The automobile is one of the most universal of modern technologies. It is a four-wheeled motor vehicle designed primarily for passenger transportation and propelled by an internal combustion engine using a volatile fuel. There are an estimated 1.4 billion cars on the world’s roads. It is a complex technical system, and the automotive industry employs millions of people worldwide.
The invention of the automobile transformed American life in many ways, enabling people to live farther from their jobs and allowing them to spend more leisure time with family and friends. It contributed to the growth of businesses that provide new services like hotels, motels, amusement parks and restaurants. However, the automobile also brought harm to the environment by polluting the air that we breathe, reducing wildlife habitat and consuming vast amounts of land for building highways.
Despite the fact that Europeans invented the first motor vehicles in the late nineteenth century, it was the United States that led the development of the modern automobile in the early 20th century through the introduction of mass production techniques. This was mainly due to the much greater demand for transportation in the United States. Its vast land area, together with its uneven distribution of income, created a tremendous need for car transportation. The availability of cheap raw materials and the absence of tariff barriers between states encouraged manufacturers to produce cars in large numbers over a broad geographic area.
Automobiles were the first practical means of transportation to be based on an internal combustion engine and to use a standardized body design and a continuously variable transmission. Other innovations include electric ignition, the electric self-starter (developed by Charles Kettering for the Cadillac Motor Company in 1910-1911), and independent suspension. After the invention of the Model T in 1908, automobile manufacturing became increasingly industrialized and consolidated. This reduced the number of small independent automobile producers and accelerated the onset of standardization.
The modern automobile is a complex technical system with specialized subsystems that perform specific functions. Automobiles for off-road use, for example, require durable systems with high resistance to severe overloading and extreme operating conditions. On the other hand, automobiles that are designed for road use must provide passengers with comfortable options and optimized high-speed handling.
Automobiles have changed the lives of people throughout the world in many different ways. Millions of people work in the factories where cars are produced, and millions more work at gas stations, restaurants or hotels that travelers stop at. Cars allow people to get to work on time, avoid traffic jams and not have to worry about missing their bus or train. However, cars are also a major source of pollution and cause thousands of deaths every year in car accidents.