1.6.1 More History of the Automobile

• Henry Ford's Model T dropped from $850 in 1908 to $275 in the 1920's.


• Henry Ford opened up the first assembly line plant to manufacture Model T's for the masses.


• The first police squad car was put on the road in 1922, to help fight prohibition.


• Highway 66 was born connecting the east with the west. Running from Chicago to Los Angeles.


• The stock market crashes in 1929. America's $2.9 billion consumer installment debt was linked to automobile purchases.


• In 1931, the 50 millionth American made automobiles rolled off the assembly line. However, the great depression affected the production. Between 1929-1932, production plummeted 75%, and around half of the auto makers were laid off.


• The love for the automobile during the depression compels automobile owners to give up their homes and travel to new locations to find a better life.


• During World War II, gas was rationed and automobile travel was reduced by 40%.


• Rubber for tires was rationed
• In 1941, 3.2 million cars were manufactured.
• In 1945, 84,000 cars were made.


• In 1946, Detroit resumed making cars and the companies could not keep up with the demand.


• By the 1950's, everyone was on the road.


• The Interstate Highway System, a network of more than 41,000 miles of toll-free superhighways, was inaugurated in 1956.


• Automobile designers take on a futuristic look. Cars become works of art with things like fins, dramatic coloring and chrome trim to catch the eye of the consumer.


• In the 1960's, the first anti-pollution legislation targeting the motor vehicle emissions was passed.


• Changes occur constantly. The muscle car is introduced, the Pontiac GTO, a triple-carburetor, 350 horsepower V-8 engine.


• The 1970's saw the German built Volkswagen Beetle become America's best-selling automobile.


• The oil crisis in the Middle East and shortages in the United States, caused the government to pass a national speed limit of 55 M.P.H. to conserve on gasoline.


• 1974, the first airbags became available to consumers.


• The cost of gasoline goes from $0.45 in 1973 up to $1.31 in 1980, then to $1.43 in 1991.


• Although seatbelts have been installed in vehicles almost since the beginning of the automobile, it took until1984 for the first state to make it law to buckle up. Now almost every state requires drivers and passengers to wear their safety belts.


• Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to produce cars in the United States.


• In the 1990's, smart cars were introduced with integrated child safety seats, automatic climate control, remote keyless entry, anti-theft devices, heated windshields, and particulate air filters.


• There are now more than 175 million licensed drivers in the United States; 200 million registered vehicles; and 4 million miles of paved roads and highways.