The End of Automobiles
The automobile has been a driving force in American society. It has brought new industries and jobs, such as automobile manufacturing and ancillary businesses like gas stations. It has lowered the price of consumer goods and increased the availability of leisure activities. It has also helped develop better roads and provided a more convenient means of travel.
Automobiles can save people a lot of time on daily commutes, shopping trips, and visits with family and friends. They can also give people the freedom to take quick trips across town or out of town on vacations and adventures. However, it is important to consider the costs of owning and maintaining an automobile, such as purchase and fuel costs, as well as insurance and maintenance expenses.
The scientific and technological building blocks of the modern car go back several hundred years. Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens developed an internal combustion engine fueled by gunpowder in the late 1600s. His invention paved the way for Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler and Karl Benz to create the first gas-powered cars in 1886.
The era of annually restyled, gas-guzzling “road cruisers” came to an end with the imposition of federal standards for automotive safety and emissions of pollutants; with escalating gasoline prices following oil shocks in 1973 and 1979; and with a penetration of both the U.S. and world markets first by the German Volkswagen “Bug” and then by Japanese fuel-efficient, functionally designed, well-built small cars. The automobile is now a fading force in a society that has grown more dependent on electronic media and the computer.