The History of Automobiles
Automobiles are four-wheeled vehicles that are used for transportation of passengers and cargo. They have an internal combustion engine that is fueled most often by gasoline, a liquid petroleum product.
In modern society, automobiles have helped to make our lives easier and more comfortable. They have also given us access to jobs, places to live and new services. But they also have caused harm to the environment, such as releasing greenhouse gases into the air and polluting the water.
During the late 1800s, cars were mostly built for wealthy people. Then, a businessman named Henry Ford changed the way they were made. He installed assembly lines in his factory, which meant that he could make cars faster and cheaper.
Cars revolutionized the world. They allowed people to travel anywhere they wanted to go, they gave them freedom and they made it easy for them to have more free time.
The first cars were horseless buggy-type machines. The first cars were made by Karl Benz in Germany and Gottlieb Daimler in France. The early cars were expensive and custom-built for their owners.
They were designed to be safe and reliable, but they often were difficult to drive. They were not good at navigating narrow streets or hills, and they were very heavy and slow.
Some of the first automobiles had engines that were fueled by gasoline, but others used electricity or hydrogen instead. Today, gasoline-electric hybrid cars are available.
In 1913, the United States produced about 485,000 of the 606,124 motor vehicles in the world. The top three companies were General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.
The automobile industry in the United States grew quickly in the first half of the twentieth century. As factories sprang up in cities across the country, automobile production became an important part of the economy.
During the war, the automobile industry became an important supplier of military equipment. American manufacturers built many of the weapons and materials that were used in World War I, as well as many of the supplies and equipment that were needed to keep soldiers alive.
By 1920, Americans had become the dominant automakers in the world. As the economy grew, the automobile became the most popular mode of transport in the world.