In the early 1770’s the first cars were being produced, when these cars were being made there was much experimentation in the auto industry trying to find the right way to create an efficient vehicle that would be drivable daily. These cars used many forms of power such as gasoline, steam, or electricity (Early Cars: Fact Sheet for Children Web). By the time 1905 rolled around the automotive industry started to produce a gasoline dominant market. Many Americans of the time would purchase vehicles made by Duryea, Haynes, Winton, and others. The automotive industry made a big leap in 1910 by producing more powerful gasoline engine, and vehicles with removable tops to keep drivers out of bad weather. Many of the big car brands you see today are the same ones who shaped the auto industry 100 years ago such as, Henry Ford, and Captain Nicolas Cugnot. Henry Ford, founder of Ford motor company, mass produced the most efficient affordable vehicle at the time, the Model T, which was affordable by most middle class people revolutionizing travel and work. Before the automobile people who lived in the city worked in the city, and people who lived in the country worked on a farm. With the production of Fords Model T, people could live on the outskirts of town and commute to work, thus the creation of the modern suburb (Early Cars: Facts Sheet For Children Web). Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot designed and constructed the first working self-propelled vehicle for human travel (Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot Web). Cugnots vehicle had a max speed of 2 miles per hour leaving it slower than a human on foot. Not only was it slower than a human it had to stop 4-6 times an hour to refill on water and pressurize. Cugnots goal with this vehicle was not to make a vehicle for humans to get from point A to point B; he made it to transport heavy artillery for the army or multiple high-ranking officers with ease. The government was not interested in his unit and it was never produced. The first model can still be found in France’s Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, where it is still on display today. Cars have advanced in technology, safety, and fuel economy so much in the past 100 years. Today cars have started to use an EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) system to regulate the amount of fuel the engine is using. This works by evaluating the pressure on the pedal and forcibly injecting fuel through a small valve into the combustion chambers to be burned. This technology has replaced the carburetor, which used a floating device inside to properly mix the fuel and air to form the combustible mixture (The Changes To Electronics… Web). Cars today also use a computer diagnostics system, which runs throughout the car constantly diagnosing different parts to easily find problems. Before this mechanics would have to go in and check all parts based on what the owner claims is happening. Many cars of the past had a problem with getting stuck while working on farms or running on wet gravel/dirt. The invention of All Wheel Drive, and Four Wheel Drive vehicles has helped with these problems by diverting energy from the engine to turn the all the wheels when stuck to help pull, or push the vehicle out of ruts in the ground. All Wheel drive vehicles work by keeping all wheels turning constantly to push the vehicle forward but Four Wheel Drive vehicles work by selecting a track to choose either two or four wheels to move the vehicle. This helps in times of need but also keeps fuel consumption to a minimum.
Today fuel consumption has been a big problem with the inflation of gas prices. The auto industry has acknowledged the rising problem of gas and is looking into hybrid technology to save fuel. Hybrid cars of today work by having both a combustion engine and an electric motor to power the vehicles wheels; much of the energy we waste by cruising or braking is then diverted to power through the use of an on board generator (How Hybrids Work Web). The energy that is produced is