The $60-Trillion Equation*

From the Model T to the moving assembly line, the 8-track tape player to onboard computers, the U.S. automotive industry has contributed mightily to the nation’s economy. It also greatly accelerated countless industries, encouraged entrepreneurship, and is a major stalwart of America’s manufacturing base.

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Technology and Design

The evolution of auto design went like this: The 1880s was the era that engineers were challenged to make autos go; the 1890s was the decade that engineers made cars go reliably; and the 1900s was when engineers made cars go beautifully. Certainly it was the 20th century that drew the critical mass that became self-sustaining in attracting and retaining automotive geniuses, from business organizers (Alfred Sloan, William C. “Billy” Durant, A.L. Riker), marketers (Ned Jordan, Hugh Chalmers), and financiers to engineering-design specialists (Earl Thompson, Henry Leland, Harley Earl), scientists (Mary Anderson, John Dunlop), inventors (Charles Kettering, Charles Mott), and machinists (Charles Sorensen).

Many breakthroughs in automotive technology thrust Detroit into national economic leadership and showcased its product to the world. Such notoriety arrived early on the scene. Between 1901-1904, David Dunbar Buick perfected the overhead-valve engine, increasing power to the vehicle and largely guaranteeing the success of the internal combustion engine. By the end of that decade (1910), we had “closed” cars to protect passengers from the elements.

In 1914, Delco installed the electric engine-ignition and lighting for the vehicle. Steering wheels were relocated from the right to the left side. Six-cylinder engines became a regular feature. In 1913, the first moving assembly line was born, along with all-steel auto bodies (John and Horace Dodge).

In 1924, four-wheel brakes appeared. Also during the 1920s, Ford’s River Rouge complex demonstrated the advantages of “vertical integration” as a business model. The plant received everything from Minnesota iron to Brazilian rubber. It took 42,000 workers in 90 buildings to produce cars.

In 1934, aerodynamic bodies came into vogue with help from wind tunnel testing. Car radios and independent front suspensions made the scene, as well. The 1930s saw overdrive, rubber engine mounts, and electric windshield wipers introduced. In 1936, hydraulic brake systems and all-steel roofs became fairly standard. In 1939, cars were equipped with the first electric turn signals.

The early 1940s witnessed the convertible, and by the late 1940s, the first automatic transmissions were being offered on U.S. passenger cars (1948).

In 1952, V-8 engines became popular. In 1955, the public got its first four-door, hard-top sedans. The early 1950s brought power-brakes, power-steering, and hydraulic, no-shift driving. In 1965, the late Heinz Prechter supplied sun roofs to vehicles. And, in the late 1970s, front-wheel drive took off.

Since then, the technology of anti-rust, anti-lock braking, anti-pollution fuel and engines, and lighter-weight materials — not to mention microchip and computer-enhanced sensing, diagnostic, and handling improvements — have revolutionized driving and expectations.

Lifestyle

The growth of the auto industry signaled lifestyle changes in many ways. By 1930, 222 American cities with populations over 10,000 people were entirely dependent on auto transport, with motorists enjoying a five- to 35-minute commuting advantage over trolleys, thereby encouraging suburbanization. Time is money.

Unquestionably, there are side effects from mass-production and consumption, enhanced motor-power, personal mobility, and suburbanization. Car injuries and fatalities, pollution, theft, congestion, government regulations, urban decay, and heartaches surrounding bankruptcies and bailouts are partial offsets to technological progress and competitive improvement.

Nevertheless, lessons are learned. Technology and profits give rise to options and solutions. Theft protection, security systems, safety belts, air bags, cruise control, catalytic converters, the installation of phone and GPS navigation and onboard emergency devices — these are responses by automakers to public demand for better, faster, cheaper, and safer.

Defense

Nor is it possible to fully quantify the auto industry’s contribution to the World Wars. Pearl Harbor brought Detroit’s car production to a halt within the first few weeks of 1942. Record conversion to ordnance swept Michigan. Assembly lines built ambulances, heavy trucks, mortar shell-casings, scout planes, medium and heavy bombers, swift patrol boats, ammunition, and aircraft engines. How does one assign price tags to such adept conversion? What if Detroit’s automotive base hadn’t existed at that moment in history? Possibly we’d have no market economy against which to measure size and impact.

Indeed, Detroit’s stars were in alignment. Historian Clarence Burton wrote that the movement of capital, labor, inventors, and management to Detroit (and places like Flint and Lansing) occurred because of “exceptionally good industrial conditions in this city, which was then (1904-10) as now (1930) reflective more of an ‘open shop’ town than any other large industrial center in the country.” Historian Allan Nevins echoed this observation: “Detroit had an international reputation as a city of abundant and docile labor.” Few would accept a “docile” workforce today. However, we’re seeing the pendulum swing away from militancy and work stoppages, thereby acknowledging a greater understanding of today’s global competitive reality.

Times change, but the legacy of Detroit’s rise with the auto industry and its contribution to America and to the world is cast in steel for all of time.

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