The automobile was first invented and perfected in Germany and France in the late 1800s, though Americans quickly came to dominate the automotive industry in the first half of the twentieth century.
Henry Ford innovated mass-production techniques that became standard, and Ford, General Motors and Chrysler emerged as the “Big Three” auto companies by the 1920s. Manufacturers funneled their resources to the military during World War II, and afterward automobile production in Europe and Japan soared to meet growing demand.
Once vital to the expansion of American urban centers, the industry had become a shared global enterprise with the rise of Japan as the leading automaker by 1980.
Here is a amazing photo collection from
Gordon Morales that shows people with automobiles in the early 20th century.
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| An old electric car, perhaps an old Baker Electric or Studebaker Electric, Los Angeles, California, circa 1900s |
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| Women in an early Hybrid Krieger automobile, circa 1900s |
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| Three women in a 1906 REO |
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| A Standard Oil Company Gasoline refueling truck with two men seated inside the cab. San Francisco Bay Area, circa 1910s |
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| Alhambra Water Delivery in Oakland, California. The Alhambra Water Co. is still in operation to this day, 1910 |
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| Ford family car, circa 1910s |
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| Ford family car, circa 1910s |
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| Ford family car, circa 1910s |
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| San Francisco's historic Cliff House and Seal Rocks as from beach level. An automobile loaded with a pair of ladies and two children pictured in the foreground. Sutro Heights Observatory visible in the right background, circa 1910s |
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| Collingswood Market House Truck owned by J.E. De Frantes. It's hauling mattresses with 2 young children sitting in the truck, 1915 |
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| Nicely dressed young man driving a Ford Roadster around promoting the newly invented “Everful Water System”, 1915 |
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| Ford 4 Door Convertible in New Jersey, 1917 |
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| Kissel Kar run to Mt. Diablo, Contra Costa County, California, 1917 |
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| A 1918 early American Bus pictured atop Lands End at the end of the transcontinental "Lincoln Highway" in San Francisco, California, 1918 |
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| A Briscoe Motor Car pictured along the unpaved Great Highway in San Francisco, California, 1918 |
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| School Buses from the Strahan Consolidated School. Four Buses lined up waiting for students at the end of the day on a Very Muddy Street. The Buses have chains on all four tires, 1918 |
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| Standard Oil Company Red Crown Gasoline and "Zerolene" Federal brand refueling truck parked at a San Francisco Standard Oil Co. gas station. Large billboard in the background advertising "Jordan Motor Cars", circa 1918 |
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| Briscoe Motor Cars pictured along the end of the Great Highway in San Francisco, California. The historic Cliff House and Sutro Heights are visible in the background, circa 1919 |
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| Briscoe Motor Cars pictured atop Lands End at the end of the Lincoln Highway in San Francisco, California, circa 1919 |
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| A family with their Chevrolet, 1920 |
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| A group of well-dressed women pictured with a Cole Motor Car convertible in San Francisco's prestigious St. Francis Woods neighborhood, circa 1921 |
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| Two land developers standing in the middle of the road next to a Buick automobile parked near the end of Sloat Avenue and the Great Highway in San Francisco, California, circa 1921 |
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| A 1922 "Dealer" license plate car at the historic San Francisco Cliff House with extensive construction taking place along the roadway and sidewalk, 1922 |
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| A working Peters Bros. Shoe Repair promotional car in the shape of a shoe. Pictured in front of a Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, California, circa 1922 |
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| Historic San Francisco Cliff House. Road and sidewalk construction has been completed on the curved road including new landscape work. A military man in uniform and Seal Rocks can be seen along the left, circa 1922 |
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| REO Motor Car Company "Pony Express" promotional race car pictured alongside a cowboy sitting on a horse in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, 1923 |
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| A 2-Door Sedan automobile pictured alongside the nearly completed historic "Octagon House" located at Lands End in San Francisco, California. Formally known as Point Lobos Marine Exchange Lookout Station, circa 1925 |
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| A Haynes 4 door sedan taken at the Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, 1925 |
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| Two pretty girls balancing on a teeter-tooter inside a "Willy-Knight" convertible motor car promoting the "Lancaster Balancer" an exclusive feature of the Willys-Knight engine. Photographed in front of the historic Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California, 1925 |
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| A Studebaker automobile pictured with a trio of beautiful woman including one seen loading her luggage into the trunk compartment. Photographed in San Francisco's St. Francis Wood neighborhood, circa 1926 |
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| 1928 Buick Master 6 Sedan, circa 1928 |
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| Marmon Eight Sedan parked at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California, 1928 |
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| A pair of pretty ladies enjoying themselves while seated in the luggage compartment of a 1929 Hudson Motor Car in San Francisco, California, circa 1929 |
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| A carload of well-dressed ladies pictured in a Cole Motor Car convertible in San Francisco's prestigious St. Francis Woods neighborhood, San Francisco, California, circa 1920s |
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| A Haynes Motor Car Co. automobile pictured in front of the "World's Largest Sundial". This unusual landmark is still located in the prestigious Ingleside Terraces neighborhood in San Francisco, California, circa 1920s |
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| Girl on car, circa 1920s |
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| Lady in a touring car along the Southern California coast line, circa 1920s |
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| Lady in a touring car along the Southern California coast line, circa 1920s |
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| Lady in a touring car along the Southern California coast line, circa 1920s |
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| Tour bus traveling thru the Wawona Tunnel Tree in Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park, California, circa 1920s |
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