Jennie Thorp Chapter 13 Notes Chapter 13 Notes 1 Analyze the impact of the automobile on American society p 203 a There was no invention that affected American Society as much as the automobile had Although the technology for the automobile existed in the 19th century it took Henry Ford to make a useful gadget accessible to the American public Ford used the idea of the assembly line for automobile manufacturing He paid his workers an unprecedented 5 a day when most laborers were bringing home two hoping that it would increase their productivity They might use their higher earnings to purchase a new car 2 Examine early attempts to develop gasoline powered vehicles in Michigan p 215 16 a Horseless carriage stories started with the French and the Germans who attached steam gasoline and electric engines to carriages as early as the 1870 s Charles King unsuccessfully fiddled with gasoline powered vehicles But he shared his invention several months later He joined another Detroit inventor whose accomplishments would later earn him international recognition Henry Ford was the inventor who worked with Charles King Another attempt at a gasoline powered vehicle was done by Ransom E Olds His family created a steam engine that became so popular that it was put on production He tried steam engines but did not think that it was the answer and then he seen the gasoline powered carriage and started driving it 3 Assess the significance of R E Olds pioneering efforts in the automobile industry pp 216 18 a Olds worked in his father s engine repair shop where the family s steam engine proved so popular that it was put into production Olds attached steam engines to wheeled vehicles but he was unconvinced that steam was the answer especially after seeing the gasoline engines at the 1893 world s fair In August 1897 several of Lansing s leading businessmen including Edward W Sparrow one of the city s wealthiest entrepreneurs joined Olds to form the Olds Motor Jennie Thorp Chapter 13 Notes Vehicle Company for the purpose of manufacturing and selling motor vehicles The company was mostly successful because of its popularity with engines more so than its popularity with horseless carriages In 1905 the Olds Motor Vehicle Company closed its Detroit plant and focused all its operations in Lansing Then Olds had left Oldsmobile 4 Assess the importance of a the Model T b industrial design by Albert Kahn c assembly line procedures and d the popularity and influence of Henry Ford pp 218 225 230 a The Ford Motor Company introduced the Model T with the most energetic campaign that he American automobile industry had ever witnessed for a new product The Model T was a car for the common man and lived up to Henry Ford s word By 1914 Ford sold 250 000 Model Ts annually With the Model T the Ford Motor Company backed up its claim to put America on wheels b Ford s collaboration with Kahn created the world s largest auto factory Michigan s biggest building under one roof and the most artistic factory of its day in architecture shining c Assembly line allowed production to double every year for a decade after 1913 while the price cleanliness and harmonic arrangement of the Model T dropped by two thirds d The Ford Motor Company dominated the American automobile industry and controlled 50 percent of market share Ford was a hero to many Americans and was even seriously considered for the Republican presidential nomination in 1924 5 Describe a the growth of General Motors under Billy Durant b Durant s partnership with Louis Chevrolet and c the Alfred Sloan strategy for sales at GM pp 225 231 a He opened General Motors in September 1908 The company was incorporated in New Jersey which set no limits on the amount of stock a company might issue Within two years GM Jennie Thorp Chapter 13 Notes acquired about 30 other companies On the surface GM appeared successful Durant struggled as some of Durant s subsidiaries consolidate others and to straighten out the frantic Durant The things that counted so much in the past which gave GM its unique and powerful position were subordinated to liquidate and pay b Durant vowed to control General Motors again He organized a new company named after Louis Chevrolet a former Buick engineer and racecar driver Durant engineered the Chevy 490 which allowed him to resume control over General Motors c Sloan introduced a systematic change each year carefully calculated so that each new model would be recognizably different from its predecessors but not so far different as to pose the threat that each year s model would be completely out of style a year later The annual model associated with the notion of building a car so that it would last only a limited period of time 6 Assess the significance of a the Chrysler Corporation and b the mergers that led to the American Motors Corporation pp 231 34 a Chrysler left GM Accepted Durant s gracious offer to buy his stock in the early 1920 s and gave him 10 million dollars in cash He then got back into the auto industry In four years Chrysler introduced a sries of cost cutting and efficiency changes that expanded Buick production substancially and elevated him to company president Willys Overland ended up in receivership Chrysler accepted an offer to aid the financially ailing Detroit based Maxwell Motor Company Advancements in the auto industry put Chrysler onto the center state of the auto industry 7 Evaluate the competing theories for why the automobile industry was so successful in Michigan including a environmental and b entrepreneurial talent pp 234 35 Environmental factors and a wealth of small scale industrial enterprises that offered machine shop Jennie Thorp Chapter 13 Notes facilities and skilled laborers Some or parts of these advantages could be found elsewhere in the country Automakers found Detroit s open shop reputation appealing A remarkable group of individuals brought to the fledgling industry Some had college educations while others had not finished high school They all had in common a dedication to the manufacture of motor vehicles