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In the annuals of history, the automobile flashed onto the scene like
a meteor, changing the entire economy and the national way-of-life.
No one was really prepared for it. Generations of horse-drawn road
transportation had created a complex system of industries on which
the automobile had a damaging effect; everybody from horse doctors
and harness-makers to blacksmiths. The continuing changes and the
reasons for them are obvious to us, but probably were not so obvious
to automotive pioneers. It was, after all, a learn-as-you-go process
with no precedents. For every inventor who made a fortune, hundreds
had their dreams crumble. Automobiles have ended the isolation of
rural communities and set an example of industrial efficiency for the
world to copy. It has also spoiled the cities and small towns as
neighborhoods are obliterated by highways smashing through; it has
polluted the environment, and caused shortages in natural resources.
Yet the car itself is still the object of endless fascination.
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