When he was younger he planned on creating something for the rich as well for common man that would involve engines. He created the Ford Model T, which was affordable for the poor, and continued to create Model A and other modeled cars (Joans 2010). By the end of World War I half of Americans owned the model T car. The affordable cars like those Ford produced transformed America (Roak et al., 2011). 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).
The story only takes place over four days, however, his dream of reaching equality is quickly broken by the deeply embedded racism in Los Angeles. In the novel, the car plays an important role in Bob’s life. Traditionally, in Los Angeles, where people largely depend on driving, cars are viewed as a necessary thing and a symbol of LA. Meanwhile, in If He Hollers Let Him Go, through the depiction of Bob’s life, Himes associates car ownership with a symbol of wealth, a feeling of personal power and control in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, cars are seen as a particularly significant symbol of wealth and success, which Bob wants to have in order to become equal to the white people.
This demise is a running theme throughout many of Steinbeck’s works, in which he often blames it on the rise of industry and the spread of capitalism. This view can be justified by many events throughout history, from the Great Depression through recent years. In 2013, the city of Detroit, Michigan officially filed for bankruptcy. Detroit was home to the quintessential American industry, automobile manufacturing. 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.
The first vehicle made by Henry Ford himself was in 1896 and was called the "Quadricycle. "(Ambrose, Steven/Brinkley, Douglass) This vehicle had four wheels and resembled that of a bicycle, it used a tiller for steering such as a boat would, and had two forward speeds but no reverse gear (Ambrose, Steven/Brinkley, Douglass). Henry sold this prototype of a car for $200 and then began to watch as the automobile industry started by him began to expand (Ambrose, Steven/Brinkley, Douglass). Once Ford built his own factory, he started to think up a plan to build a car that was both efficient and affordable that most people could have. This car finally emerged from a secret room that he had built in his factory, it was to be called the Model T. For eight hundred and twenty five dollars a customer could purchase a Model T. The Model T was a light 1,200 lbs, had a relatively powerful 20 horsepower engine, and was fairly easy to drive with a two speed foot controlled transmission (Kimes, Beverly).
They produced many new jobs with the need for new roads since the American landscape was drastically expanding. Advertisements not only made businesses prosper but gave people actual helpful information, such as the idea of keeping a much better personal hygiene being better for your health. Alternating electrical current increased energy efficiency tenfold compared to direct current since people could actually turn off their electricity. However, the Installment Plan created a country-wide idea that you could now buy what you really can’t afford and that made a lot of debt which eventually made the stock market crash leading to the Great Depression. Although there was a blotch on the great economic image of the twenties, the bigger smudge was on the cultural rifts that
Trucks are better than cars. Cars do have advantage. You get more gas mileage on a car then on a truck. With gas being so expensive, one day everyone would like to find a ways to save money. People struggle to fill up there tanks in a truck the reason why is because of gas prizes coming to their highest.
However, it took longer time to go to work since he just needed 40 minutes to drive to work but he needed more or less two hours to go to work by Caltrain. He complained about the inconvenience with his colleagues and he found that his colleagues also had the same problems. Some of his colleagues chose to pool car, which means people drive to work with other strangers who work nearby and share the gas price. And they said that as gas prices increased, their wages were not increased as fast as gas prices. As a result, the increasing of gas prices bring inconvenience to people’s lives.
Reasons of automobile dependence Generally speaking, there are four main reasons for this situation. First of all, American people are being dependent too much on automobiles mostly because of their ability to provide mobility. Everyday life activities require people to move, and modern industrialized life at present require people to shift even more and faster from place to place. The fact that those movements can not be done without automobiles gives existence to the automobiles dependence. Cars are now available for almost every American to be satisfied all demands of displacements which are increasing day by day.
For example, the first cars were so expensive that only rich people could afford to buy them but cars became cheaper when Ford invented the moving assembly line and the work went faster. But there were also some bad effects of the advanced technology in the factory. The industrial workers became mere wage earners as the machinery was too expensive. Some worker had to face unemployment as the machines made the work faster than before and it required fewer workers at some point. This system made the working condition dangerous as many industrial workers face the possibility of fatal
What Ford dreamed of was not merely increased capacity but complete self-sufficiency. World War I, with its shortages and price increases, demonstrated for him the need to control raw materials; slow-moving suppliers convinced him that he should make his own parts. Wheels, tires, upholstery, and various accessories were purchased from other companies around Detroit. As Ford production increased, these smaller operations had to speed their output; most of them had to install their own assembly lines. It became impossible to coordinate production and shipment so that each product would arrive at the right place and at the right time.