Driving America

The Quadricycle was Henry Ford's first attempt to build a gasoline-powered automobile. It utilized commonly available materials: angle iron for the frame, a leather belt and chain drive for the transmission, and a buggy seat. Ford had to devise his own ignition system. He sold his Quadricycle for $200, then used the money to build his second car.

It's an old auto industry cliche — "you can't sell a young man an old man's car, but you can sell an old man a young man's car." It's also true. The sporty Mustang was a young man's — and woman's — car. The under-30 crowd loved it. But older people also bought them, often as a second car. The Mustang hit a sweet spot in the market, appealing to a wide range of buyers.

General Motors tested a series of autonomous vehicles in San Francisco, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2016. These cars, developed with GM subsidiary Cruise Automation and based on the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle, used a combination of cameras, radar and lidar sensors, cellular and GPS antennas, and powerful computers to drive themselves on public streets in both cities.

The 1937 Cord's swooping fenders, sweeping horizontal radiator grille, and hidden headlights were unlike anything else on American highways. And although it wasn't the first, Cord was the only front-wheel-drive production car available in America for the next three decades.

Chevrolet turned its image around in 1955. Its new V-8 engine was light modern, powerful and reliable. Combined with a clean, classic new body style it changed customers' impression of Chevrolet from stodgy and conservative to sporty and youthful almost overnight. This car, in fashionable coral and smoke grey colors, epitomizes Chevy's new slogan, "The Hot One."

When it inspires a song, you know it's popular. This Olds was the bestselling car in America from 1902 to 1905. Automobiles had an emotional appeal. A driver in 1901 said that controlling a car satisfied "an almost universal sense, the love of power." Despite the attraction, cars were not a significant player in the transportation world. In 1903 some 4,000 people bought Oldsmobiles, but more than 900,000 bought buggies and carriages.

The first "auto movie theatre" opened in Camden, New Jersey, in 1933, but it took time to perfect the new technology. In the 1950s, a new market of families and teenagers embraced the informality and privacy of in-car movie-watching. This sign stood at the entrance to a drive-in theatre that held 800 cars when it operated between 1955 and 1985.

By the 1940s, drivers watched "computing" pumps like this Texaco Fire-Chief pump automatically calculate the amount of gasoline and the price. This type of pump did away with price charts used by service station attendants. Internal, calibrated gear sets turned numbered wheels allowing quick and easy fill ups and payments.

Longer than a Duesenberg. Twice the horsepower of a Rolls-Royce. More costly than both put together. The Bugatti Royale was the ultimate automobile, making its owners feel like kings. Not only did it do everything on a grander scale than the world's other great luxury cars, it was also rare. Bugatti built only six Royales, whereas there were 481 Model J Duesenbergs and 1,767 Phantom II Rolls-Royces.