Cars have been a staple in transportation for hundreds of years. Many of us use them in our everyday lives and take them for granted. But how did the car come about, and how does it stay relevant in our ever-changing lifestyles?

Who made the artifact?

Short answer: Karl Benz was the first person to strap a propulsion device, other than a horse, to a carriage, creating what is now known as a “car” today.

The real answer, however, is that while one or two people may claim to have invented the car, the real inventor isn’t a person at all; innovation and necessity for improvement were the inventors (and improvers) of the automobile.

The automobile continues to evolve constantly, and as we move into an era of “environmentally friendly” solutions to everyday tasks, manufacturers are looking for alternative ways of powering vehicles. Although there are several approaches to this problem, the most prevalent solution as of now is via electric motors and batteries replacing the internal combustion engines

Why was it necessary?

As the world evolved, technologies were invented to make everyday processes easier, faster, and more convenient for humans. The invention and mainstream of the automobile was simply one of these technologies. People no longer had to rely on horse-drawn carriages as a means of transportation, making the commuting and transportation process more reliable than horses, and faster and more convenient than walking. 

Speaking more recently, the electrification and search for environmentally “clean” cars has been brought about by the increase in greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, helped in part by CO2 emissions caused by internal combustion engines (or ICEs).

Has the need changed over time?

Although there have been evolutions of the first iteration from Benz, the automobile has overall served the same basic needs of the people: transport things from point A to point B. The aforementioned “things” could include mass amounts of cargo hauled by semi-trucks, several people along with some cargo in cars, or a single person on a motorcycle. The basic principle usages of the automobile, however, have stayed true not only to the first automobiles, but the horse-drawn carriages before them.

Does it have different meanings for different groups of people?

Yes. For the average Joe, automobiles are heaps of metal, plastic and rubber that get them from point A to point B. For the environmental advocate, ICE cars are the bane of their existence and are the root of all evil within the world. For those whose veins are filled with gasoline rather than blood, they become an extension of their personality, a way of expressing themselves as others would do with clothing or jewelry.

What commonplaces are embedded in it?

Many commonplaces are embedded within automobiles, many of which are vastly different from each other. For example, the surge in electrification lends itself to the environmentally friendly commonplace. The constant innovation within the industry embeds itself to the commonplace of always improving and “always forward, never back”. Different styles of cars lend themselves to different commonplaces as well. For instance, luxury cars are an example of “the good life”, whereas sports cars are an example of an “escape from reality”. 

What makes it “civic?”

Automobiles have helped society immensely since their invention, and without them our world wouldn’t be nearly as advanced as it is today. Since its creation, it has lended itself to building the community it surrounds, helping to streamline both private and commercial transportation.