A Brief History of the Automobile

If you’re visiting us at U Wrench It in Norcross, GA, you probably enjoy a little DIY car care. But what do you really know about the history of the automobile? Check out our timeline for some fun information!

• Late 1800s – Automobiles as we know them are invented and perfected in Germany and France
• 1893 – J. Frank and Charles Duryea design the first successful American gasoline automobile
• 1895 – Duryea and Frank win the first US car race
• 1901 – Wilhelm Maybach designs Mercedes for Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, creating functionally the first modern motorcar
• 1908 – Debut of the Model T Ford, sold for $825; opening of General Motors; 253 active automobile manufacturers in the US
• 1909 – Daimler employs 1,700 workers to produce fewer than 1,000 cars per year
• 1913 – Nearly 500,000 cars are produced in the US alone
• 1913-1914 – Henry Ford introduces the moving assembly line
• 1921 – The first Federal Highway Act paves the way for future
• 1927 – Model T retired from production; at its end, it sells for just $290
• 1929 – 44 active automobile manufacturers in the US
• World War II – US automobile manufacturers turn to military production as well as cars
• 1955 – Air Pollution Control Act is first US legislation designed to fight air pollution
• 1956 – Federal Highway Act changes the face of the US and creates the highway system we know
• 1963 – Clean Air Act is signed
• 1980 – Japan becomes the world’s leading producer of automobiles
• 2017 – U Wrench It pays at least $150 for most junk cars

The automobile is so young, but already has a lot of history. And at U Wrench It, so do we! Come by our Norcross location to get your used auto parts for less.