Existing comment:
This was an early device for servicing cars. The mechanic would rotate it to work underneath it.
Fixing Cars
Early cars required frequent maintenance and repairs. Many machinists, blacksmiths, bicycle mechanics, and others started auto repair shops. New-car dealers and gasoline stations also offered repairs, and most cities had garages that stored, cleaned, fueled, and serviced automobiles.
Even though cars became more reliable, the auto repair business remained a necessity. By the 1920's, there were more than 60,000 service shops. In the 1930's, oil companies also provided repairs. They used brand identify and the promise of uniform quality to attract customers.
Americans Adopt the Auto
Why did the closed body become the standard type of car?
Though more expensive, heavier, and hotter in the summer, and dangerous before the introduction of safety glass in the 1920's, the closed body appealed to the buyer who wanted an affordable luxury. It kept you cleaner, and out of the weather. And when metal replaced wood, it was easier to manufacture. Middle-class city and suburb dwellers especially appreciated the closed-body car.
Why did the steering wheel end up on the left?
Some early cars had the wheel on the left, some on the right. Right-hand drive allowed entrance and exit at the pavement, but road improvements ended that advantage. And having the wheel on the right side made passing a dodgy proposition. The very popular Ford Model T, introduced in 1908, had its steering wheel on the left. It set the style for later cars.
The Human Cost of Roads
Like railroads, trolleys, buggies, horses, and ships, automobiles kill and injure people. In 1913, more than 4,000 people died in car accidents. By the 1930's, more than 30,000 people died every year. In an effort to lower accident and death rates, safety advocates stressed the Three E's: engineering, enforcement, and education. Since most safety advocates -- like most Americans -- assumed that careless people were the cause of wrecks, early safety efforts focused on educating drivers and pedestrians, rather than designing and producing safer automobiles and highways. |