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The History of Cars
 The
history of cars was spawned in 1891 when Henry Ford became an engineer
with the Edison Illuminating Company and was promoted to Chief Engineer
in 1893, after which he had enough time and money to devote attention
to his personal experiments on gasoline engines—and here is
where the history of cars begins. Henry Ford’s gasoline engine
experiments culminated in the history of cars in 1896 with the completion
of his own self-propelled vehicle named the Quadricycle—he
then constantly tested ways to improve the Quadricycle.
The history of cars continued when Ford approached Edison Illuminating
in 1899 after his initial success, and along with some other investors,
the Detroit Automobile Company was formed. Unfortunately, the company
went bankrupt. This happened, they say, because Ford spent more
time continuing to improve the design of the gasoline engine than
he did selling cars—but all of this improvement would vastly
contribute to the history of cars.
Ford raced his vehicles against those of other manufacturers to
show how superior his designs were. Then he formed a second company
in the history of cars, the famous Henry Ford Company. During this
period, he personally drove his Quadricycle to victory in a race
against Alexander Winton. However, Henry Ford was later forced out
of the company by the investors, and the company was reorganized
as Cadillac.
In 1903 the history of cars continues when the Ford Motor Company
emerged, with Henry Ford and eleven other investors with a total
of $28,000 in capital. Ford drove an exhibition in a newly-designed
car, a mile across the ice of Lake St. Clair in 39.4 seconds—a
new land speed record. The famous race driver Barney Oldfield, who
named this new Ford model "999", convinced by its success
drove the car around the country. Therefore in the history of cars
the Ford brand automobile was soon known throughout the United States
and Henry Ford himself was one of the early backers of the Indianapolis
500.
The history of cars continued to bloom. In 1908 the Ford Company
released the Model T—perhaps the most famous in the history
of cars, designed by a Hungarian named Jozsef Galamb. From 1909
to 1913, Ford entered stripped-down Model Ts in races, finishing
first and setting a one-mile oval speed record at the Detroit Fairgrounds
in 1911 with driver Frank Kulick. In 1913, Ford wanted to try a
new redeveloped Model T in the Indi-500. However, he was told the
car required an additional 1,000 pounds before it could qualify.
He dropped out of the race, and soon dropped out of racing altogether.
Besides, there were certain demands on his time by the now-booming
production of the Model Ts.
By 1913 in the history of cars the Model T automobile was already
famous in America. It was this year that Henry Ford introduced the
moving assembly belts into his plants. Moving assembly belts enabled
a marked increase in production. Ford is often credited with the
idea of moving assembly belts in the history of cars. However, contemporary
sources indicate that the concept came from employees Clarence Avery,
Peter E. Martin, Charles E. Sorensen, and C.H. Wills.
Nonetheless, by 1918, half of the cars in America were Ford Model
Ts. The design would continue in the history of cars through 1927
with a final total production of fifteen million. This record stood
for the next 45 years.
On the first of January 1919, after Ford had failed at an attempt
at a seat in the United States Senate, he turned the presidency
of Ford Motor Company over to his son Edsel. However, few company
decisions under Edsel's presidency were made without Henry’s
approval. Henry and Edsel, at this time, purchased all remaining
stock from other investors, becoming sole owners of the company,
which was The company privately controlled by the family until 1956,
when the family allowed a public offering of a portion of the company
without ceding control. Thus, Henry Ford still was one if not the
most key player in the history of cars.
By the mid 1920's in the history of cars, sales of the Model T
began to decline due to rising competition. Other automakers offered
payment plans through which consumers could buy their cars, which
usually included more modern mechanical features and styling not
available with the Model T. Despite urgings from Edsel, Henry steadfastly
refused to incorporate new features into the Model T or to form
a customer credit plan.
Ford’s key to success in the history of cars was without
a doubt, the assembly line, which allowed for many different cars
to be made much faster than other hand made vehicles. The Model
T sales triggered a modern era of vehicles in the history of cars.
Everyone could own a car. However, every Model T produced after
1913 was painted black because black paint dried much faster than
any other color.
The Model T was a very simple car and that made it unique. The
assembly line turned the Ford Motor Company into a giant. There
were about 30 million cars worldwide by 1928, and half of them were
Ford Model Ts.
By 1926 in the history of cars, the Ford Company felt that a new
model of automobile should be designed. Henry Ford pursued this
with his technical expertise in design of the engine, chassis, and
other mechanical necessities and his son, Edsel, developed the body
design. Edsel also convinced his father to include a sliding-shift
transmission. Thus was born the Ford Model A, introduced in 1927
and produced through 1931, selling over four million cars. This
is a major part of the history of cars, when the company decided
to re-design often and have an annual model change system that is
still in use by automakers today.
Henry Ford long had an interest in plastics. Soybean-based plastics
were used in Ford automobiles through the 1930s. Using plastic parts
such as car horns, etc. In 1942 Ford patented an automobile made
almost entirely of plastic, attached to a tubular welded frame,
but the design never caught on and played a very small role in the
history of cars.
The history of cars is, of course, quite more extensive than this,
but the above is a little taste for you, of the beginning of the
history of cars.
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