Few inventions have had as profound an effect on society as the automobile. They create jobs in factories, carry people to their places of work and play, and give people a sense of freedom that was never before possible. But they also cause problems, including car accidents that lead to death, greenhouse gasses that pollute the air and parking space that is hard to find in cities.
The first automobiles were built in the late 1800s. Karl Benz, an engineer from Germany, invented the petrol-fueled automobile in 1885. Soon after, Henry Ford, a businessman and engineer from America, revolutionized automobile production with the moving assembly line. He built cars at a lower cost, making them available to the masses. Ford’s Model T runabout sold for less than the average annual income of a US worker at the time.
Automobiles are complex machines. They have hundreds of parts that work together to turn the wheels and provide electricity for lights and other systems. But the most important part of any vehicle is its engine, which turns gasoline into motion and power.
Joey Capparella cultivated his obsession for automobiles in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. Eventually, he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to begin his professional career as an automotive writer with Car and Driver magazine. He has since been a writer for The Drive and a contributor to a number of other publications. In his spare time, he writes fiction and enjoys the challenge of finding ways to make his cars go faster than anyone else’s.