In the early years of the twentieth century, automobiles were very costly. Each one was built separately by a small team of skilled workers. Most Americans did not have the money to own an automobile.

Then Henry Ford decided to make cars everyone could buy. He built them on an assembly line. Cars were put together, or assembled, as they moved slowly through the factory. Each worker did just one thing to the car before it moved on to the next worker. In this way, the Ford Motor Company could build cars more quickly and easily. And it could sell them for much less money.

KAY GALLANT: Before long, there were cars everywhere. All these cars created a need for better roads. Outside cities, most roads were made just of dirt. They were chokingly dusty in dry weather and impassably muddy in the rain.

They were rough and full of holes. Few bridges connected roads across rivers and streams. America's new drivers demanded that these problems be fixed. So, local and state governments began building and improving roads as they had never done before.

As new roads were built, many new businesses opened along them. There were gasoline stations and auto repair shops, of course. But soon there were eating places and hotels where travelers could eat and sleep. In the nineteen-twenties, the United States was becoming a nation of car-lovers.

MAURICE JOYCE: Cars changed more than the way Americans traveled. They changed the way Americans lived. They removed some of the limitations of living conditions.