ahead of the competition, human resource management is seen to be a significant contributor.

Henry Ford’s legacy began early whenever he created a self propelled wagon, but his work began to get notoriety in October of 1908 with the introduction of the Model T. This car was the first of its kind, and was fully manufactured by Ford in the United States. Henry’s goal was to produce a car that was affordable to every household income. “The Model T made its debut in 1908 with a purchase price of $825.00. Over ten thousand were sold in its first year, establishing a new record. Four years later the price dropped to $575.00 and sales soared. By 1914, Ford could claim a 48% share of the automobile market.” (Sorenson, "Henry Ford Changes the World, 1908.") The original price was in the average household’s budget, but when the price dropped four years later there was a ten times increase in the amount of Model T’s sold. Another great idol in the worlds eyes began his trek to success one century later, and has innovated his industry such as Ford did. Steve Jobs, “The Father of Apple Inc.”,