Automobile

Images from the Collections of The Henry Ford. 1)Acc. 1660 Box 22 Automobiles-Contemporary-1950-1959. PO16813 Automobile Graveyard 1953

Cristina Gillette

GEOG 300

Johnson

12/11/18
                                                                                                         Automobiles and Their Impactful Journey
 
       In 2017, The Quint producers of an English and Hindi news website filmed a behind the scenes look of one of the largest multinational corporations, a Honda factory in Tapukara, India. The unique processes of what goes into every piece of their machinery shows the elaborate fabrications humankind can create in a matter of seconds. This robot-dominated company can churn a car out of its warehouse every 8 seconds, road-ready. An increase in mass-production is essential to a modern society, as consumer demand has almost doubled. To meet these demands, companies are forced to par up with competitor’s cheap production yielding decreased prices, and produce something reliable yet economically feasible for the everyday person. In order to make a profit on this mission, companies have to cut a dollar or two somewhere along the line. This can be anywhere in the economical process of production, environmental harm reduction, or the humanitarian efforts of employment. Consumers may never realize how each piece of steel, aluminum, plastic, rubber, leather, and fabric goes through a process of its own before becoming what they know as a simple, vital way of getting to the grocery store.    

       Many think the automobile was of American origin, when in reality, it is of European origin. The internal-combustible engine had been a technique experimented through French and European engineers. According to A Brief History by John Rae, 1769 was the first year a steam engine was mounted onto a wheeled carriage. This design was created by French artillery officer, Nicholas Joseph Cugnot, with intention for a self-propelled highway vehicle to carry guns. The steam engine concept slowly faded due to expenses and the small amounts of power it provided, leading into the new-age of internal combustion engines. Eventually the modern concept of a gasoline-powered automobile came to be through the minds of Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler in Germany of 1885, who put their one-cylinder engines in motorcycles and tricycles. Attempt to gain American interest in this German gadget was initiated by a piano manufacturer William Steinway, as the first “horseless carriages” debuted on the highway systems of Germany and France. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that Americans reinvented the automobiles for themselves (Rae). Motivation was slow even though the technology was available, speculated that Americans didn’t have the prospect for highway travel and poor roads in their cities. In another depiction with John Rae and other editors like David Lewis, the first American gasoline car was built in Springfield, Massachusetts, not in Michigan like everyone presumed (Lewis/Goldstein). Henry Ford was actually responsible for the birth of the first mass production in the automobile industry of America. As he was brought up in apprenticeship and an advocate for machinery instead of horses, him along with other determined entrepreneurs of the time began the dream for building cars. He took part of the original Ford company in 1925 with his concept of a “car for the great multitude” (Lewis/Goldstein). Through trial and error, the Model T design became the first cheaply made automobile, with the idea in mind of, “durability, simplicity, and ease of operation and maintenance.” Ford was responsible for the adoption of a moving assembly line, and Billy Durant of the bankrupt firm, Buick, was the first to help Ford successfully manufacture the single standardized model to the market. Eventually, General Motors was sprouted from this and later joined with Louis Chevrolet, showing the determination of businessman to join the rapidly expanding industry.
      Today, American automobile companies are in perilous economic straits, unable or unwilling to match European and Japanese competition (Lewis/Goldstein). It is now said that many Americans see the automobile as a symbol of weakness and vulnerability in current world affairs, and they are considered “hostages” of big oil monopolists. Policy makers are concerned with the long-term impact on the American landscape, as critics argue the companies’ thoughtless advantage of the land and increased air pollution has created a dire situation for the future. The American evolution of an “autopia” is no longer met with the same enthusiasm, yet the dependence is all the same. In attempt to meet this concern, energy alternatives and technological advancements have been produced to face the fresh challenges presented in today’s society.
 
       As well as the volatile environmental impacts that stem from the increasing demand for personal mobility, the aspect of economical production goes hand in hand with the challenges being faced in today’s consumer society. Many consumers in the US believe their American-made cars are purely produced on American soil, yet according to “The Instant Economist,” part production is widely separated, defined as “breaking up the value chain.” This is intended to divide the labor costs and increase production. Today, an individual part for a car could be made in one nation, another in a different place, and installed in a third. These parts move across national borders so frequently that it is hard to distinguish where a car is actually made (Taylor).
      A decentralized market economy works well for providing a wide array of goods for high-income countries, which are taken advantage, yet places without market-oriented economies have their goods rationed and set at dismal prices. Competition in the global marketplace places manufacturers like General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler in various forms of financial health, creating major fluctuations in consumer pricing. The economical cost of extracting, transporting, and refining oil for vehicle use plays a role in the automobile industry impact, as the national security costs and risks adjust to the governmental policy control. Exports and imports are heavily shaped by what’s happening in the economies of other countries (Taylor). Carbon’s role in the globalized economy is also a difficult problem to address. In a chapter of the text “Environment and Society,” it is shown that poorer countries may impose limits on carbon, forcing newly developed products to emit less, yet have to compete with the firms in the global market that sell their “carbon-dependent” products for far less (Robbins). These richer countries enjoy the benefits of the “free-rides” they get from unregulated carbon limits. One country may have an incentive to act, as the other does not.
      This competition and capital-spending along with narrowly meeting governmental regulations have transformed the automotive industry into a political game of who’s the strongest and the wittiest in order to get their product to the streets at a faster, cheaper rate. Stated from a survey on Automotive Fuel Economy, “In an attempt to increase sales, the industry has resorted to numerous marketing, incentive, and service programs. These include increasing the period of a car loan to five years (thereby decreasing the monthly payment), offering cash rebates, lowering loan interest rates, subsidizing leases, selling program cars, and offering enhanced warranty and buyer-protection programs. Although these programs are beneficial to the consumer, they are costly to the manufacturers” (NationalAcademiesPress). Thus, creating an endless circle of financial and economic turmoil in the production process, and the economical standing of consumers who will go into debt to achieve this freedom, regardless of proposed incentive.

       The environmental impact of the automotive industry has been an extensive battle between policy makers and manufacturers, ultimately deflecting this onto society’s role in the situation. According to the Robbins text, commuters produce an average of 2,800 kilograms of CO2 every year, significantly more than its own weight (Robbins). Yet, this excludes the energy to make the car in the first place. The fuel, and raw materials in a vehicle’s tank, tires, and body require the emission of carbon dioxide. In a brief essay by Martin Melosi, “from the manufacturing process to the junkyard, cars—and all motorized vehicles for that matter—consume resources; pollute the air, land, and water; and transform space” (Melosi). The energy footprint that is left behind during the process of producing a car equals that or more of the impact commuters have on the planet.  
      This impact is followed throughout the life cycle of the automobile. From production, the use of raw material such as steel, rubber, glass, plastics, and paints go through their own processes before being introduced to the framework of a car. Steel accounts for about 80% of a vehicles body, as most of this is mined iron ore (Investopedia). Chemical companies transform petroleum byproducts into plastic, which makes up for about 50% of a car. These companies create their own impact by jutting their emissions into the environment. According to the Investopedia article, “From metals to fibers to sand and quartz used to make glass, automobile manufacturing uses possibly more raw materials than virtually any other production industry.” Fuel consumption to make these machines run also play a role in the environmental impact, as oil refineries deplete the planets fossil fuels as demand increases.
      Following the life cycle, the death of automobiles has a great impact, as consumers buy newer cars every year. According to the findings of National Geographic, three quarters of a car can be recycled, yet the 80% to 90% of environmental damage comes after a vehicles “death” (PennState). When cars are disposed in landfills, their plastics and toxic lead batteries are not disposed of properly, resulting in direct harmful effects on the environment. If discarded vehicles did not make it to a junkyard to be scraped for profit, they remained in people’s backyards or filled landfills, creating an unsightly array of an automotive “graveyard.” In the 1920’s, this resulted in a cry for manufacturers to recycle the disposed bodies, as it had lowered surrounding property values in the metropolitan surroundings (McCarthy). This has transformed the city and landscape more than any other technological advancement of humankind.

     From producing more emissions than its own weight, to creating more political upheaval than any other material object, the automobile’s impact on the planet has significantly increased since its inauguration into society. Consumer demand has inflated the economical production process, creating vehicles out of cheaper materials, and consuming raw materials at an alarming rate. The independent mobility that is desired by the everyday person is creating an impact that may be irreversible if manufacturers continue to pump out these machines to meet their demands. On the other hand, there seems to be more vehicle options on the planet than people, raising the question of whether society is really to blame for the impact, or the capitalistic greed for more profit makes people feel they need to have the next best thing. Eco-friendly cars may not be the answer to these issues either, as they consume more raw materials than a gasoline-powered car. Perhaps the key is to look at the societal structure of city landscapes, and make mass transportation accessible and essential to everyday life. In turn, this may reduce the environmental and economic impact of the revered automobile.    

Bibliography

Lewis, David, and Laurence Goldstein. “The Automobile and American Culture.” The Automobile and American Culture, University of Michigan Press, 1980, pp. 2–24.

McCarthy, Tom. “5.” AutoMania: Cars, Consumers, and the Environment, Yale University Press, 2007, pp. 86–87.

National Research Council. “5.” Automotive Fuel Economy: How Far Should We Go?, National Acad. Press, 1992, pp. 90–91.
“1.” The American Automobile; A Brief History, by John B. Rae, University of Chicago Press, 1965, pp. 1–8.

“9: Carbon Dioxide.” Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, by Paul Robbins et al., 2nd ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2014, pp. 149–150.

“2: Division of Labor.” The Instant Economist: Everything You Need to Know About How the Economy Works, by Timothy Taylor, Plume, 2012, pp. 9–11.

Maverick, J.B. “What Raw Materials Do Auto Manufacturers Use?” Investopedia, Investopedia, 24 Mar. 2018, www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/062315/what-types-raw-materials-would-be-used-auto-manufacturer.asp.

Melosi, Martin. “The Automobile and The Environment in American History.” The Automobile Shapes the City: Traffic Control, 2010, www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Environment/E_Overview/E_Overview1.htm.

“Perspectives on the Environment.” Science in Our World Certainty and Controversy, Penn State, sites.psu.edu/perspectivesontheenvironment/2015/03/27/the-effects-of-automobiles-on-the-environment/.