MOTOR VEHICLES (see 18.914). Improvements in design between 1910 and 1920 made the passenger motor-car a more reliable, more comfortable and, allowing for changed conditions, more economical vehicle; they also rendered it more attractive to the eye. During the same period the use of cars greatly increased, particularly in the United States, where registration figures showed that in the state of Iowa there was on July i 1920 one car to every 5-49 of the population, while for the whole country the proportion was one to every 13-52 people. To a certain extent the World War was responsible for the fact that in the use of motor-cars Europe did not keep pace with the United States. In France, Belgium, Germany and Austria the manufacture of cars for sale to the public ceased absolutely upon the opening of hostilities, and was not resumed until after the Armistice; in Great Britain and Italy, too, motor-car factories were restricted to work for the armies, practically throughout the war. In the United States, on the other hand, not only was there no interruption in production for private account, but the war- born wave of prosperity of 1915-6 increased sales over what they would have been under normal conditions. After the United States entered the war many motor-car plants were turned over to the production of aero-engines and munitions, and had the war continued after Jan. i 1919 the manufacture of passenger cars for other than military purposes would have ceased in America as completely as in Europe.
The chief reasons, however, for the preeminence of the United States in the use of motor-cars had nothing to do with the World War. In the first place America is a land of magnificent distances; in many sections towns and cities are far apart, and long trips must often be made over the public roads, for which purpose horse vehicles are quite unsatisfactory. Secondly, petrol (in the United States called gasoline), the fuel commonly used for motor vehicles, is a native product, comparatively cheap and plentiful. Thirdly, per capita wealth is greater than in most countries and well distributed. Not all conditions were favourable to the in- troduction of motor-cars however. Whereas the industrial coun- tries of Europe had magnificent systems of hard-surfaced roads, such roads were practically non-existent in the United States at the beginning of the motor era; but while a handicap, this did not prove a serious obstacle. In the early years of motor-car development the private passenger car was generally regarded as a means of pleasure, and in Europe this remained its chief func- tion. But in the United States and Canada (which comes next after the United States in respect to number of cars owned, notwithstanding its comparatively small population) it became a great factor in business life. In New York City, for instance, a very large proportion of the street traffic in 1920 was by motor, and in the main thoroughfares horse vehicles were almost a rarity. On the other hand, such agricultural states as Iowa and Nebraska had relatively more cars than tke industrial states, and the farmers, too, used their cars chiefly for business purposes. As the substitution of the motor-car for the horse came about gradually, it did not greatly impress the general public; neverthe- less it profoundly influenced modern life.
Conditions in Nyack, N.Y., a town of 5,000 inhabitants, 25 m. from New York City, may be cited for illustration. In 1905 Nyack had only one motor-car, owned by a physician ; in 1920 deliveries of all articles of commerce, from the morning newspaper to coal and building material, were made by motor vehicles, with the one excep- tion of goods delivered by the railway express, which still adhered to horse service. The junkman made his rounds in a motor-car. All moving of household goods was effected by motor-van. Motor- buses were the only means of public transit, and in addition to making their regular trips they carried children in the outlying dis- tricts to and from school. The fire department had been " motor- ized." A large proportion of the residents owned private cars, which ' they used for driving to church or to the theatre, for shopping and visiting, as well as for pleasure-driving. On Saturctay afternoons the main business street was so crowded with cars that it was often diffi- cult to draw up to the curb.
In the cities of the United States the once familiar horse-cabs and hansoms had practically disappeared before the motor- propelled taxicab by 1920. There were bus services competing with the tram services, though these had not been developed to the same extent as in the leading European cities. Numerous
bus lines had been established in country districts beyond tram services. About 1915 many owners of private cars began carry- ing passengers in competition with tram lines, their vehicles being known as jitney buses (jitney, a Russian coin about equal in value to five cents, then the common tram fare). These jitneys did much business, especially during the " rush " hours when people go to work and return home, as their passengers avoided the crowding of the street-cars and the annoyance of frequent stops. But after a short time the greatly increased cost of petrol and war conditions rendered the business unprofitable, and little more was heard of jitneys. Many cars of the private type were still offered for hire, but five cents was no longer a sufficient fare, and the drivers usually called their vehicles taxis, though in the smaller towns as a rule they carried no taximeter.
Motor-trucking and the haulage of freight by motor vehicle began to assume importance in the United States only about 1910. This branch of the industry up to then had been more suc- cessful in Great Britain and Germany. Beginning with that year, however, it consistently increased in the United States, where under the stress of war conditions the motor-lorry even entered into competition with the railways. An enormous amount of motor freight traffic grew up over certain routes be- ; tween important industrial cities, as between Detroit, Mich., and Toledo, O., and between Akron and Cleveland, O. One large tire manufacturing company in Akron, O., with cotton mills in Boston, Mass., over 600 m. away, established a fast freight service between these two distant cities by means of motor-trucks on pneumatic tires. Some of this development was evidently due to the abnormal conditions which made railway freight service inadequate during and immediately after the World War. Military operations gave a great impetus to motor- truck development (see MOTOR TRANSPORT, MILITARY). Thou- sands of motor-trucks were employed by the armies on both sides. The Central Powers were greatly handicapped in this respect, as, owing to the blockade, they could get no rubber for tires, and during the latter part of the war their army trucks ran on wood and steel tires. All of the material for the American army in France was transported by motor-trucks from the landing points to the battle-line. In addition to the urgent demand for trucks for military purposes there was also a strong demand for business purposes, owing to the intense industrial activity and to the breakdown of the railways under the war strain.
The substitution of the motor-car for the horse was beneficial in various ways. In the first place the car is much more speedy and more comfortable for transport. With a motor-car a physi- cian, for instance, can extend his practice over a much wider territory; contractors can oversee more thoroughly a number of projects under way at the same time; stores and factories can deliver goods in the country, at distances of 30 m. or more, in their own vehicles, whereas with horses their delivery territory was limited to the city. Stables, always a nuisance and a breed- ing place of disease, have been practically eliminated from cities, and street-cleaning has been rendered much easier. Real estate remote from railways has in many instances considerably appreciated in value as a result of the advent of the motor-car, which rendered it accessible to the city man.
In the foregoing the utilitarian aspect of the motor-car has been specially emphasized. While cars are still being built that can properly be classed as vehicles of sport and luxury, they form a small proportion of the whole production. In New York City an annual show was established for this class of car; it started as the Importers' Salon, but during the World War, when the importation of European cars was hedged about with many difficulties, it gradually changed its character and became a show of high-grade domestic as well as imported cars. At the salon in Nov. 1920 there were exhibited cars selling at upward of $20,000, whereas a serviceable five-passenger car could be bought for as low a price as $550. The luxury cars exhibited at these shows were characterized by high power and high speed, elegant body finish, fine upholstery and superior equipment.
In tracing motor-car development in Europe between 1910 and 1921 it is necessary to distinguish two periods, before
