The Automobile Industry in the Early 1900s Essay

The Automobile Industry in the Early 1900s - Essay Example Nonetheless, the automobile continues its role of an everyday necessity in developing countries and in the third world. As the Economist states the current situation: The car industry makes nearly 60 million cars and trucks every year and employs millions of people around the world. Products are responsible for almost half the world’s oil consumption and their manufacture uses up nearly half the world’s annual output of glass and rubber and 15% of steel. The car industry is the epitome of mass production, 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 world’s 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 automobile industry. Since as early as the 1920’s Detroit has been called â€Å"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 change 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 thus: The beginning of the automobile industry was characterized by craft production. The organizations were extremely decentralized and many of the skilled craftsmen were their own bosses, service as independent contractors within a plant. This mode of