The automobile in America
Staci Griffin
Franklin St. has been a center of inspiration for me since my very first week
at VCU. On every occasion, I began to notice the array of nature’s great gifts that line
the walkway. Trees, bloomed bushes, and ecstatic grass all stuck out to me on the
night of my “great walk” down W Franklin St. I decided to use them to direct my
inspiration, as I contemplated how long can we really count on their beauty
brightening our days? With the constant pollution we put into our environment,
how much longer will it be before nature gives out on us? After giving this a
generous amount of thought, I continued walking, and came across a tattered baby
blue punch buggy. The bug intrigued me, so I sat on the curb and waited to see the
owner. A wrinkled, slightly grumpy old man limped across the street, and claimed
the bug to be his own. Cars have been an essential part of our every day lives for
decades now, and have been exceptionally useful in helping the crippled make their
day by days moves. But as I continued to watch the activity of the street, I noticed
majority of automobile operators appeared to be in perfect health. We simply chose
to be dependent on cars due to their efficiency and speed, and the amount of time
they can save us when running behind. What we forget to add into that equation
though, is the true affects they are having on our environment, and every day lives.
The amount of pollution put into our oxygen, water supply, and even food supply is
al related back to our dependency on motor vehicles, and the oil that runs them.
How did we come to rely so heavily, on the one thing that’s killing us?
Americans have been seeking ways for faster travel since the development of
our first colonies. We used to rely on horse and mule pulled carriages, buggies, and
fine wagons for faster transportation. Decades later though, we began to grow tired
of the constant upkeep required to maintain a horse and buggy, which brought
about the idea of man-made energy sources to power them. Karl Benz in Germany
invented the first true gasoline powered vehicle in 1885(Lauren Cox 2013). Next,
was the first four wheeled car fitting five people in 1895. Which according to the
accredited Benton Harbor, Michigan Press, was invented by the Baushke family.
Louis Baushke was responsible for the for the ironwork, and Albert Baushke was in
charge of the woodworks, or the build of the car.(The Harold Palladium 2010).
Of course, within a decade later, citizens all over America craved the easy
accessibility, and efficiency of driving an automobile. According to “The Readers
Companion to American History,” Henry Ford took advantage of the need to meet
demands by creating the “Model T” which could be easily reproduced in assembly
lines. Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler emerged as the “big three” automobile
companies because of the assembly line invention, and all three dominated the
automobile industry from then on. Cheap, raw materials were at the palm of our
hands in the United States, as well as an absence of tariff barriers between states,
which allowed for easy production, and smooth distribution. While cars became
essential to transportation in America, visual appeal in these cars became very
important as well. Having an automobile represented wealth and power, and those
who could afford them wanted to flaunt their new prized possessions with grace
and poise. The model T became known as the farmers car, and owners began to
want to trade up to faster, larger, and smoothing riding vehicles. “General Motors,
under the leadership of Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., put a new emphasis on the styling of
automobiles during the 1920’s and 1930’s”(The Readers Companion to American
History). Citizens, who already owned one car, began buying additional cars to keep
up with the “style” and model changes, which explains why today majority of
traditional car owners have more than one model of the same car sitting in their
driveways. “The goal was to make consumers dissatisfied enough to trade in and
presumably up to a more expensive new model long before the useful life of their
present cars had ended”(The Readers Companion to American History).
The Transportation Demand Encyclopedia contains information on
transportation demand management, which refers to various strategies that change
travel behavior in order to increase transport system efficiency. “The Encyclopedia
has an international perspective, with ideas and examples from all over the world,
including both developed and undeveloped countries, and breaks down several
attributes to car dependency”(TDM Encyclopedia). Vehicle ownership is a primary
factor driving many Americans to give-in, and buy and automobile. Out of every
1000 citizens, more than 450 feel dependent on their cars to get everywhere they
need to go. Eighty percent of all trips taken in the US, including grocery store runs
and parent pick-ups afterschool, are taken with cars. “After a certain amount of time,
automobile travel becomes compulsory.”(Soron 2009, TDM Encyclopedia) This is
also due to the lack of alternatives we have to driving cars. Riding bikes and walking
are now not only out of style, but inefficient in comparison to using a source of
transportation that will cut down on half the travel time. Having a car is not only an
expectation, but also a necessity to keep up the day-by-day expansion of our society.
Those who cannot afford, or operate cars are left in the dust, literally.
The expansion of roads built nation wide has increased dramatically, and will
continue to increase if we continue this dependency on our vehicles. The creation of
these mass highways and roads are destroying the geographic landscape of our
environment. It creates various barriers for those who chose not rely on
automobiles as primary transportation, so they are unable to locate the quickest
routes to reach their destinations. As a result, we as a nation have diminished the
idea of changing our every day habits in depending on cars, and continued to rely on
them no matter the affects they are taking on our environment, and on us. This
dependency has been cyclical in our nation since the Baushke family first introduced
the car to us, and according the facts, will continue on for years to come.
Citations
“Benton Harbor: The Original Motor City?” The Herald Palladium. 28 March 2010
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/localnews/benton-harbor-the-original-motorcity/article_a17a2aec-792c-535d-903e-b9d41713d698.html
Transportation Demand Encyclopedia. “ Automobile Dependency.” Victoria
Transport Policy Institute. Web 31 June 2014
http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm100.htm
The Reader’s Companion to American History. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty,
Editors. Copyright © 1991 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company