Filed under: Chrysler, Ford, GM

The first internal combustion-powered automobile was not invented by an American (thank you, Karl Benz). But we did invent the motorcycle (coal-powered), air brake, AC motor, stop sign, tractor, assembly line, automatic transmission, muffler, tow truck, bulldozer, car radio, tracked amphibious landing vehicle, stock car racing, cruise control, carbon fiber, the integrated circuit, satellite navigation, airbags, catalytic converter, The Mars Rover and even the Segway. In other words, we didn't invent the automobile but we did contribute much of the technology that makes it what it is today.

In fact, we'd argue that while the Industrial Revolution began in the textile mills and iron foundries of Great Britain, the entire world went mobile when we Americans got our hands on the automobile. When Henry Ford introduced the assembly line in 1918, he put the world on wheels. Before the Model T, cars were conveyances for the wealthy, but the assembly line brought down costs to the point where car ownership became attainable to all. Ol' Henry's assembly line was so successful that the model was applied to almost every other area of manufacturing the world over, driving down the cost of goods and making life better for all.


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