The American auto industry began in the late 1880’s, evolving from the horse powered wagon, steam powered cars, gasoline powered then to the hybrids and hydrogen fuel celled technology today. Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company were the first to mass produce cars. American automobile manufacturers dominated as the largest volume producers in the world until the 1980’s when the Japanese became the largest producers. The Chinese with 14.8 percent have become the number one volume producer in the world OICA (2014). The United States at 6.9 percent has dropped in position to the second highest volume auto producer in the world. The focus of this paper will be about the environmental challenges facing the American auto industry. In this title the word environment, speaks of the general elements (e.g. political, technological, economic, social, legal and environmental) that affects the industry. These general elements are mostly beyond the auto manufacturer’s direct control, yet they present challenges. The biggest environmental challenge facing the American industry is global completion. The last 10 years saw the rise in the number of Japanese vehicles being bought by the American consumer because they were cheaper, better gas mileage and performance. The Japanese auto maker Toyota is “spending more time on digital, social and mobile in order to focus on the elements that are important to the consumer” Retchin (2014). Toyota’s goal is to recapture and increase its market share. China with its 14.8 percent market share dominates worldwide auto sales however this dominance is a disadvantage and also an advantage for the American industry. General Motors now sells more cars in China than anywhere else and Chevrolet, Ford and GM are in...
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Increasing environmental awareness, coupled with a responsible American government and improved technology, have all contributed to the comeback of low-and zero-emissions vehicles in the US. It remains to be seen whether the automakers and oil companies will once again work to halt this progress, or embrace it as the technology of a more responsible future.
It can be argued that General Motors (GM) use of technology is what changed them from a reputation of polluting the environment with toxic waste into a new eco-friendly sustainable automobile company. Technology can come in many shapes and forms. “Technology is the combination of skills, knowledge, abilities, techniques, materials, machines, computers, tools, and other equipment that people use to convert or change raw materials, problems, and new ideas into valuable goods and services.” (Jones, 2013, p. 240) Less than a decade ago, General Motors had the reputation of producing gas guzzling vehicles, a management that cannot control its auto divisions and the whole company not caring about the world’s environment. GM used their four types of technology to change its structure, culture, and organizational effectiveness.
Model T’s were everywhere in America, even long after Ford stopped production in 1927. (Henry) While Ford was the number one brand, selling the most cars throughout the early 1900’s, the Model T created a new industry that is distinctly American; the auto industry. Three manufacturers, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler dominated the American auto industry, and all three companies still produce cars today. The Model T gave birth to the competitive auto market. To this day, car companies in America are constantly racing to innovate, improve, and outsell their competitors. Manufacturing of cars “became the backbone of a new consumer goods-oriented society. By the mid-1920s it ranked first in value of product, and in 1982 it provided one out of every six jobs in the United States.” (history –idk yet) The demand for cars also resulted in a booming petroleum industry, and a high demand for metals, like steel. ( History idk yet) Furthermore, with so many people driving cars, construction of roads was necessary. The popularity of automobiles set off a chain reaction that created new opportunities all across the country. All sections of the modern automotive industry, from marketing to manufacturing, as well industries like petroleum refining, steel production, and road construction, can trace their beginnings to the Ford Model
Automotive production on a commercial scale started in France in 1890. Commercial production in the United States began at the beginning of the 1900's and was equal to that of Europe's. In those days, the European industry consisted of small independent firms that would turn out a few cars by means of precise engineering and handicraft methods. The American automobile plants were assembly line operations, which meant using parts made by independent suppliers and putting them together at the plant. In the early 1900's, the United States had about 2,000 firms producing one or more cars. By 1920 the number of firms had decreased to about 100 and by 1929 to 44. In 1976 the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association had only 11 members. The same situation occurred in Europe and Japan.
The first automobile production for the masses in the US was the three horsepower, curved-dash Oldsmobile which four hundred and twenty five of them were sold in 1901 and five thousand in 1904. This Oldsmobile is still a very popular car to most collectors today. From 1904 to 1908, two hundred and one automobile manufacturing firms went into business in the United States. One of the firms was the Ford Motor company which was organized in June 1903, and sold its first car on the following July ...
The automotive industry is dominated by a few key players. Kallstrom explains, “The top five players have a significant 49% share of the global automobile market. This share decreased by 5.1% in the 15-year period from 1998 to 2013. Smaller companies slowly took the major automotive companies’ share away. In terms of vehicles produced, General Motors (GM), Ford (F), Volkswagen, and Toyota (TM) are still featured on the top five list.” It is important to note that Hyundai comes in at number five.
In 1916 the Ford Model T wasn’t the first car in America it was the first car of the American people forging the beginning of a transportation revolution. Progressing into the 1920s and 1930s cars got a lot better at being cars with higher top speeds, more refined design, and safer construction. With these advancements cars were rapidly becoming tools in more Americans lives as they got better. When the United States became involved in World War II automotive development was shifted into military vehicle development to design and produce the all terrain vehicles tanks and other machines needed in the war effort. After WWII American automotive companies went back to building consumer vehicles fairly similar similar to the prewar models until
The automobile making process has created a domino effect in which it distorts the natural stage of the environment. For instance, motorized vehicles consume fossil resources; they pollute air, water and lands. When autos are being manufactured, there are many natural sources used such as metals, glass, plastics, rubbers, and some other raw sources. Until now, cars have definitely changed the country’s landscape more than any major invention designed by humans.
The United States employs over one million workers and 3 percent of the U.S. economy is represented by the output of auto manufacturers in the U.S. (Klier, 2005). An average of over eight million passenger vehicles is produced in the United States annually. In a report published by Young (2014), auto sales in the U.S. have increased by 9.1% since July 2013. The automobile industry is a competitive industry, with global manufacturers such as British Motor Works (BMW) and Mercedes among other manufacturers importing vehicles into the U.S.; consumers have a wide range of vehicle makes and models to choose from.
As men returned from war, the new and hot item to own was a car. Ford and GM’s Chevy became the biggest automobile manufacturers. In fact, by 1923, Ford Model T’s accounted for just under 52% of automobiles in the market while Ford held over 62% of the market. The production of Ford automobiles had reached nearly 2 million. In 1924, you could buy a Model T for $290 dollars. Nowadays, that is probably a monthly payment. Yet some cars were very expensive, with a Rolls Royce costing 15-17,000. Yet, automobiles were not the rage throughout the world. The automobile was just another sign of American youth, vibrancy, and prosperity. In 1920, US automobile production was nearly 2.3 million. The next largest producer was France, making 400,000 units. The total automobile production was just under 2.4 million. Obviously, Americans were really the only people buying cars.
The majority of people, especially in America, cannot go about their daily lives without a car. Automobiles have instilled themselves in peoples’ lives and shown their usefulness since their debut in 1769. Since then, humans have redesigned and refined the automobile thousands of times, each time making the vehicle more efficient and economical than before. Now as the world approaches an ethical decision to dwarf all others, many people look toward automotives for yet another change. The emergence of the hypercar due to ecological turmoil exemplifies the change the world has demanded. Hypercars alter everything people know about automotives, modern ecology, and fuel efficiency. Not only do hypercars offer a solution to many ecological problems humans are faced with now, they also represent the only logical area for the automotive industry, and by some stretch American society, to expand.
The invention of automobiles has been success in world history. It’s even been said that the invention of the automobile took place in United States. American Auto industries such as The Model T Ford and General Motors launched great success in the beginning of the manufacturing of cars. The gasoline automobiles have dominated over the lands and have made the world smaller. Cars became mass-produced into the auto industries across countries. Essentially, cars became a part of our cultures because cars are necessary for movement and mobility from one location to another. According to Peter Wells, a Professor of Business and Sustainability at Cardiff University, asserts that “cars are cultural objects, imbued or attributed with values and meanings by those that own them and those that look upon them” (64-65). Cars are symbols of the consumer society. Fundamentally, these cultural objects embody and represent a sense of safety, mobility, and freedom. Many people all over the world are buying and using cars because they are products of globalization. The process of globalization has effects “on the environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic development, and on humans’ physical well-being in societies around the world” according to Lianna Amirkhanyan, a translator and specialist of cross-Cultural communication (2). In pursing the field of Global Cultures, the main goal as taught in courses at UCI is to explore the problems and processes of globalization from a humanistic perspective. Cars are global products and should be dealt with in a global perspective. Global products and environmental issues impact us directly and indirectly because we are part of the world.
The automobile industry is a pillar of global economy. Globally automotive contributes roughly 3 % of all GDP output. It historically has contributed 3.0 – 3.5 % to the overall GDP in the US. The share is even higher in the emerging markets, with the rates in china and India at 7 % and rising. China produces the highest number of automobiles followed by US and Japan (oica.net, 2015). The industry supports direct employment of 9 million people to build 60 million vehicles and parts that go into them (oica.net, 2015). Many other industries such as steel, iron, glass, aluminium, textiles etc. are associated with the automotive industry and resulting in more than 50 million jobs owed to the auto
Climate change in automotive industry represent both threat and opportunity in the business. It gives opportunity for the car makers to develop a new technology that is more environmental friendly, which can reduce the amount of green house gas emission. It also gives the carmakers to create a more energy efficient in their operations, which can cut the unnecessary production costs. Other opportunity is the fact that they will use this global concern to further research and investigate the use of creating a new energy source, and helping reducing the pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels.
Competition for good things like public health, making the earth safe to live are positive aspects of competition, but global competition can also have a downside concerning the environment. This is true for the production of vehicles, as companies are coming with designs and new models with improved engines, but fuel consumption and the pollution of the air remains the same. In addition to the concerns about car manufacturing and driving, we should also consider the impact of construction areas where new houses are being built, with many truck with loads going across the country. This is an important contribution to pollution, which creates both air and noise pollution. Japan and Europe auto manufacturing based in US has recently involved activities to improve fuel efficiency of their vehicles. The European car makers planned to design a new engine and at same time to develop long distance vehicles. The autos made in Europe, for example Daimler Chrysler, recently came out with a new product which is a vehicle with 3 liters per hour, and also a diesel engine, which consumes 3.4 liters of fuel per 100