1909 Maytag touring car
Colby Red Devil, ca. 1913
Interior view of the Mason Motor Car Company
Mason automobile 
Rolled car
Wrecked Automobile, Forest City, 1935
construction department in the colby Motor Company
Car Stuck in Dirt Roads
Car in Muddy Road Rut, ca. 1920
Auto Gassing Up, ca. 1918-1922
Changing a Tire
Busy Downtown Streets, Early 1900sAutomobiles
The Way to Go
Today we take cars for granted.
They are everywhere, most families own at least one car— usually more!
Buses provide transportation in cities as well as for cross-country travel.
Trucks deliver goods all over the country. We would not know how to get along
without these forms of transportation.
Back in 1900 horses provided power for most travel. People usually thought
in terms of ten-mile trips. If they wanted to go farther, they planned to
take a train. Railroad depots were usually no more than ten miles from where
a person lived. Trains came and went often. For example, in the town of Jefferson
there were seven westbound and six eastbound trains daily.
But trains had their limitations. Railroad transportation began and ended
at the depot. For trips between town and farm, for emergencies, or for pleasure
riding, people used a buggy or a wagon, pulled by horses.
Then came the gasoline engine powered automobile. It solved the problem of faster than wagons, short-range transportation,
and it bridged the gap between the railroad station and a traveler's final
destination.
Iowans Love Their Cars
By 1922 Iowa was second (behind
California) in the number of automoblies per person in the state. For every
five Iowans there was one car. Even during the Great Depression (the 1920s
and 1930s) when people had little money and many were losing their farms and
businesses, automobiles remained in use. By then cars were considered necessary
by those who owned them. Although the number of cars purchased decreased,
people repaired their old cars and kept them running.
During the early 1940s the nation was at war. Passenger autos went out of
production while factories turned out tanks, machine guns and airplanes for
the armed forces. By the time the war was over in 1945, the cars people owned
were five or six years old. Manufacturers could barely keep up with the sudden and increased demand. More people
wanted and purchased cars each year.
By the 1960s the problems created by the large number of cars in use could
not be ignored. The exhaust from autos polluted the air. Accident rates climbed
as careless and drunken drivers continued to use the highways. In 1973 gasoline consumption
was higher than the supply of gas. Gasoline shortages, combined with high
prices for fuel, caused people to think about the way they used their cars.
Some people decided to use other means of transportation when they could.
The state of Iowa helped to finance 18 city bus systems to encourage more
efficient fuel use.
Periodically, as gas prices go up or down, Iowans begin to think differently
about their vehicles. Some may even think they wish they didn't have cars.
But almost 100 years ago Iowans got their first taste of automobile travel,
and it seems there's no turning back!
