Driving home for the weekend, taking a road trip across the country, going to the store across town at midnight for a quick snack: none of these simple tasks would be possible without the existence of the automobile. The ingenious work of a man named Henry Ford changed the scope of American life with an invention that rocked the entire world. When they came into existence in the beginning of the 20th century cars were considered a luxury, something reserved for the rich and famous. Henry Ford realized his dream of producing an automobile that was reasonably priced, reliable, and efficient with the introduction of the Model T in 1908. It was easy to operate, maintain, and handle on rough roads, immediately becoming a huge success. In less than one hundred years, with a plethora of styles and manufacturers, the automobile has been used to give Americans an identity and has offered a unique freedom to anyone over the age of sixteen. America’s fascination with the automobile, however, has lessened and the convenience that it offers is often taken for granted.

The people of America do not realize how much automobile dependence has increased in the last one hundred years. Neither do t

As a young teenager growing up in Suburbia, California, I anxiously anticipated the day when I was to turn sixteen years of age. I saw what my older brother had been able to do with his license and newly found freedom, and I could not wait for my day to sit behind the wheel. The feeling is indescribable; for years I had to sit in the passenger seat, watching the driver as he turned the wheel and clicked the blinker. On a scorching July afternoon, just months from acquiring my license, and while my brother enjoyed his day at the beach with his friends, I was stuck at home with my remote and my overused basketball. I could only watch television and shoot hoops for so long; I was trapped at home with a license to kill rather than a license to drive. Finally, when my day came, I got my license on that fourteenth day of February and I, too, could have that right of passage. I was amazed by the audacious freedom that car ownership offered to me. Purchased with my money alone, the old Honda Prelude was my ticket to anywhere I desired to go. I felt like I could go anywhere or do anything and nothing could get in my way. I no longer had to ride my bike in the blistering heat for a cherry slurpee. I could drive to the beach, or to the snow, or to my buddy’s house, parent-willing of course.

Thanks to America’s one and only icon, we can claim our freedom and can enjoy the luxuries that automobiles offer to our ever-so-transient lives.

hey account for the fact that cars have been around for only a century. Imagine a day without a car resting just twenty feet away, and how different life would be. Life would be much slower; it would lack the extreme rapidity that exists today. If one icon serves to represent life in America, the automobile would be it. Baseball has been around for the same amount of time, and has been labeled “America’s pastime,” but most peop

Some topics in this essay:
Henry Ford, Suburbia California, Main Street, Ford Mustang, Volkswagen Jetta, Honda Prelude, Luxury Driving, Thanks America’s, BMW Lexus, Mustang Henceforth, henry ford, ford mustang, walk store, america’s fascination, america’s icon, three-mile walk,