History of the Automobile

Paper Summary:

The paper explains how the automobile changed the world by bringing people closer together and allowing the population to spread outside the cities. The writer brings examples of various major automobile manufacturers, focusing on the American manufacturers. The paper explains that initially, automobile companies were scattered around America but by 1905, Detroit had taken the lead, never to relinquish it. In conclusion, the writer states that in one hundred years we have gone from the Model A, which won the race at Gross Pointe with an average speed of 43.5 miles an hour, to NASCAR where the average speed can reach well over two hundred miles an hour. The writer posits that automobiles have made the world a better place in which to live.

From the Paper:

"However, the company was short lived. Ford wanted to improve the vehicle, but the stockholders balked and the company dispersed in 1900. Ford turned his attention to racing. In 1901, Ford built a twenty-six horse power engine. He entered the vehicle in a ten-mile sweepstakes race at Gross Pointe race track outside of Detroit. The race featured "several of the nation's outstanding drivers, including Alexander Winton" (Lewis, David Lanier, Ford 1903-1984 Beekman House: New York, 1983, P 10). Winton was the defending champion. Ford won the race with an average speed of 43.5 miles an hour. The victory was covered nationwide by the press, and several of the former stockholders of the old Detroit Automobile Company were in attendance. The stockholders saw the commercial advantaged of the new vehicle and The Henry Ford Company was formed. However, once again Ford and the stockholders didn't see eye to eye and Ford "left after only three months, taking with him a $900 settlement and the uncompleted drawings of a new racing car" (Lewis, David Lanier, Ford 1903-1984 Beekman House: New York, 1983, P 10). Ford continued to build a name building racing cars, and in 1903 with the help of ten investors he formed the Ford Motor Company. The company received little fanfare. "Ford was but one of 15 Michigan companies and one of 88 firms in the nation introducing automobiles in 1903, and neither the amount of its capitalization nor its prospects for future success were particularly noteworthy" (Lewis, David Lanier, Ford 1903-1984 Beekman House: New York, 1983, P 10). Ford's first production car was the Model A built in 1903. Ford's dream was to build a car that was inexpensive so everyone could afford one. He wished to build a car that cost only $500. Ford's prowess on the race track continued to increase the fame of the company."

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