We can be certain that back in 1600 when a Dutchman, Simon Steven, built his "sailing chariot" a wagon propelled by wind he was only trying to devise a vehicle that would operate without horsepower, not revolutionize how the world would eventually travel and speed. Obviously when the wind died down the vehicle was useless, which is why, in 1796 Nicolas Cugnot used steam to make the first self-propelled vehicle. Frightened by similar developments in England, Parliament passed various laws restricting these steam-powered vehicles. Finally it adopted the Red Flag Act of 1865, which required a rider on horseback to carry a red flag ahead of each such vehicle.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century Oliver Evans, an American, achieved the same success also using steam, but it was not until 1883 that the Duryea brothers used their gas-fired engine to run a carriage through the muddy streets of Springfield, Massachusetts. Two years later a Rochester, New York, lawyer, George B. Selden, patented his internal combustion engine, which was copied by numerous would be auto inventors, including Henry Ford of Detroit. In 1908 Ford brought out his Model T and in 1913 started mass producing his black "Tin Lizzies." By 1927, when Ford discontinued the Model T for a more modern Model A, the company had produced 15,000,000 cars. As the Model A's came off the assembly lines, most of the independent manufacturers gradually disappeared, and by 1949 Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors were producing 85 percent of all American-made cars.
We have previously seen that the United States had to build a vast network of roads and highways to accommodate the ever-growing number of cars and trucks. A more serious problem gradually developed as the number of gasoline-driven vehicles increased. Gasoline fumes were helping create alarming environmental problems. In many cities where temperature inversion trapped smog for several days, half of the pollutants were attributed to gasoline fumes. At the same time it was suspected that these fumes were also contributing to the greenhouse effect, or heat build-up in the earth's atmosphere. Accordingly California, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York passed laws requiring that starting in 1998 a minimum of 2 percent of all cars sold by a manufacturer in those states be powered by electricity.
Only time will tell how successful these laws will be. Until a battery is developed that can power such a car for more than 100-250 miles on a charge, such models will be useful for the most part only for consumers' daily short trips but not for long-distance runs. Furthermore, few people may be able to afford these expensive cars, although in time, as more are manufactured and sold, the cost should come down. Understandably the oil industry is not enthusiastic over the prospect of electric cars.
IMPORTANCE OF THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
This book discusses transportation, not manufacturing of the various types of machines or vehicles that carry passengers and cargo. Thus we have not covered shipbuilding or the manufacture of buses, light rail cars, trolleys, airplanes, or railroad equipment. In the case of automobiles and light trucks, however, we are making an exception because career opportunities are vast in the manufacturing plants and are closely tied to various peripheral service businesses that support the industry once automobiles and trucks leave the factories. It is interesting to note that light trucks are starting to dominate the light-vehicle assembly lines. Pickup trucks, minivans, and sports-utility vehicles accounted for 60 percent of Chrysler's total sales early in 1996!
Excluding those who work in agriculture, one out of every seven jobs in the United States is related to the manufacture and use of automobiles and light trucks and gives employment to some 12,000,000 Americans. In the auto sales and service industry, which includes the service station down the street, more than $125 billion change hands each year.
AUTOMOBILE PLANTS
The three principal "Detroit" manufacturers who also operate plants elsewhere in the United States are Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors. In addition, Japanese automakers have set up plants here and gone into cooperative manufacturing with the "big three" American companies. Emphasis in the industry has shifted to hiring higher-skilled labor. Whereas auto plants once offered good employment prospects for both high-school dropouts and graduates, today the emphasis is on at least a high school diploma or, better yet, a trade school certificate or college diploma. A recent tally of new Ford hires showed that 97 percent had high school diplomas, 4 percent had earned four-year degrees, and 33 percent had attended college. The Japanese are influencing the whole industry because their assembly line workers are chosen from top technical school graduates. As competition between manufacturers continues to heat up, education will continue to be more and more important.
In most plants you will find three major functions, each of which may employ hundreds or thousands of white- and blue-collar workers. The manufacturing department includes those who work on the never-idle assembly lines as well as numerous machines and other equipment, all concerned with producing the many items needed for each car. The engineering department has broad responsibilities not only involving designing the product with the help of specially trained artists, but also applying its skills as needed throughout the entire plant. The sales department works with the company's many dealers throughout the country who are responsible for selling the cars to the public. In addition there are those who work in administrative and specialized departments, as well as support services such as communications, purchasing, legal, financial, public relations, advertising, security, maintenance, and so forth.
