Car Attachment
The reason why people always attach to cars
The problems of car ownership
why still attach to cars when they cause so many problems
The idea of being "transported" started from when people began to use animals such as horses, or camels to drag things. The next step was to build a frame and wheels to make it much more convenient to make a journey as well as easier to move a more massive load. People can travel faster and easier; however, it was still useless to go across the country
The development of cars started around 1672 when the first working steamed automobile was produced, but it was unable to carry the passenger until 1769. At that moment, the steam engine was the power of the car, but it still needed to develop further because it could not maintain steam pressure, and it had to stop every five or ten minutes from building up steam power. Moreover, the steam engine added more weigh to the vehicle, so it was unsuitable for travelling long distance.
Around 116 years later, Karl Benz invented cars using internal combustion engines to power the vehicle. It was the first car that successfully travels long-distance by his wife. Therefore, his company became the largest car company in the world at that time
Travelling around cities is slow and expensive. The new engines like electricity and diesel were introduced to surpass the previous engines, but it was costly, and hardly anyone could afford. Until around the 1920s, Henry Ford invented the Model T and sold them to middle-class people cheaply so they can afford the cars. Due to Henry Ford's mass production and the assembly line instead of individually assemble, Henry Ford's car became famous. Mass production was also the starting point of how the vehicle spread all over the world.
Nowadays, the development of cars is still happening. The advanced technology allows scientists, designers, and engineers to keep developing futuristic transportation creating much more comfortable, and efficient.
The automobile becomes a massive part of our life. It provides people with the freedom to move from one place to another place faster. However, the continuous growth of car ownership affects both urban context and social context. The rapid growth of the cities in the developing world has been followed by an increase in car ownership, profoundly changing the traffic circulation conditions within these cities.
Moving around in cities is more difficult as homes and working spaces grow as well as the demand for the roads. Roads and parking spaces already occupy a large proportion of the land within cities up to 30 percent of its area in Europe and more than 50 percent in North America due to land-used such as industrial areas, shopping areas, offices, and residential areas. Despite being a significant part of cities, the shortage of roads and lack of car parks are still all cities' problem. The solution to reducing congestion is to build more street, but the anti-road lobby argues that building more road will encourage people to use the private car as well as some residences will be demolished due to road construction.
Cars are supposed to allow people to move around freely, but instead, they cause congestion and pollution and people stuck in the car for most of the day. All cities suffer from congestion at certain times of the day. Because of this problem, many car drivers have switched to public transportation because they are fast, but they still face congestion in public transit.
Another problem caused by traffic is environmental factors such as noise and the level of smoke from vehicles. The road has become more congested and the environment more fragile. Besides, traffic accidents are a significant problem in both developed countries and developing countries. According to 1999 WHO; World Health report estimates 1.17 million road traffic deaths and more than 10 million injured in the world in 1998; however, actual figures are higher than reported. Traffic accident will worsen shortly because of the fast rising of car ownership.
Even though cars cause so many problems to the environment and people in the cities, people still use cars for transportation. Despite having public transport such as the underground system and bus, people still want to own their vehicles. The attachment of the car is the reason why car ownership keeps increasing, so it is essential to analyze the reason why people attach to vehicles.
Chapter 1 Body design
The increase of private car ownership is unavoidable since automobile affects our lives significantly. As time goes by, people are more demanding to have a faster, bigger, and more stylist car. Advanced technology also allow scientists, engineers, and designers to keep developing automobiles over the years.
From early in the twentieth century, a flashy sporty car was something almost any working man could buy, and it was part of nearly everyone's dreams. After the fiftieth, cars were not just an unattainable object of desire, but something to own and drive. The design of the vehicle has kept changing to respond to people's demand and dreams. Cars become more than just simple tools for transportation. Instead, they become objects to fulfil people's desire of being in higher status and personal pleasure
Because of the need to fulfil people's demand, the class structure of cars has happened. The difference between low-priced vehicles and luxury cars are evident. Even though they have the same fundamental elements such as the wheel, gear, and engine, the expectation of performances are contrasting.
The development of the motor might be one of the main reason why people attach to vehicles psychologically since vehicles are designed to fulfil people's love of power and speed. The improvement of an automobile causes body design to change over time to satisfy people's preferences. Because the design transformation has changed to follow the trend, people still desire automobiles despite the time.
Mass production
The earliest cars were assembled by a small group of people and only by hand. It was challenging and took time, so each car was costly, and hardly anyone could afford. Although automobiles had been produced from the 1880s, they were still mostly scarce, expensive, and often unreliable. However, in 1912, Henry Ford introduced mass production, and because of this, the process of assembly was much more manageable.
At the very beginning, Model T was a success for its general utility, excellent performances, and prices. Early versions of this car were refined and offered basic features which are no speedometer, no starter, no temperature gauge, and no bumpers. Many people were tempted because it was easy to drive, repair, and modify while also being affordable.
The Model T was often referred to as "Universal Car" because it was extended to every type of customer and could be used for every situation. Although the Model T might have unique features that people can recognize, there were many modifications throughout the years due to the costs and speed. The speed of production needed to improve to reduce costs as well as the styles was changing to increase customer's appeal despite in a limited way. It seemed that the production progress of Model T focused more on speed and time rather than body design.
The Model T was responsible for accelerating the automobile's introduction into society during the first quarter of the 20th century. However, in 1926, it had become outdated, and finally, the Model T discontinued, and Ford factories shut down.
Mass production is related to mass customization. Earning an automobile was not rare anymore after cars were affordable. Many factories had to compete with each other to be number one. Competitive cost, innovative engineering, and visual enchantment became the tools in the war of mass production. Not only reliability is a strong point but also body design that attracts people's eyes.
The Model T might not be the first automobile, but it was the first to make people's dream about owning, and operating cars are everyday experiences for most people.
Images and looks
Car style went further into luxury, performances, and images. To be able to travel easily was not only people's dream anymore since most can afford the vehicles. In 1964, The Ford Mustang was launched, and because of the model of spirited, stylish vehicles, it appealed to singles and young married couples who were not interested in a family-car look. Unlike model T, which did not care on appearance but focus on the speed of production, Ford Mustang had the suggestion of "buying one could change a person's life for a better"
The styling was clean and rectangular with a chic look that seemed to please everyone. A practical, inexpensive car with a sporty image, good looks, and distinctive shape and a sharp new name resulted in the successful marketing. However, it was the image and popularity of the looks rather than performances that attracted people's eyes and make Ford Mustang successful. This case shows that car design and styles affect people's attraction with or without compelling performances.
It is shown that some people prefer to have cars that look nice or luxury instead of concerning about the quality of performances. The image and concept was a significant factor that convinces people to buy cars.
However, in 1965, there was a new automobile call "GT-350" which was a racing car made out of Mustang. It was the reason the Ford Mustang could not maintain popularity as GT-350 was the only Mustang that available in a performance and was designed to win races. The Mustangs were converted into race cars or ferocious cars and was a real performance car and restricted to the racetrack. It was intended to win the championships, and it did, so it became an instant legend after winning. The title of being a champion made GT-350 a prestige and essential car. This example shows that body design is not only the main factor for the automobile to remain in popularity. Performances also affect the customer's attraction for the vehicles.
Although the GT-350 got high marks for the performances in the press, it still could not remain popular. The high speed in the racetrack was achieved whereas, ride comfort and noise level were compromised. Besides, the reputation of being champion made it impossible to mass-produce.
To be able to remain idolized, the automobile should consider not only the concepts and images of body design but also performances. Still, higher performances can be a disadvantage to the product since it will give the image of being luxury, rare, and impossible to afford it. Images and looks can influence people to appreciate the automobiles, but what attracts people might be the better performances and practicality in riding.
Extraordinary
Since earning cars is typical for society, many car factories need to create automobiles that stand out to capture customer's attraction. Car design is not only about four doors, gear, wheel, and roof but also fancy looking car such as convertibles. Around the late seventies, convertible cars seemed to change people taste and demand. They always had been the dreams of being extraordinary and glamorous. They made ordinary people feel like movie stars, and beautiful cars always looked better as convertibles. The image of convertible cars always related to luxury as celebrities always used them to parade among the crowd waving as well as they were advertised by famous heroes, movie stars, singers, and politician.
Despite being s dream for many people, the number of convertible cars was always low. Because most people did not have them, the image of convertible cars increased the feeling of being prestige. For example, in 1976, Cadillac Eldorado was introduced as a symbol of the golden allure of the good life in the 1950s. It was the car owned by stars, heroes, celebrities, and political leaders.
The feeling of being unique or extraordinary always attract people to objects. The feeling of being able to own objects that are so rare is still appealing to many people. That is why fancy looking cars can win over people easily.
Nevertheless, the trend of the extraordinary car can change over time. While convertible cars might be remarkable in the seventies, the gull-wing doors are designed in the early eighties. To give an example, the DeLorean had a stunning look with the concept of independence and fearless rebel leader with the gull-wing doors. However, it was a spectacular failure due to ill-handing, underpowered, unreliable, uncomfortable, and expensive. This example expresses that the unique body design of automobile occasionally do not help the cars perform better than ordinary cars. Even though those unique cars might charm the customers at first sight , but if the performances are lower than standard, those vehicles will never remain famous in customers' eyes.
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