The Automobile Industry in the Early 1900s Essay

The Automobile Industry in the Early 1900s - Essay ExampleNonetheless, the railcar continues its role of an everyday necessity in developing countries and in the third world. As the Economist states the current situationThe car industry makes nearly 60 million cars and trucks every year and employs millions of masses around the world. Products are responsible for almost half the worlds oil consumption and their manufacture uses up nearly half the worlds annual output of glass and rubber and 15% of steel. The car industry is the epitome of mass performance, mass marketing and mass consumption involving some of the strongest brands in the world. However, in America, Europe and Japan, where over 80% of the worlds cars and trucks are sold, the industry has been running out of growth (The Economist, 2004).Despite the fact that the earlier inventions of the automobile were done in Europe, the city of Detroit in the United States played an important role in the evolution of the automobil e industry. Since as early as the 1920s Detroit has been called The Motor City in acknowledgement of the historical milestones and current achievements it has had in this regard.Although Henry Ford is well known for greatly adapting the assembly line to dislodge how the car was made, the concept was invented by Oldsmobile pioneer Ransome Olds. Ford took that basic concept and improved on it by adding a conveyor belt, and with it, efficiency and mass production took place.At the turn of the century, cars were being invented and produced in a very small-scale manner, many of which took place in backyards of homes mostly in Europe and in US states such as Michigan. In 2000, Wibbeling and Heng describe the period thusThe beginning of the automobile industry was characterized by craft production. The organizations were extremely decentralized and many of the versatile craftsmen were their own bosses, service as independent contractors within a plant. This mode of