Cars allow freedom for many Americans. Without cars, we would likely live in a very different era where jobs had to be close by, the economy growing slowly, and a very loosely connected America. However, cars changed all that, and allowed for greater distances between home and work, ramping up our economy, and connecting all our major cities soon afterwards. Firstly, cars allowed for a wider travel radius. In the early 1800s, according to “Key to Freedom” by Carol Domblewski, “…the only distance they could travel was as far as a horse and buggy – or their own two feet –could take them.” But then the Ford Model T came along with a reasonable price of $850 in 1908. 15 million people went on to buy a Model T, with many more people buying more affordable cars as soon as they came out. However, despite this, many young adults never came on to buy a new car, as now only 70% of young adults aged 19 own cars now, according to “Running off the Road” by Grover Kingsley. …show more content…
Many cars were affordable since the aforementioned Model T for many years. They allowed people to live far, far away from work, and made the rubber and steel industries boom. According to “Key to Freedom” “… factories were built that put thousands of people to work… Every industry involved in the manufacture of the auto had to be ramped up, too. For example, the steel and rubber industries went into high gear.” This was so evident, that in 2012, one-third of Economic Growth in the US was from the Auto Industry. However, cars are expensive now, as maintaining and owning a car costs over $8,000 today, according to Facts Along the
During this time period, America saw a great change in its economy. After WWI, many citizens had extra time and extra money. Due to the surplus, they were eager to attain a variety of new products on the market. The greatest example of these technologies is the automobile. Not only did the car become affordable through the use of assembly lines, but it also gave the public an opportunity to travel and live in areas other than the city. Although there was not a great selection of cars back then, progressive advertisement strategies persuaded the public that they indeed needed a car.
One thing can be certain: For better or for worse, the automobile changed the face of America forever. The Automobile had profound economic impact. Americans could now commute to work from outside the cities, allowing for a greater number of Americans to work (Document 1). Those who commuted to work would also have better living
Since worker wages were increased, and the price of the Model T is so low, now even most of the working class can own an automobile. People can go farther away from their homes than before, making it possible to live further from big cities, where housing is either expensive and mediocre or cheap and low-quality. People can spend more time with their families that would have been used for transit, and there is the new idea of a Sunday road trip around the countryside. Cities, now with paved roads that are filled with automobiles, seem more orderly, and transportation is faster, cheaper, and more
The new economic era brought cars. Cars started to be made in the 1800’s but those were thought of as a luxury until the 20’s. In the 20’s Henry Ford came out with the assembly line which allowed the production of cars to increase by 60%. Cars were no longer a luxury and instead became an object that the common person could own. The reproduction of cars opened up a lot of new jobs such as filling stations and repair shops. Cars were the gateway
The car can also be a source of therapy and relaxation for many Americans. In the essay “America’s Key to Freedom” it reports that “The car offered downright Joy as well”3 with the automobile, parents or a frazzled worker could just hop in the car and go into the open road away from all the stress and anxiety. With the addition of cars also came a new thing, instant vacations, people could just hop in the car with their families and decide to go places that were not their homes, thus razing up tourism all around the world and at home.
Threats of substitutes: In U.S., an automobile was considered as necessity so for every adult there was car on roads. Even for inter-city travel more than 70% time cars were used. Buses, trains and other means didn’t have much impact. The growing array of higher priced imported models had negative effect.
In this year Henry Ford created the first affordable, combustion engine car called the Model-T. The creation of the Model-T changed the lives of every American. Vehicles were looked at as a way of freedom and excitement. Soon after, every household in America had a car. The demand for vehicles sparked a whole new industry, creating jobs, more revenues and improving the American economy in every way. With so many vehicles on the roads, roads needed to
The technology we now have in vehicles was something that nobody would have thought possible in the early 1800's, we currently have vehicles that run on just electricity and cars that get better gas mileage per mile then earlier cars got with a whole tank of gas. This makes life easier and it also makes cars a lot cheaper to run for everyone. These advances made it much easier to get around the
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
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
Automobiles were not sturdy and always required frequent maintenance, “Automobiles needed constant tuning, repairing ...” (Finch). The Ford and Chevrolet were affordable but they were called, “… delicate cars,” (Bondy, 34). They were known as that because they constantly required a constant input of money to be maintained. In addition, people needed to spend lots of money on gas for their automobiles, “10% of the salary of an average person was spent on gas,” (Finch). The early model cars such as the Ford Model T would require a lot of gas to run, so a lot of money was spent on gas for the cars to run. Furthermore, most technology required power, so people needed to buy batteries. This meant that batteries were constantly needed to keep their technology running for a certain period. The constant need for batteries, maintenance of a car, and a lot of gas had a negative effect on the economy, as continuous input of money was required by a person to support the
The automobile has had a profound impact on the United States. It has brought us
With the introductions of the Model T, the assembly line and the method of mass production created many new jobs. The Model T 's low price allowed everyone that was making a good salary to buy a car. It helped out society by giving people jobs especially at around this time when there was a lot of immigration in the United States and people needed jobs. "This vast production stimulated many other businesses: The steel, rubber, and glass industries flourished. Construction companies boomed as highways and garages were built. Oil companies, rapidly losing their kerosene business to the spread of electricity, more than made up for it with increased gasoline sales."(Gordon) As a whole it changed the economy at the time but in the long run it changed what society is today. It created mass production which is now our way of production and it changed all of working America with the numerous amounts of jobs it created. "As more Americans owned cars, urbanization patterns changed. The United States saw the growth of suburbia, the creation of a national highway system, and a population entranced with the possibility of going anywhere anytime." (http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blford.htm)
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.
Not only did people enjoy the driving part of owning a car, but farmers and other independent Americans found many other uses for it. When automobiles got cheaper, Americans became innovative with this new machine, “The farmer...used his Model T as a portable power plant. With the rear wheels jacked up and a power take-off attached, a Ford could saw wood, pump water, grind feed, make cider, and do countless other farm chores. And when the work was done, the family could go to town to see how people lived far from the farm” This new machine could be used for anything and many Americans began to tinker with this marvel using them for whatever task they