Today in the world, cars are the most used way of transportation, even though they have been in production for only about 100 years. Overpassing, airplanes, trains and boats in mileage, cars are dominant in transportation. The average American household has 2.28 cars at their house. Over 90% of Americans own a vehicle for their household. Not many Americans do not own a car, which is why issues like gas prices affects American citizens so greatly. In 1990, 188,798,000 registered drivers in the US. As of 2009, there was 246,165,000 registered drivers so there is a growing demand for automobiles. As the technology gets better, the technology enhances and out dates older models. Today’s models of automobiles include hybrids, trucks and many …show more content…
Although gasoline has many advantages, the source of energy also has many disadvantages, such as pollution, expense and at times availability. At times, the disadvantages of gasoline outweigh the advantages. Many different biofuels have been made over the past 100 years, but most of them were not incorporated into hybrid cars until the 2007-2008 recession where getting fuel was a problem and as a result, gas prices shot up. Ever since 2008, biofuels look to be a great part of the future of automobiles. Gasoline consists of a certain arrangement of carbon and hydrogen molecules. The heating of this special oil creates an enormous amount of power, especially at a constant rate. Gasoline is used as the fuel for internal combustion engines. The combustion chemical formula that powers the engine is 2C8H16 + 25O2→ 16CO2 + 18H2O. The problems with this enormous amount of power is when gasoline is heated up and burned within a car, it transforms the oil into gas that is very dangerous of large concentrations of it. That gas is lethal to the ozone. Other problems with gasoline are mostly because of the dependence of oil from foreign countries. In 2012, 40% of the consumed oil by the US were imports from outside of the Unites States’ borders. Of that 40%, so of the main imports came from Canada (28%), Saudi Arabia (13%), Mexico (10%), Venezuela (9%) and Russia (5%). If a major event happens and the US loses foreign ties with other countries, the US would only have 60% of their own oil production to rely on. Foreign countries will not always be on America’s side, especially with the Gulf War happening very recently and with the current Ukraine-Russia conflict. In the last 20 years, the US imported 6 million bb/day in 1994. The number slowly rose until the year 2007 where the amount of imported oil stopped rising. During
“Americans’ Love Affair with Cars, Trucks and SUVS Continues.” USA Today. USA Today, 30 August 2003. Web. 5 January 2012.
In the July 1997 issue of Commentary, James Q. Wilson challenges the consensus among academia’s finest regarding the automobile in his bold article, Cars and Their Enemies. Directed towards the general public, his article discredits many of the supposed negatives of the automobile raised by experts, proves that the personal car is thriving and will continue to thrive because it meets individual preference over other means of transportation, as well as presents solutions to the social costs of cars. Wilson emphasizes that no matter what is said and done in eliminating the social costs of the automobile, experts are not going to stop campaigning against it.
In the twentieth century, the introduction of the motor vehicle in the United States became not only noteworthy, but also vital in the development of modern American civilization. This technologically complex machine led citizens to vast future dependency on the invention. While mobility was suddenly not limited to alternative, more convoluted options such as railroad stations or bicycles, yet copiously amplified to aid convenience and expanded leisure opportunities. From auto-racing to redesigning infrastructure, motor vehicles allowed progression, digression, and essentially uttermost change to lifestyles of the American people.
Over time, there have been several technological advancements that have shaped the world in which we live and are familiar with today, and one advancement, in particular, that has influenced American society significantly is the automobile. Since the automobile’s beginning, it has continuously been improved and modified pushing the rest of technology to keep up with its rapid pace of innovation. Americans have frequently taken advantage of the automobile’s many benefits, but what they often fail to realize is that the automobile has given American society more than just the luxury of driving. In fact, the automobile has influenced this nation and the people within it both historically and culturally
Biofuels, fuels that provide energy using relatively recent organic sources, have been around just as long as cars have. In fact, the first cars ran on peanut oil. Henry Ford, founder of a multimillion dollar American car company, planned to fuel his massively successful Model T’s with ethanol (National Geographic 2013.) However, this revolutionary idea was swept under the rug when the discovery of massive petroleum deposits kept gasoline and diesel cheap and affordable. As 2014 rolls around, consumers are starting see that the amount of petroleum in the Earth is shrinking and the same story goes for their wallets (Avro 2012.) Not only does burning gas and diesel empty out the wallet, it is also slowly covering the Earth with a warm carbon dioxide blanket that causes global warming. Transportation, which is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses (Biofuel Association of Australia 2013), is dependent on finite amounts of gas and diesel for its energy needs so it is very important we move towards a more renewable and sustainable fuel source. Biofuels, both ethanol and biodiesel, have the potential to fuel transportation efficiently and drastically reduce the carbon footprint, thus reducing the warm blanket of carbon dioxide on the Earth.
Fossil fuels have been proven to be damaging to our environment, economy and has made the United States vulnerable to dangerous and unstable countries by exporting the resources that they have. The U.S. depends on countries like Sadie Arabia for our oil supplies. How would we be affected if Sadie Arabia refused to sell us their oil? Would our oil reserves run out or would we be able to buy from another country? These are scenarios that we need to be concerned about. According to Rebecca Lefton and Daniel J. Weiss in their article “Oil Dependence Is a Dangerous Habit”, the U.S. has increased import of oil in the recent years, creating a bigger deficit in the United States. Our countries deficit has resulted in nationwide budget cuts. The continuation of oil imports with foreign countries is going to create an even larger debt in America. In 2008 our country spent around $150 Billion on oil imports alone (Lefton, R. & Weiss, D.J. (2014) Oil Dependence Is a Dangerous Habit. Retrieved from http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/report/2010/01/13/7200/oil-dependence-is-a-dangerous-habit/). Environmentally, the burning of fossil fuels have led to global warming. As most of us know, global warming can cause changes in our clim...
As the decade’s fashion and architecture of the day portrayed conformity, the American car represented the country's optimism and enthusiasm in a decade of hopefulness. Car manufacturers looked at conformity as a foreign concept and did everything in their power to excite buyers and bring crowds to their showrooms. The 1950’s American automobile culture has had a long lasting influence on the people of the United States. The American car manufacturing switched from producing war weapons to consumer goods at the end of World War II, and by the end of the 1950’s, one out of every six working Americans were employed by the automotive industry. The United States became the world's largest manufacturer of automobiles, and Henry Ford's goal that any man with a good job should be able to afford an automobile, was achieved. In result, a new generation of service businesses focusing on customers with their automobiles, like drive-through restaurants and movies, were created. Another contemporary entity that was established from the result of the booming automobile industry was the expansion of the National Highway System with Interstate highways. The wider, multi-lane highways allowed traffic to move at faster speeds with few or no stoplights. The automobile industry not only positively influenced people’s perspectives on travel and appealing machinery, it predisposed many other innovations and necessities that we still use in modern
The automobile has come to play a major role in our consumer society, which has, in turn, enabled the car to become a universal experience. As America's population moved out of the cities and into the suburbs, obtaining a driver's license and purchasing that first car became a right of passage for the majority of America's youth. Today nearly every adult has a driver's license and car to drive. This helps us understand why the car is the number one choice when we need to get from place to place.
The automobile has made a dramatic impact on many different aspects of American society. The automobile industry has aided in the creation of malls and other large shopping areas, theme parks, hotels and motels, highways, and assorted drive through businesses such as banking and fast food. The vast popularization of cars and other automobiles has also impacted society negatively. Car accidents and other auto related death has increased as well as noise pollution, and the formation of a larger carbon footprint. The popularization of cars has also lead to a greater dependence on fossil fuels and other natural gases (Cohen). The creation of the first automobile had a severe impact on the lives of ordinary people. The automobile created a new lifestyle
The automobile industry has brought the United States economic growth due to the impact that automobiles have made on society. There has been a plethora of jobs associated with the auto industry, including manufacturing, auto repairs, insurance, and the development of roads, sales, and auto parts to enhance vehicles. Cars, trucks, and SUVs’ have become a way of life for people and have made an additional economic impact by becoming the primary means of transportation for consumers to commute to and from work, vacations, and travel between destinations. Most family households live on a budget and they must make the decision of how much of their budget they can allocate to transportation costs.
The research for this project was conducted on the Internet. The first step was to investigate the gasoline. As I started my research I discovered that gasoline has more disadvantages than benefits. For example, cars are the biggest source of air pollution. Air pollution causes 60,000 early deaths per year in the United States according to the American Lung Association. Also, Americans are too dependent on other countries for fuel. Only 10% of the gasoline that Americans use is produced in the United States. Learning about these drawbacks helped me understand why the world needs a better fuel source.
Within the last few decades cars have changed the way people travel. Back in the early 1900’s there were no automobiles, there were only horse and carriage. When Henry Ford created the first assembly line for a car, only the rich and famous would have ford cars. Now cars are easy to purchase as long as you can afford one. As time moves on cars continue to evolve and they are now easily accessible for anyone that wants a car, with fluctuating prices and even more customization choices, peoples are saving up their entire lives to buy their dream cars. Compared to the early twentieth century, cars have made it better to travel from place to place within days or hours while back a hundred years ago, it would take months or years to even get to the other side of the country. In conclusion, cars are the most reliable sources of transportation in the twenty-first century and that is why it is such a great contribution to the world.
Automobiles play an essential role in American society. As if being the major means of transportation was not impressive enough, automotives can be seen on T.V., in movies, in magazines, and can sometimes be indicative of a person’s wealth and social status. On average, Americans drive nearly 40 miles and drive for just over 50 minutes driving per person per day (http://www.bts.gov). That means a person spends roughly one-sixteenth of a day driving. It would make sense, then, to make such an essential part of society as efficient, cost effective, and clean as possible. However, that is not the case. As the years have passed cars have actually begun to move away from efficiency. Hawken writes, “[The automobile] design process has made cars ever heavier, more complex, and usually costlier. These are all unmistakable signs that automaking has beco...
Think for a second here, what do you use almost every day to get to where you need to go? An automobile is probably what you are thinking of because just about everyone has one. Automobiles have become so common; nine out of every ten families in the United States own some type of vehicle. Now Imagine going through everyday life without one it would be nearly impossible! Automobiles have had a very positive impact on the world and on many people’s lives. However they have also taken quite a negative effect on the world and in life. Automobiles make it very easy to get to and from where you are going. Although automobiles have polluted the world and have taken lots of natural resources to keep going they are still a nice luxury many cannot live without. Automobiles are very reliable if they are kept in good condition and would not have to rely on public transportation.
The fast population growth rate of humans means that the necessity for transportation vehicles is also enormously increasing. Studies have shown that in 1999 the worldwide number of vehicles registered was 700 million. From this huge number of vehicles, the US has a large share, which includes 200 million cars and light trucks. The number of cars worldwide also grew three times faster