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A Driving Force

The car changed life for people in the United States. The first cars were sold early in the 1900s. Before the car, people travelled by horse. They rarely went more than a few kilometres a day. Cars helped people move easily to different places. Now, they could go on holidays further away. 

Besides changing people’s personal lives in many ways, the car also brought huge changes to American business. Certain businesses began to make a lot of money. For example, a special type of rubber had just been invented. It was very strong and could handle big temperature changes. Companies made good money selling this rubber for car tires. People who sold petrol also made large profits. Petrol was needed to keep the cars going, so petrol stations popped up everywhere.

The car even changed the hotel and restaurant businesses. Long trips in an car could take days, so people needed a place to rest along the way. ‘Motor hotels’, known as motels, were built along new roads. These were places where people could stop and spend the night. People on long road trips got hungry, too. They wanted a place to make a quick stop for cheap and filling food. Cheap restaurants known as diners became common places to eat. Diners made hamburgers, chips and milkshakes famous in the United States. These are still some of the most regularly eaten items on road trips today.