Cars:
Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow[1]
Luo
Xindi (xindi.luo.2013@accountancy.smu.edu.sg), 1st
Year student, Bachelor of Accountancy, Singapore Management University
Executive
Summary
The world is currently facing increasing concerns of
global warming and depletion of natural resources. As a result of this, more efficient,
sustainable, and less polluting modes of transportation have become
increasingly vital.
This paper examines the history of automobiles and examines
how these automobiles have evolved over the centuries. It then explains how the
current automobiles have served their purpose and also the social, economic and
environmental impacts caused by these vehicles. This paper also raises pressing
issues on pollution and depletion of resources and how future develops can help
to alleviate these issues. Finally the paper questions the considerations
future automobile technologies, such as electric and nitrogen cars, have on our
world in terms of environmental, economic and social impacts.
Introduction
Since the first human civilization, humans began to
travel around to find more food, better shelter, and to escape from danger. As human
civilization progressed, we learnt to harness the strengths of our surroundings
and began to make use of our surrounding resources to help us travel. Different
civilizations began using different animals to help them move from one
destination to another. The Egyptians used the donkeys, Chinese used the water
buffalo, South Americans used llamas and Ukrainians used horses (McGrath, n.d).
While humans strived for constant improvement, the pace and the range of
animals became insufficient for us. Thus humans began to venture into
technologies that can travel far greater distances, without being limited by
the fatigue of the animals. This led to the development of the first self-propelled
forms of transportation, which gradually evolved into our present day automobiles.
With the cars we have today, humankind managed to
travel great distances with great speed. Even though there was the benefit of
convenience, it came with many negative consequences as well. This paper will
explain these impacts brought about by automobiles, and explore what future
technologies can bring us. This paper will also look at how future technologies
can mitigate these negative impacts of our current automobiles.
Historical
Perspectives
First form of transportation: Animals
The first form of transportation was riding on
animals’ backs. Humans realized that they can capitalize on the traits of other
organisms in the planet for transportation and started domesticating animals
such as horses for transport. This domestication of animals is known as the
Equine Revolution (McLaughlin, 2001). Domestication of horses occurred as early
as 5,600 years ago. The presence of high concentrations of horse manure in the
soil near ancient settlements helps to back this claim (Hoffmann, 2006).
Ancient civilizations first domesticated horses for their meat and milk, but
soon realized horses can be a great form of transportation(McGrath, n.d). Together
with the inventions of wheels in 3,500 BC, chariots and carriages were attached
to horses and gradually; it became a key mode of transportation (McGrath, n.d).
This revolution was a key milestone in human history
because people soon realized the convenience of having a mode of transportation
without having to use their own legs. This drove the evolution of
transportation to what it is today. The discovery of animals as a mode of
transportation not just enabled faster communication of messages between faraway
lands; it also aided in the exchange of knowledge and is therefore key in the
civilization of humans (McLaughlin, 2001). This discovery enabled explorers
such as Marco Polo to travel great distances to facilitate the exchange of
goods between the East and the West (Wright, 1854).
First self-propelled vehicle
The Industrial Revolution began in the 18th
century, causing great changes to all aspects of human life. This mechanization
of processes, in areas such as agriculture, manufacturing, mining and
transport, caused a huge improvement in the efficiency of people’s lives. The
Industrial Revolution enabled the invention of steam engine in 1763, followed
by the invention of the first self-propelled road vehicle in 1769 by Nicholas
Joseph Cugnot (Lawrence, 2008). He was French engineer and mechanic who
designed this vehicle as a military tractor for military use. This steam engine
powered vehicle was used by the French Army to tow the huge artillery guns,
moving these equipment at a speed of 4km/h. Cugnot then managed to alter the
design of his vehicle, allowing it to carry four passengers, making it the
first ever self-propelled passenger vehicle (Bellis, n.d). However, one major
limitation of this vehicle was that it needed to be rested every ten to fifteen
minutes for it to build up the steam power. Moreover, these steam engines were
extremely heavy and inefficient, causing them to be impractical to be used on
roads (Bellis, n.d).
This was the start of self propelled vehicles and
gradually, other types of engines were invented that made the steam engine
obsolete. However, the steam engine was still extremely popular for the locomotives.
Building on the idea of self-propelled vehicles, more practical forms of
engines soon emerged, such as the gasoline powered engines and electric engines
(Cox, 2013).
Birth of first modern automobile
Even though Nicholas Joseph Cugnot built the first
automobile, many history books credited the invention of the first automobile
to Karl Benz. This is because Benz invented gasoline-powered vehicles that were
highly successful and practical. The cars we see today are modeled from Benz’s
design of the first automobile and works similarly (Deffree, 2013). However, it
is unfair to say that Benz invented the modern automobile because the
development of the automobile did not happen overnight. It was a culmination of
efforts from different scientists and engineers to achieve the first car (Bearden,
n.d).
Karl Benz created the first modern automobile in
1886, powered by 0.75 horsepower one-cylinder four-stroke gasoline engine; it
could reach a top speed of 16km/h. It contained water-cooled internal
combustion engine, three wheels, tubular framework, and a seat for 2. The
vehicle also contained electric ignition, differential, mechanical valves,
carburetor, oil and grease cups for lubrication and a braking system (Christopher,
2010). After this successful piece of invention, Benz successfully applied for
a German patent and began his production of automobiles. His company later
developed into one of the top automobile companies in the world: Mercedes-Benz
(Deffree, 2013).
Despite the practicality and success of the first
automobile, it had a high price tag and was unaffordable by most people. As a
result, cars were not in abundance until Henry Ford revolutionized the
automobile market.
Begin of personal cars
In the 1900s, Henry Ford founded The Ford Motor
Company and began the manufacturing of automobiles. At the start, the company
only had a few employees and produced a few cars a day. However, Ford
introduced the first conveyor belt assembly line, which reduced the cost of production
by reducing assembly time. As a result of the assembly line, the company was
able to produce one car every one and a half hours (Goss, n.d). Ford was so
efficient that at one point of time, he produced more cars in a year than all
87 other automobile companies combined. In addition to this innovation of work
process, Ford introduced a car model that was so successful that the automobile
industry was revolutionized. ("Henry ford changes," 2005)
Henry Ford is always quoted saying, “I will build a motorcar
for the great multitude”. As such, Ford introduced the Model T, the first
automobile that targets the mass. It was a relatively affordable car at that
point of time. When other car models were sold for an average of $1,000, the
Model T was only $850 when it was first introduced in 1908. By 1925, the car
was less than $300 (Bearden, n.d). Ford managed to sell 15 million of Model T
around the world and it was more than 50% of the total car population at that
time. Model T was the beginning of automobile for the masses, and from that
point onwards, privately owned cars became more and more popular. ("The model T ford," 2012)
From that point onwards, the automobile industry
grew astronomically and automobiles underwent multiple improvements. Cars soon
no longer required hand cranking, but electric starters instead. Cars then
became air-conditioned, airbags were introduced, and slowly these cars began to
resemble what we see on our roads today.
Current
Situation
With the fast pace of our society today, the need to
travel quickly from one point to another is becoming extremely important. As a
result, the numbers of cars on our roads have hit a new high in recent years. The
car population of the world exceeded 1 billion in 2010 and is expected to reach
2.5 billion in 2050 (Tencer, 2011). The most common types of cars on our roads
nowadays are cars running on petrol or diesel. Compared to the first car
invented, cars nowadays have better design, more comfortable driving
experience, and also better fuel efficiency. This large car population around
the world has several impacts on our society, economy, and environment.
Social Impacts
In terms of social impact, the invention of the car
has drastically changed humans’ way of life. The biggest advantage cars gave
humans is no doubt the increased convenience to travel further and faster. The
car effectively broke down the geographical barriers and people were free to
travel as long as there were roads. This has made society a more efficient
place and also increased connectivity between people.
However, there are also negative social impacts caused
by the invention of the car. Firstly, the invention of cars has taken away many
lives as a result of traffic accidents. Before cars were invented, serious
injuries and deaths caused by horse carriages were minimal. However with the
invention of machines capable at travelling a few times the speed of horses,
accidents became more severe. According to statistics, 1.3 million people die
from traffic accidents every year, and another 50 million people are seriously
injured (Olarte, 2011). Even though there are technologies such as airbags to
help prevent fatalities in the event of road accident, the cases of deaths has
been steadily increasing and is therefore a serious concern.
Secondly, the invention of the car has caused
negative health impacts on humans. As cars are being more accessible and many
countries have public transport systems, there is increasing reliance on
technologies to travel. This has caused sedentary behavior that may lead to
health problems such as obesity. As a result of the combustion of fuels in the
car engine, harmful gases are released into the air. The exhaust fumes of cars
contain hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, particulates,
and sulphur dioxide, all of which fall into the category of hazardous air
pollutants. These harmful substances are toxic and can be detrimental to one’s
health in the long run. Some harmful effects include chronic lung diseases,
liver damage and even cancer (Rossman, n.d).
Environmental Impacts
In terms of environmental impact, the car has caused
massive air, water and land pollution. Air pollution occurs when harmful gases
are released into the atmosphere as a result of the combustion in the car
engines. These pollutants contain gases that can cause ozone depletion and
global warming. The car population these days is said to contribute to
approximately one fifth of the total greenhouse emissions (TDG Community,
2008).
Water and land pollutions are closely related to air
pollution. As a result of emissions of gases such as sulphur dioxide and carbon
monoxide, acid rain will be formed. Acid rain causes soil to be acidified, and
in the long run will affect the fertility of the soil. Moreover, scrapped cars
takes up immense amounts of space in landfills and scrapyards, therefor causing
land pollution. When the acid rain falls into water bodies, it causes the water
to be polluted and thus may affect marine live in the water bodies.
Cars also cause severe depletion of our energy
source. According to sources, the amount of fossil fuels we have left is
rapidly decreasing. It is expected that this fuel will be used up in the near
future. Cars take up a huge proportion of the consumption of fossil fuels.
Economic Impacts
In terms of economic impact, the automobile industry
is a huge part of the world economy and many peripheral industries are closely
linked with the automobile industry. Car making companies makes up a huge
proportion of the GDP of some countries. In order to support these industries,
many peripheral companies offering car repairs, car servicing, tires, fuel are
closely linked with the auto making industry. It is therefore a huge component
of the economy and is extremely beneficial. These industries can also create
many employment opportunities.
Future
Considerations
The current cars cause many negative impacts and it
is therefore important that future innovations can help to mitigate these
problems. Like any piece of technology, there are definitely positive and
negative impacts to our world, it is thus important to negate these issues as
far as possible. The main negative impact of cars is the polluting gases it
emits. The health concerns are largely a result of these harmful gases. Many
governments and automakers have realized the importance of a sustainable car. A
car does not consume fossil fuels and a car that emits little air pollutants.
Many companies thus invested heavily on the research of electric and hydrogen
cars as alternatives to the petrol and diesel fuelled cars. The question of
whether these possibilities are viable will be discussed but most importantly,
they must be able to solve some social and environmental problems.
Electric Cars
Electric cars are vehicles powered by rechargeable
batteries instead of the conventional internal combustion engines. There are
several advantages of electric cars compared to conventional cars.
Electric cars have always been given the title of
being a clean car. This is because it does not involve any form of combustion
of fuel in the car and therefore have zero emissions of harmful gases. However,
whether the electric car is a clean depends on more than just the amount of
fumes it produces. Electric cars do not run on air, they run on electricity,
which is produced at various sources. Thus, whether the car is clean or dirty
depends largely on where you charge your vehicle geographically. For example,
in a place where all the electricity comes from solar energy power station, the
car can be said to be totally clean. However, if the car is charged in a place
where much of the energy comes from burning of coals, the environmental impact
could be worse than a conventional car (Oremus, 2013). Despite this, it can be
argued that there is a single source of pollution for electric cars, compared
to multiple sources of pollution from conventional cars. This allows relevant
authorities to control, clean up and manage environmental impacts more easily.
The widespread implementation of electric cars may
have positive impacts on individual’s health. While conventional cars emit
harmful gases that are detrimental to one’s health, electric cars have zero
emissions. Though there are still emissions of harmful gases at the source of
the electricity production, these polluting power plants are often found in
places with sparse population. It therefore will not cause as much damage to
individuals’ health as compared to conventional cars (Decher, 2011).
Other major limitation of the electric car today is
that the driving range of the electric car is extremely limited. Conventional
cars can travel an average of around 500km before requiring refueling. Electric
cars, on the other hand, can currently only travel approximately 160km on the
average before they need to be recharged (Wisler, n.d). As such, driving an
electric car in a city may be a viable option. However if one were to drive it
between cities, it would be impractical because of the small range of the
vehicle, and lack of infrastructure to support recharging of the batteries.
Electric cars that currently exist also take a long
time to be recharged. While a conventional car requires a few minutes before
the entire fuel tank is filled, the electric cars can require 4-8 hours for a
complete charge (Cridland, n.d).
The large battery packs used to power most current
electric vehicles are extremely heavy and take up a lot of space. This may
compromise on the practically of the electric vehicle to carry passengers or
loads. In addition, batteries have a limited lifespan, and after a certain
number of charges, it needs to be replaced. The costs of these batteries are
very high.
Nitrogen Cars
Nitrogen cars, which use nitrogen as fuel to propel
the engines, may be the future of automobile. Nitrogen is stored as liquid in a
cold environment. When it is released into the engines, it is heated up;
causing the gaseous nitrogen to expands and provides energy to propel the
vehicle. Nitrogen is a viable alternative to drive engines because of its
abundance and it is able to create considerable amounts of energy per unit
volume. Most importantly, it is much cheaper than electric cars. This is
attributed to the fact that liquid nitrogen is a by product in the
manufacturing of liquid oxygen, making it readily available and inexpensive
(Dvorsky, 2012). Moreover the engines of the nitrogen-powered cars no do not
produce substantial heat, therefore allowing cheaper materials to be used in
the engines (Korones, 2012).
However, it is not a technology without flaws.
Environmentally, it has zero emissions of harmful gases like the electric car.
However, it requires electrical energy to cool the tank containing the liquid
nitrogen (The Economist, 2012). This causes pollution at the source of the
electricity.
There is also a major safety concern of these tanks.
Unlike conventional cars, the fuel tanks of nitrogen-powered cars are a lot
more dangerous. When the tanks of conventional cars malfunction, the car simply
stops moving. However, for nitrogen-powered vehicles, the malfunction of the
nitrogen tanks may cause catastrophic effects such as explosions (Cool car,
n.d).
Reducing casualties
Other forms of technologies can help to reduce the
number of fatalities on the road; therefore decreasing the negative social
impact cars have on our lives. Safety has become one key consideration in many
of the new designs today. Companies such as Volvo Cars have a mission statement
of “Zero Accidents” (Autosphere, 2012). Some of the new innovations are
collision prevention system, which will stop a car when it senses that
collision is imminent (Boyer, 2013). Such technologies, if further developed
and introduced in other car models, can greatly reduce the number of casualties
on the road, and reduce the negative social impact on humans.
Conclusion
In summary, the automobile industry has been rapidly
evolving since the first cars were produced. Throughout the years, cars have become
lighter, more aesthetically appealing, faster, and more fuel-efficient.
However, despite the convenience and the economic benefits the automobile
industry brings us, there are many negative impacts on society and environment.
With the recent increased awareness in global warming, as well as depleting
natural resources, many companies realized the need for a car that runs on
cleaner energy sources to satisfy future consumer demands. This leads to many
companies researching into cars that run on clean energy sources and also cars
that emit low amount of harmful gases. The problem of the automobile industry
is pressing, and if left unattended, may cause serious environmental problems.
As such companies and government should step up in the development of cleaner
cars, for a cleaner tomorrow.
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