Ideas of Automobiles
Ideas of AutomobilesIdeas of Automobiles
The first true components of an automobile may have
come from Otto Von Guericke, a 17th century German
physicist. Guericke was noted as the first person to make
metal pistons, cylinders, and connecting rods, the most
basic components in a reciprocating engine.
But the first automobile was believed to be the 1769 Cugnot
steamer, a three-wheeled tractor. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot
invented the Cugnot steamer. The steamer was noted to have
ran for 20 minutes at a speed of 2.25 miles per hour.
The Automotive Industry
The automotive industry started in 1893 when Charles and
Frank Duryea designed and built the first gasoline-engine-
propelled motor vehicle. This invention practically
started the whole automotive industry. During the next 30
years, many people tried to enter the industry, but only a
few were successful.
During the early years, every car was built entirely by
hand. This process was very slow and also very expensive.
This is the main reason so many early innovators went out
of business while the other ones were not profitable enough
to expand their business. Henry Ford changed that when he
introduced the assembly line. This both increased
production speed and decreased cost. This idea of mass
production revolutionized the automobile industry. Soon
all of the top auto producers would have an assembly line
of their own. The lower costs and faster delivery meant a
lower price, and the average family could afford and get
one. Ford's Model T soon became the most popular car of
the time.
In 1929, America experienced a crash in the stock market
that left the thriving country poor and desperate. With
the decline in income, the demand for new automobiles
almost stopped. This huge decrease in demand for new
vehicles forced major cutbacks in spending, factories were
shut down, employees were laid off, and production was
almost halted. Many of the smaller plants couldn't afford
to stay in business. The United States time of prosperity
had ended.
During the early 1940s, as Hitler rose to power in Germany,
our relationship with Japan grew more and more tense. When
Hitler invaded France and started the war, the United
States responded quickly. The United States started
producing many different pieces of war equipment. The auto
industry was the first to respond by reopening many of
there shut down plants and producing troop transport
vehicles, tanks, planes and just about anything else the
government wanted. By the order of President Roosevelt,
Ford Motor Company built a huge assembly plant in Michigan
to produce B-29 bombers. The war pulled the United States
out the great depression and started to improve the economy.
The war ended in 1945 and brought a fallen country back...
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