Automobiles are a vital part of our everyday lives. They help us get to work on time, reach places quickly, and visit friends and family without wasting any extra time traveling. Moreover, they make our life easier during unforeseeable events such as your child getting sick or you having to go to the hospital. Having an automobile in your possession means you are able to react faster to these situations and save the day.
It is not clear who invented the car, but most accounts credit Karl Benz for creating the first true automobile around 1885. Previously, the most common forms of transport were horse-drawn carriages or bicycles.
Throughout the 1800s, manufacturers improved on these early automobiles to create more efficient and convenient designs. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot created the first steam-driven road vehicle in 1769, and several companies produced electric cars during the 1900s. However, these vehicles had a limited range and required their batteries to be charged frequently.
After World War II, the United States became the leader of the auto industry. American manufacturers strove to keep up with the massive demand for automobiles that had been created by the war.
They developed mass production techniques, which made it possible to produce cars in large quantities at low prices. The American auto industry soon became one of the largest consumers of raw materials such as steel and petroleum, and one of the biggest buyers of consumer goods in a new consumer-oriented economy. Its profits increased, but quality deteriorated to the point where by the mid-1960s American-made automobiles were reportedly delivered with an average of twenty-four defects per unit.