This is the story of a worldwide phenomenon that transformed the 20th century - the private car. In the 100 years since the first frail automobiles puttered out onto unmade roads, hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals have embraced the automobile business, convinced that their product was a potential world-beater. All of these major manufacturers, and many of the smaller ones, are detailed here.
France and Germany were the early pioneers, experimenting with 'horseless carriages' as early as 1885; later, Henry Ford applied mass-production techniques, with the result that cars became cheaper and more accessible than ever before. Meanwhile, Lancia, Bentley and Mercedes-Benz were in the full flower of their vintage eras.
Morris, Austin, Renault, Fiat - all profited from Ford's example of piling high and selling cheap. World War Two, however, brought civilian car production to a virtual halt, but from 1945 European manufacturers struggled to rebuild their devastated factories so that they could resume production. In North America, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler were in a happier position, able to supply their vast home market with ever more flamboyant constructions of steel and chrome.
In the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, meanwhile, car production was in its infancy, but the utilitarian Ladas, Skodas and Wartburgs were beginning to put in an appearance. Far more significant were the first trickles of exports from Japan, from Datsun (Nissan) and Toyota, and later from Honda and Suzuki.
For a time, it looked as though the automobile industry could do no wrong, but concerns regarding emissions and pollution finally made themselves felt in the early 1970s, followed by an oil crisis, intimations that the planet was fragile and that fuel could no longer be regarded as infinite. That did not deter the new arrivals on the scene, such as Ssangyong and Daewoo of Korea, mindful of an increasingly tough world in terms of competition. Nowadays, along with the excitement and possibilities that new technology offers, the need for safety and the protection of the environment have been never so strong.