n the dusty, unpaved roads were little more than fanciful toys for the adventurous rich. Some of the communications technologies pioneered toward the end of the nineteenth century must have seemed just as esoteric to the leading financiers and industrialists of the day, who were doing fine bankrolling the traditional industries they knew so well. Yet, within a few short years, Ford and others would shape consumer products out of the new technologies that would set in motion an awesome economic transformation.Henry Ford didn't invent the automobile. Nor did he invent mass production or the assembly line. Ford is famous because he took these existing concepts and incorporated them into an efficient, large-scale system of manufacturing inexpensive, reliable cars. "I'm going to democratize the automobile." Ford said, "and when I'm through, everybody will have one." Cars have made a big difference in the way communities have been designed. Street layout, the design of homes, and traffic laws have changed as methods of transportation has changed throughout history.Automobiles are responsible for more than half the airborne pollution in the western world. Many plans are being developed to control air pollution. Burning cleaner fuel and burning fuel more efficiently both help the environment. Pollution controls devices for cars have also been developed. For example, catalytic systems were installed in many car exhaust systems in the 1980s. These devices change dangerous gases into harmless carbon dioxide and water. They also burn up much of the exhaust with fresh air in a chamber near the exhaust pipe. The car of the future will need new designs which make even better use of the fuel which powers them. Cars influence the ways communities are developing. Since it is possible to drive great distances rapidly, many people choose to live far away from where they work. Many cities have a downtown core where people work and a suburban area where t...
