motoring 48 July 2022 www.bahrainthismonth.com There are few nations in the world which can claim to have influenced the world of automobiles more than the United States. Just think of the surfeit of global icons that have rolled off production lines from the other side of the Atlantic; the Ford Mustang, the Chevy Corvette, the Cadillac, the Dodge Charger, right through to Tesla’s modern, electrical revolution. Of course, there is one icon that stands above all those, which we’ll get to in a minute. But first, it’s important to note that America’s automotive journey begins at a time before the first car was even invented. The year 1850 was the dawn of the American System of Manufacturing which would establish a reliance on efficiency and set up a greater use of machine parts. Manufacturing became faster, cheaper, easier and with little difference in quality from unit to unit. As the system grew in popularity across America, it would set up a vital structure responsible for the rapid growth of the automotive industry. The first successfully designed American car was created in 1893 by bicycle mechanics and brothers J. Frank and Charles Duryea of Springfield, Massachusetts. Two years later the first American car race was held and won by their vehicle. It would be on sale to the public by 1896. By 1899 there were thirty American companies manufacturing 2,500 cars. In the following decade another 485 companies would enter the market. But only a select few would be successful enough to last. One that certainly made the grade is the defining vehicle of America, and arguably the world. In 1908, Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company introduced the Model T, designed in Detroit, which aimed to bring ‘affordable’ vehicles to the American middle class. Within days of release, more than 15,000 orders had been placed and that success would continue for years, with 15 million sold by the time it ceased production in 1927. Arguably even more important than the car itself was Ford inventing the moving assembly line in 1913, which allowed mass production 50 STATES OF MOTORING On the occasion of the Independence Day of the United States, Kristian Harrison takes on an insightful journey through the world of US motoring.
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