Automobiles have become an essential part of modern life. More than a quarter of the world’s population now owns a vehicle, and about 70 million new cars are built each year. In the United States, the automotive industry grew rapidly during the first half of the twentieth century, as the advent of mass production made it easier for manufacturers to compete. By the 1920s, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler had become the “Big Three” automakers, whose products dominated the market. While the 1920s were a difficult period for automotive production in the United States, the automobile industry quickly rebounded after World War II. By the end of the war, automotive production had increased greatly in Europe and Japan, and automobile manufacturing had become a global industry.
Automobiles are the most common form of transportation, but there are other alternatives to them. Motorcycles are an inexpensive, economical, and safe alternative to cars. Motorcycles require less space than automobiles and require less maintenance. They also take up less parking space than a car, and you can fit three motorcycles in the same parking spot as one car. Furthermore, motorcycles can be easily towed with a trailer, making them an excellent alternative to cars.
Before the invention of the internal combustion engine, automobiles were not much more than bicycles. In the mid-Victorian era, bicycle builders created velocipedes, which were essentially bicycles modified with engines. Another bicycle builder, Sylvester Howard Roper, created a similar machine in 1867. In 1885, the internal combustion engine was invented.