Along with the development of the rapidly modernized society, the impact of automobiles on American people has become immense. Hardly any American families live without a car, and most teenagers know how to drive at the age of 16 as soon as they got legal permission. Cars, vans, light trucks, SUVs and motorcycles since early time have played such an important role in the US that it is hard to imagine the American life without them. I. Reasons of automobile dependence Generally speaking, there are four main reasons for this situation.
Ford created the automobile industry, which employed thousands of workers and inspired new industries as well (Heritage, 2010).The new industries included but were not limited to: gas stations, mechanics, fast food restaurants drive-ins (pig stands) and motels (A&E, 2006). Cars basically changed the way people lived, how they spend their leisure time and where they worked at (Roak et al., 2011). With cars people could travel further to work, vacation or to other cities. Ford not only inspired new automobiles and jobs but he also attracted competition. Walter Percy Chrysler was one of the last independent car manufacturers to enter the automobile industry; he established the Chrysler Corporation in 1924 (Peterson, 2013).By the end of the 1920s decade there were three major leading automobile industries: Ford, General Motors, and
Henry Ford Have you ever thought about what the world would be like if there wasn't cars to take us to and from work or to the many places that we need to be during a day? Without the car, society might still be using horse and buggies for transportation, but one man made an incredible invention that changed the way americans traveled around thier city and countryside. That man was Henry Ford. Ford contributed multiple things to the automobile industry back in the early 1900's. His greatest contribution by far was the Model T car.
In the 20th century, the automobile was a welcome change to American life, as it granted workers and families a new mobility and thus a new sense of freedom and urgency, and we became a nation excessively dependent on our cars. More than anything else, the car was the symbol of American post-war prosperity. However, that prosperity has cost us, in various ways, the American dream. Whereas we once thought of cars as the epitome of personal freedom, more and more we are becoming limited by the expense of that freedom. The American Public Transportation Association estimates that it costs a resident of the Boston area, for example, $13,000 a year to own a car.
Henry Ford was very famous for promoting this wonderful commodity that represented a new kind of freedom. It was a symbol of the American Dream, and everyone was striving to have the new product. “The automobile was the backbone of economic growth.” The first real automobile appeared in Middletown in 1900; however, it wasn’t until Henry Ford came around and created a mass production of automobiles that the machine that would provide easy travel would become popular. Although the automobile created such a wonderful freedom, many adults thought that it was tearing families apart. Teenagers were spending more time with their friends driving around instead of staying at home with their family.
There is an increase in the number of vehicles on the road and the average age of a car today is nine and half years. People are choosing to keep their cars for a longer time and therefore spend on the maintenance, to prolong its life span. There is also an increase of the miles driven by drivers today, which emphasizes the need for regular maintenance of the vehicle. The complexity of the vehicles today requires special tools and computerized analysis for repair. It is very expensive to buy a new car therefore people are choosing to buy used cars instead, and therefore need a reliable auto repair shop.
GEICO, on the other hand, currently specializes in automobiles, which could be a major benefit if auto insurance is the only thing you need. In addition, their array of products is constantly growing. The networks of the two companies are very comparable, too. GEICO has 12 major offices around the country, while Allstate has 14. Allstate employs a larger number of professionals, at 70,000 compared to GEICO’s 24,000 associates.
Apart from the social injustices, the progression and good far outweighed the bad. It was two steps forward and one step back while the economic effects were one huge leap forward and a just as big step back. There were more than a handful of inventions and discoveries that revolutionized American society, led to urban sprawl, made tasks exponentially easier, and were the centerpiece for recreation. Cars were mass produced and people decided to live outside the cities and take vacations more frequently. They produced many new jobs with the need for new roads since the American landscape was drastically expanding.
The expansion of the auto industry stimulated other industries and directly or indirectly provided jobs for millions. The price competition for cars ended because new cars were coming out yearly and cosmetics of the car was now a factor. The credit system was also invented in the 1920’s.
Although the 20s brought new ideas, these ideas might not always have been in the interest of providing a free nation for all and indeed may have caused increase hatred in society. The first world war did not directly damage American society and in fact was beneficial as demand for American goods increased. As a result of this there was a huge amount of technological and industrial progress. An example of this is the motor car industry which provided huge amounts of freedom. The Ford production line meant that prices could be kept low and this, coupled with a generous credit system, led to huge numbers of cars being sold; in 1929 there was one car for every five Americans.