Before automobiles were invented in the 17th century by an inventor for the Chinese emperor as a toy, people used to travel via horses and carriages pulled by animals. Since then, inventors across the globe looked for multiple ways to create a man-made vehicle that will mobilize the humans without relying on any kind of animal power. First, they tried the steam powered vehicles but after a while they realized it doesn't give the optimal speed that the scientist were shooting for. Then they went for electric powered vehicles but gave up on that as well because it wouldn't give the satisfactory speed or the lifespan. Eventually in late 1900s, scientists realized that petroleum was the way to go with the automobiles they were building. Even though it released bad gasses into the atmosphere, it was the most efficient way to get around. There were three different eras between the years 1880 and 1920; Veteran Era, Brass Era, and the Vintage Era.
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| The First Benz Patent Motor Wagen. |
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| 1905 Curved Dash Oldsmobile |
The Veteran Era started with the first mass production of automobiles in Germany by Karl Benz in 1888 who later on became the co-founder of Mercedes Benz which is a luxurious automobile maker in current day automotive market. Even though the production of automobiles started in Germany, the United States was not far from the Germans in mass producing these machines. In 1893, two brothers named Charles and Frank Duryea created the first american car company named Duryea motor Wagon Company. Even though this was the first automobile company in the U.S. Another company soon became the top automobile producer in the nation, initiated by Ransom E. Olds the Olds Motor Vehicle company was the leader in the automotive industry. By 1902 the Oldsmobile had initiated a full scale production line. With all this attraction to the automobiles, other industries like oil extraction and processing became more popular in order to supply petroleum to these vehicles. automobiles soon became icons in this era, songs were being wrote about them, they became a part of societies social life but even if all these things were a good change, there were many problems with automobiles in the Veteran Era, engines would break down, there were no roads for automobiles so tires would break constantly and petroleum was hard to gather but it did not stop the people from buying more and more cars every year which led to the Brass Era
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| Henry Ford's First Car. He called it the Quadracycle. |
The Brass Era was named so because of all the brass that was used in the United States from 1904 to 1914 in different sectors of the industry. In this Era innovators sought out new ideas and designs for the growing automobile industry. A lot of mechanical advancements were made like the engines were put in the front of the car and only the back two tires would turn making the car what we lie to call "Rear-Wheel Drive". At the same time, many new car manufacturers stepped up to join the competition. New companies like Ford, Bugatti, and Mercer were born. Even though this Era lasted about 15 years, the best was yet to come. Only after WWI, industries could work on coming up with new ideas for cars using military technology that was revealed during the war to move the industry forward.
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| The very first car made for the chinese emperor in 17th century by Ferdinand Verbiest. |
The Vintage Era started at the end of the WWI in 1919 and lasted until the Wall Street Crash in 1929. In this era cars were cleared of major problems and many new inventions have been made to make the cars more safe and efficient like the hydraulic brakes and new suspension systems to keep the cabin of the car safer. At the same time, even more car companies arose and different companies started pulling the interest of people from different social classes. Rich people would buy the 16 cylinder cars that went fast and had premium leather seats while the middle class bought the cheap 4 cylinder cars that were mass produced and had little to no luxury. Ever since then, there has been a big difference between luxury cars and middle class cars.
After the Vintage Era, the Pre-WWII Era began and then another and then another. Recently we switched Eras from being a gasoline dependent automobile industry to electrical and hybrid Era which shows how much the industry has grown and how good it responds to the needs of the consumers and adapts to the global problems. The automotive industry has definitely played a huge role in society and helped mobilize our society today.
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