Auto industry celebrates 100 years
June 22, 1996
Web posted at: 8:25 a.m. EDTFrom CNN Correspondent Joan MacFarlane
DETROIT (CNN) -- A passion for some, simply wheels for others; a badge of independence for some, an emblem of mobility for others; but love it or need it, the automobile is today one of the most definitive symbols of American culture.
And, it all began a century ago with a car called the "Duryea."
The rudder-drive vehicle was the first car to be produced from a single design.
J. Frank Duryea and his brothers built and sold 13 of these cars in 1896. But it wasn't all that well received, says the founder's great-grandson.
"The New York Times said the automobile would be the ruination of society," said J. Frank Duryea II. "So he faced a lot of adversity in bring the automobile to where it is today."
So, it really wasn't until Henry Ford created the assembly line in 1913 that America was off and rolling. The Model T was the first affordable car and by the end of that decade there were close to 2 million vehicles on the roads.
By the 1950s, the automobile was very much part of the American ethos.
"What kind of car you drive is a statement about your personality," said automobile historian Bob Casey. "It's like your clothes or your house. Everybody sees it and it says something about you -- what clothes you wear; what kind of house you live. "
Indeed, a great deal of American culture has developed out of the passion for the automobile. The fast food industry blossomed because people could eat an entire meal without ever leaving their car.
The "drive-through lifestyle" not only shaped how Americans lived, but also how they did business.
"The production line of the automobile served as a model like things for a McDonald's or a chain motel," Casey said. "What McDonald's is doing is mass producing standardized food. What Holiday Inn and other motel chains are doing is mass producing standardized lodging."
No one can predict what cars and trucks will look like a 100 years from now. But one thing is for sure: They'll be as different as the Duryea is from the modern sports car.
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