A Brief History of the Automobile in America

Readers looking for a quick history lesson about the introduction of the automobile to the American lifestyle in 1908 will enjoy this short and extremely informative video.  Shown to the left is a 1921 Model T Ford; it’s extremely similar in every way to the first one that rolled off the assembly line 13 years before.

No one could have foreseen the macro trends that would affect all this over the ensuing 107 years, which I would summarize as follows:

• Development of great automotive styling in the 1930s

• The cessation of manufacturing (in favor of aircraft) in World War II

• The creation of suburbs that the car enabled

• The build-out of our highway system and the (at least temporary) retreat of mass transit

• The ubiquity of car ownership, and the independence that is created for young people

• The introduction of safety features

• The ascendancy of Big Oil

• Concern about energy dependence and national security issues associated with oil

• Concern over environmental and health issues

• Alternate-fuel vehicles

• The introduction of transportation concepts that are in the process of eroding car ownership: car-sharing, ride-sharing, mass transit, redesigning our cities to promote walking and bicycling, etc.