Karl Benz patented the world’s first automobile, a three wheeler called the Benz Motorwagen, in January 29, 1886. Later that same year, Gottlieb Daimler built a four-wheeled car. It had 50% more power from a 1.5 hp engine than the Benz. The horsepower race had begun.

Long before Benz’s patent, there were many automotive inventors in the United States. Duryea of Massachusetts was the first car to be produced for sale in the United States in 1896. Random E. Olds became the first to mass-produce automobiles in America in 1900. Like all new technology, these cars were very expensive, not within the price range of the average American.

Henry Ford was the first to produce the automobile in mass quantities. His idea was to build a car that everyone could afford. The current Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903. In 1908 first Model T was sold. In the next 19 years 15 million copies of that simple automobile were produced. It was not until the 1970’s that record number was surpassed by the Volkswagen Beetle.

General Motors, another early automotive giant, bought Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Pontiac in 1908 and became the General Motors we know today.

In 1920 Walter P. Chrysler merged Willys and Maxwell-Chambers. In 1924 the first car to bear the Chrysler name went on sale and was a huge success.

Today, automobile dealerships account for 29% of the retail business conducted in the United States. One in nine working Americans build, sell, or fix and maintain motor vehicles. Automotive-related business represents about a third of a trillion dollars worth of our nation’s economy in an average year. It is estimated that $150 billion of that total is spent on parts, repairs, and maintenance.

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