Figure 1.--Here we see a a middle-classd Spokane, Washington family posing arond a new car in front of their home during 1913. You can see how important it was to the family. The really interesting aspect of the photograph is the boy here. Notice where he has positionind himsel--in the driver's seat with his hands grasping the steering wheel. And you know waht is going through his head--just wait until I get my hands on my own car. Put your cursor on the image for a cloer look. .

Boys since the dawn of time have loved power and speed. Dating back to ancient times this mean horses. With the Industrial Revolution this changed what attracted boys' attention was steam river boats and railroad engines. Of course these were the products of steam power--marvelous engines that were loud and powerful. Steam whistles were a real draw. And boys loved these loud powerful machines. The problem is that they could not have one, only observe them from afar or obtain a toy. Henry Ford changed this when he created the Model-T Tin Lizzy. Now they were not as powerful as a riverboat or steam engine, but they were something that could be owned and dad began pulling up to the front door with a shiny new one. Ford actually went out of his way to produce a car that his workers could afford to buy. Now Ford and America did not invent the automobile. What Ford did was produce a car that the average Joe could afford for his family. America was the only country to do this. It was the Europeans that invented the automobile. All the major European countries built cars, but cars that only well-to-do people could afford. They built finely crafted, but expensive cars that only people with substantial incomes could afford. Which of course meant they built relatively small numbers compared to the American car companies. America was the world's leading industrial power at the turn-of-the 20th century, but then Ford and the Model-T propelled American industry into the stratosphere. Soon American industrial production was approaching levels of all of Europe combined. This fact would largely determine the outcome of the 20th century and the dystopian challenge of the great totalitarian powers. Back home, an American boy's life was a progression of vehicles beginning with peddle car, tricycle, scooter, and then the bicycle. In between there were all kinds of toy cars to play with. Few toys were as popular with boys as toy cars in an endless variety. This lead inexorably toward a car of their own. Here we are almost exclusively talking about boys. his occurred first as a teenager could acquire a car a used car at virtually no cost. And at school you could take shop classes that enabled you to work on the car. My first car cost the grand total of $50. Not only was the car important with the power it put in a teenagers' hands, but also what it meant--independence. Teenagers ether at home or at school were always under adult supervision. It was only in a car that that they were first free.

Created: 8:00 PM 10/1/2023
Last updated: 8:01 PM 10/1/2023