Let’s establish one thing, cars are amazing. Sure, they may be less essential in cities like New York or Chicago where the public transportation is amazing, but here in Phoenix, it is almost impossible to survive without one. But true car connoisseurs understand, cars are much more than just a means of transportation. They are pieces of art and history. They are style, design and power all woven together in one incredible machine. Nowadays, we couldn’t image life without cars. However, such a time existed. In fact, in a historical perspective, cars haven’t even been around for very long. Before the invention of automobiles, how did we get around?
In the beginning, a man walked. Really, there wasn’t any choice. In fact, 100,000 years ago, walking was more unpleasant that you could imagine. Instead of shoes, primitive men had rudimentary sandals made out of animal skin and plant fiber. There were no roads. The best they had were dirt paths worn into the ground by years of travel. Lucky for them, or rather, their descendants, things would eventually improve
Sometime around 4000 BC humans began domesticating animals such as horses and camels for transportation. This was the biggest advancement in transportation ever. It expanded the distance humans could reasonably travel by thousands of miles. And an ever bigger change was just around the corner.
In approximately 3500 BC, in what is no modern day Iraq, the wheel was invented. The first wheels were made out of wood. This lead to the development of roads and eventually chariots.
Things cooled off for several thousand years until the 17th century when all kinds of hot new discoveries began gracing the globe. With the advent of steam and coal power we had the invention of boats which did not require sails. We also applied manpower to get ourselves around with a little invention known as the bicycle.
By the mid-19thcentury we were shrinking continents and countries (England in particular) using railroads. They provided the fastest, most reliable transportation ever seen. Best of all, they could transport massive quantities of goods. The first railway opened in the 1830s and connected Liverpool to Manchester.
The first automobiles began appearing in the late 19th century. It was not until after the first World Ward that they became cheap enough to produce in mass. The rest, as they say, is history!
