The History of the Automobile and Auto Shipping ? Who Should Get Our Gratitude?


by Tom Kearns


Many of us are often reminded to be grateful for what we have. Large portions of our lives are at times taken for granted due to various reasons. For some it might be health, others it might be wealth, and for many it could be something spiritually related or less tangible like peace. Cultures have long promoted the respect and reverence of ancestors and elders and in many cases encourage a deep understanding of where future generations came from. Preserving history and remembering past events can be very powerful in regards to excellence, innovation and solidarity.

We all have a particular ancestry, peculiar to us alone, that makes us who we are and what we may become. Objects are not all that different from us; they too need a starting point to grow from. When a brilliant mind melts the right materials, a star is born in the world of machinery that can only grow to new heights. One of those brilliant minds deserves our thanks for giving us the automobile, without which we would be basically an immobile society.

It is no secret that cars have played a tremendous part in the development of the world?s societies and have given birth to a number of ancillary businesses. The more imagination that was put into an automobile and its production the greater became the demand for relocating that car along with its owner.

Auto transport today is as common as car warranties, leasing and insurance. Moving vehicles across long distances is a highly competitive endeavor and gaining in strength. There are always new challenges and obstacles, but learning from past experience can propel us to a better future. Following is a review of automobile history and the advancement of transportation into the industry we are familiar with today.

Many believe that the concept of the car formed years before Henry Ford was born. One of the earliest car plans was attributed to Ferdinand Verbiest in the late 1600?s and then again to Leonty Shamshurenkov in the mid 1700?s. These versions were only remotely akin to the vehicles we know now. These early auto pioneers used engines powered by steam with one version using a human propelled rolling machine. The car was truly in its infancy if not in utero. Later, in 1801, Richard Trevithick invented a steam-powered road car called the ?Puffing Devil.?

Cars were now on their way to becoming a tool of the masses, hence giving a boost to the auto shipping industry. Karl Benz is probably the person most responsible for the automobile as we know it. In 1885, he built his first ?Motorwagen? and with it, car transportation services became much more of a reality. The many advances in car technology made after the motorwagen meant the demand for shipping these vehicles was waiting in the wings. Following is a peek at how some of the improvements in car production led to the expertise in the auto shipping industry as well.

The ability to manufacturer large quantities of cars produced on an assembly line was first introduced by Ransom Olds at his Oldsmobile factory in 1902. By 1914 Henry Ford was taking Olds original production patterns and vastly expanding on them. Working on very specialized tasks in a safe and fair environment allowed Ford?s workers to pave the way for automobile building success. As the efficiencies of cars began to accumulate in the United States the rest of the world started to take notice.

With the world captivated, Citroen, in 1921, became one of the initial internationally based European manufacturers to promote repetitive and assembly line based production systems. Now sharing resources, and with more companies interested in the car industry, auto shipping was fast becoming a necessity. Inventions such as the electric ignition, the electric self-starter, independent suspensions and four-wheel brakes were finally making it possible for cars to reach the homes of more then just a privileged few. As the automobile rose in importance it soon became clear that auto shipping would soon follow- and it did. Cars were now surfacing into a plethora of many lives as a result of the burgeoning auto shipping industry.

It is no surprise that once the invention of the automobile came to be, and the innovations that allowed it to be placed in the hands of more than the privileged few, also came the rise of the auto shipping industry. The rugged pioneers of the auto transportation industry deserve accolades as well as the titans of the car industry. Both are historical events to be appreciated by everyone in the modern world.

Cars are fine, sleek machines and when they come to us in a timely, efficient and relatively affordable way, praise is due all those who made it possible. Knowing the history of any thing will give you pause to appreciate that ?thing? far more than if you never looked into it. The history of the automobile and auto shipping industries fit that category well.




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