User:Bvester01/sandbox

ju

Early automobiles were too inefficient, unreliable and expensive to be popular among the general public. Automobile enthusiasts “bridged the gap between the invention and its practical use”. These enthusiasts originally appeared predominately in France. The first buyers of these cars were wealthy men, and a select few women. The main attractions for early enthusiasts were speed “coupled with the sense of individual mastery that came with driving”. The thirst for speed was a crucial factor in the early stages of popularity for the automobile. Early cars were often identified by the loud noise it would make as it drove by onlookers. Pedestrians in urban and rural areas initially had a negative reaction to the automobile. Since only the upper class could afford these new vehicles this also caused tension between the upper and lower classes. Pedestrians in the city did not like these new machines because they posed a danger to anyone who happen to be crossing or using the same street due to the high speeds and reckless behavior of drivers. People were especially worried about children playing in the street and argued that the streets should belong to them, and not some reckless motorist. People who lived in rural areas were not fond of automobiles coming through their area either for multiple reasons.

One being because of the large amounts of dust that these vehicles forced off the ground, the dust that these cars stirred up was extremely unhealthy for the inhabitants who lived in these areas. Secondly motorists usually drove in a very aggressive manner resulting in thousands of farm animals being slaughtered by oncoming vehicles. Pedestrians even in rural areas had to be wary because motorists would not slow down and ruin their fun for anything not even a human life. Confrontations between motorists and rural folk became a common occurrence. Roads and speed limits/zones began to be constructed and enforced in an attempt to resolve the issues between pedestrians and automotive enthusiasts. Both motorists and opposition alike were advised to make sure they were armed in order to protect themselves against the opposing party. Outbursts between the two groups were so frequent that a ban of automobiles was once entertained. The expansion of roads and the creation of traffic laws helped ease tension between pedestrians and motorists, but it still was not enough to quell the feud entirely. The creation of the The Model T and the assembly line were the missing pieces needed to end this bout. By 1914 Ford’s assembly line was able to produce a Model T car in ninety-three minutes, which was a great improvement from it’s originally assembly time(12 hours). Once the general population experienced the benefits that came along with owning an automobile opposition quickly subsided.