Probably no invention has had as great an impact on modern society as the automobile. Since their creation in the late 19th century, automobiles have enabled people to travel faster and farther than ever before. They have opened up new ways of life and created industries. They have allowed people to take vacations and visit family and friends. And they have helped people to get jobs and make money. But they have also caused harm to the environment. The exhaust from gas-burning cars has led to pollution. And unused land has been used to build roads and parking lots.
Exactly who invented the automobile is a matter of debate. Some credit Karl Benz, an engineer from Germany, who made the first motor car in 1885/1886. But Henry Ford came along in the early 1900s and revolutionized the way that cars were made. He developed the idea of the assembly line, where workers work on one task and parts pass along a conveyor belt. This made it possible to make a car for less money. It allowed people who could not afford a luxury car in the past to purchase one.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the popularity of automobiles grew as middle-class families in America increased. But by the 1960s, concern about air pollution and the draining of the world’s oil reserves began to take hold. In addition, critics complained about non-functional styling and fuel economy. By the 1970s, the American auto industry experienced a period of stagnation and lost market share to foreign manufacturers of functionally designed, well-built small cars that were both fuel-efficient and stylish.