The Weekly Goods 20th Century by Kashif O

Regulars: Letter from the Editor The Editor recaps on some of the most important advancements in the the 20th Century. Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Edit The Editor shows his views in a persuasion piece titled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Affect of the Jazz Age on the Country. Gamers Corner Complete a Crossword about all the Presidents from the 20th Century (Answers in next issue) Contest We honor Knick Dixon for reading our magazine in the most remote location.

The Editor taking a break in Florida, complete with fedora and tie.

Congrats

Congratulations, Mrs. Knick Dixon, you are the first and only reader to read The Weekly Goods on the North Pole. Your congratulatory flash drive will arrive shortly.

The Greatest Car of the Century

The Greatest Car of the Century What car was the greatest car of the century? Was it an exhilarating car like the McLaren F1? Or rather something more humble like the Citroen DS? Our writers set out to find the greatest car. The criteria was strict, cars had to have sold more than a million copies. Cars had to have been called the “peoples’ car” at one point. The car can no longer be bought brand new (to see overall sales) And the car had to have been featured in at least one movie. The five finalists were the Ford Model T, the original Mini, Fiat 500, Citroen DS and the original VW Beetle. After further examination the Citroen DS was weeded out because we could not find a movie containing it.

could expect to find replacement parts for the Fiat among the magazines and beer bottles. The Fiat like the Mini was also used in a variety of applications, a people hauler, an egg hauler and even a competitor in a rally special stage. To truly capture the essence of the Car of the Century is to find a car that captured the souls of a generation and defined an era. Only one car in the past century has the ability to conjure up so many feelings of nostalgia - the Volkswagen Beetle. The Beetle truly embodies the term “people car”, even the word Volkswagen means “peoples car”. The Beetle though designed by Nazi dictator, Adolf Hitler on a napkin became the bestselling car during its 60 year history. The Beetle while not our favorite car is functional, cheap ($12,242 inflation adjusted) and can be found in just about every country in the world. In excess of 27 million Beetles were produced and this lovable car and cult classic continues to be the most frequently restored vintage car in the world.

The Model T was one of the greatest cars in history for 2 main reasons; It was the first massproduced car and it is the 5th most successful car. The famous line of founder Henry Ford: “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants as long as it is black”, due to express production, no other color could dry as fast as black. The original Mini is also on this list not because it was the best selling car but because it was one of the most widely usable cars. These were found at racetracks, rally expeditions and even on fashion catwalks. We believe however that the new Mini does not serve as the reincarnation but rather just a reiteration, a copy meant to be similar to the original but never as a replacement to the original… The Fiat 500 is listed as if one were to visit Europe in the latter part of the 20th Century one

The New Beetle and Old Beetle are alike only in shape 9

Profiles in Courage

Cover Story: Profiles in Courage

otomy and other efforts failed to keep him alive. After he was pronounced dead around 1 PM, his body was removed against the wishes of Texas authorities and flown back to Washington aboard Air Force One with his wife Jackie and his successor, President Lyndon Johnson.

Who was one of the most influential and noteworMeanwhile, Lee Harvey Oswald, a former Marine thy American Presidents of the 20th Century? Yes, and defector to the Soviet Union, was arrested around John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the U. S. A. 2 PM at the Texas Theatre in the Oak Cliff suburb of JFK was born John May 29, 1917 to parents JoDallas and charged with murdering a police officer seph P. Kennedy, Sr., and Rose Fitzgerald. JFK was named J.D. Tippit. Protesting that he was "a patsy," the older brother of Robert F. Kennedy who later be- Oswald was paraded in front of the world's gathering came the New York State Senator and Edward M. cameras and accused of murdering President Kennedy Kennedy who later became the Massachusetts State as well. Oswald's defection were quickly covered in the Senator. nation's newspapers, in part because his curious proCastro activities to the attention of local Cuban exiles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jackâ&#x20AC;? as his friends called him was a Harvard graduate, and suffered many health problems during During an intended transfer to county facilities on Sunday morning the 24th, Oswald was shot and killed his adolescent years. In the spring of 1941, Kennedy on live television in the basement of the Dallas Police volunteered for the U.S. Army, but was rejected, bestation. His murderer was a local nightclub owner cause of his constant lower back problems. However with connections to organized crime named Jack in September of that year, the U.S. Navy accepted Ruby. him, because of the influence of the director of the Office of Naval Intelligence. On August 2, 1943, Kennedy's boat, the PT-109, was taking part in a nighttime patrol near the Solomon Islands when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Kennedy was thrown across the deck, injuring his already-troubled back. Nonetheless he saved a badly injured crew member earning him the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.

Overall John F. Kennedy will be remembered as one of the greatest Presidents, but we will never be able to find the truth behind his assassination.

In 1945 JFK was honorably discharged from the navy. This sparked his political career, and he eventually became the first Roman Catholic President. As President JFK had a major role in several significant events including, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, the African American Civil Rights Movement and early stages of the Vietnam War.

JFK and his wife Jackie Kennedy, before the fatal

On November 22, 1963 an assassin shot JFK in the back of the head, while JFK was riding in a motorcade shot. with his wife. Several photos and films captured the assassination, including the famous Zapruder Film. JFK was rushed to Parkland Hospital, where a trache-

“We’re all working together; that’s the secret. And we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone, not just in America, but we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better lifestyle, a better life for all. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished; we’ve just begun.” – Sam Walton (1918-1992)

Something They Don’t Teach in Class Rooms: Wal-Mart and Its Affect on the Community

higher sales volume by marking up slightly less than most competitors

There are several pros to a Wal-Mart moving to a neighborhood, Wal-Mart brings jobs to lesser developed areas, areas like Morrisville, NC. Wal-Mart and the surrounding areas then do well because people generally move to areas that have a Wal-Mart. Secondly when Wal-Mart first enters a town, it is faced with competition, Wal-Mart lowers their prices, thus making customers shop at the Wal-Mart and preventing them from shopping at the “mom and pop” shops. Thirdly, another pro to Wal-Mart is their Samuel Walton started Wal-Mart 48 years ago in Rogers, Arkansas, shortly after the 1962 Wall Street popularizing of the Just-in-Time inventory management system. The principles of just-in-time Crash. Now, 404 Billion dollars later and more than make sure that little money is wasted by inventory 8,300 stores later Wal-Mart is the world's largest accumulating in a storage room. Just-in-time uses public corporation. Which begs the question, what effect has Wal-Mart had on locally owned business? Is visual markers or buffer stock to assert workers to order new inventory, and as the last of batch of this the end of the "Mom and Pop Shop”? inventory is being sold a new batch is being ordered Sam, a businessman from Arkansas, began his and placed on shelves, thus just-in-time. retail career when he started work on June 3, 1940, at However there are just as many, and a J.C. Penney store in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1945, he potentially even more cons to Wal-Mart. The first of met Butler Brothers, a regional retailer that owned a which is the massive pollution and wasted fuel from source to store, because Wal-Mart uses far more imported goods than local goods. Wal-mart also forces its suppliers to outsource by buying enough of a product to become the major customer and thus relying on Wal-Mart for their continued operation, then forcing the suppliers to lower their prices. The only way companies can reach these lower prices is to move manufacturing jobs out of the U.S. into foreign sweatshops. Levi, Heinz, and Vlasic have all faced this problem. Also Wal-Mart Garments carrying a "Made in the USA" label generally indicate products made by American workers protected by U.S. labor laws, but some of Wal-Mart’s “American made” The original Walton’s 5 and dime still stands products are made in sweatshops in Saipan, a U.S. today in Newport, Arkansas. territory not subject to labor laws. chain of variety stores called Ben Franklin and offered The second reason why Wal-Mart is negatively him one in Newport, Arkansas. A few years later he affecting communities is its devastating influence on opened "Walton's Five and Dime." There, he achieved “Mom and Pop” shops. When these stores close down 13

Something They Don’t Teach in Class Rooms: Wal-Mart and Its Affect on the the people working at them can no longer buy from

Wal-Mart offers. Unless the employee has a spouse with

their suppliers and other local businesses, who can no medical benefits, healthcare is usually paid for by the longer buy from their suppliers, which then continues government. Wal-Mart does have liability insurance, the domino effect. Wal-Mart does promise to bring

but there is no medical pay out. An injured person is

jobs, but they also take away three jobs, for every two

forced to sue Wal-Mart to collect medical expenses, lost wages and legal expenses; Wal-Mart chooses to spend taxpayer dollars in court rather than pay the entire medical expenses of injured parties. Fourthly, Wal-Mart’s wages are insanely low. As of 2008, a full time Wal-Mart associate earns 16% less than the average retail wage, not so bad? Last year, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott earned $29.7 million in total compensation, or 1,551 times the annual income of the average full time Wal-Mart associate. The average full time associate (34 hours per week) earns $10.84 hourly for an annual income of $19,165. That’s $2,000 below

The outside of a Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas.

the Federal Poverty Line for a family of four. Wal-

jobs created. Yes, Wal-Mart does sell many things so all Mart spokesperson Mona Williams was quoted in 2004 for admitting that, “More than two thirds of our the unemployed people can survive, but there is a saddening truth that follows the eradication of the

people…are not trying to support a family…that’s who

corner five and dime. When Wal-Mart first enters a

our jobs are designed for. However, what happens to all

town, they intentionally undercut the prices of local

the people working at mom and pop shops and their

retailers, once the local main street has become a ghost town with all the smaller retailers forced to close down due to cheaper price and competition from Wal-Mart, then Wal-Mart’s prices start to drift upward. This was proven by a Bentonville, Arkansas newspaper that tested the prices of 6 Wal-Marts against other stores. Out of 19 household items, Wal-Mart was cheapest on only 2. The third truth is Wal-Mart’s adverse spending of American tax dollars. More than one half of WalMart's 1.4 million U.S. employees qualify for federal assistance under the food stamp program and only 40% of Wal-Mart workers can afford the healthcare plan that 16

Something They Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Teach in Class Rooms: Wal-Mart and Its Affect on the Community the greatest, but other large retailers like Target and Sears are also guilty of removing business from smaller stores. Current WalMartsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; should be

A comic illustrating the lowest things at Wal-Mart, created by the author.

embraced as they can provide us

aforementioned suppliers all of whom have families?

with almost everything under one roof, but we should

They starve of course.

not embrace them too much as we just might end up

Which brings us to the final truth, Wal-Mart

working there.

can raise wages without drastically raising prices. WalMart could give each of its workers a $1 per hour raise without affecting their annual $12 billion profit margin, by raising prices only one half of one penny per dollar. For instance, a $2.00 pair of socks would then cost $2.01. That half of a cent would add up to a $1,800 raise for each employee. A 2007 study found that WalMart could increase its starting wage to $10 per hour,

listed on the New York

customers, it would only need to increase prices by

Fast facts: In 2008 it was the

0.9%. This works out to $0.36 per shopping trip, or

world's largest public

1972. Wal-Mart is the

$9.70 per year, for the average Wal-Mart customer.

corporation by reve-

largest private em-

nue, according to

ployer and the larg-

the mom and pop shop, but is not the only enemy, nor

the Fortune Global

est grocery retailer in

should current Wal-Marts be boycotted. Wal-Mart just

500 for that year. The

needs to slow down their placement of stores. In some

the United States. It

company was founded also owns and operby Sam Walton in ates the Sam's

and even if were to pass 100 percent of the cost onto

In conclusion Wal-Mart is bringing the end of

areas like Morrisville, NC. Wal-Mart is a great addition both for Mr. Scott as well as the town people. People also need to look at the other big box retailers, because people only focus on Wal-Mart as it is the largest and

Stock Exchange in

1962, incorporated on

Club retail ware-

October 31, 1969, and

houses in North AmerPa ge 1 7

Press Start to Begin; the History of the Videogame

Press Start to Begin; the History of the Videogame The videogame console, has steadily become a staple in the American home, but this American entertainment device did not find its roots in the U. S. A. or Japan, the video game console found its roots in Germany.

Nintendo releases the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. The NES soon broke records and became the best-selling console in videogame history. Later that year Nintendo released Super Mario Bros selling 10 million copies before the end of the year and becoming the top selling video game of all time. In 1989 Nintendo released the Gameboy, the first hand held videogame device and it was an instant success selling 118

In 1967 Ralf Baer and his German coworkers designed the first videogame console. After designing the first The NES, the best selling console in hisgame, which was a simple “chase game” the team went on tory. to develop a total of 12 games. This console would be known as the “Brown Box”. The Brown box was a worthmillion worldwide. while product however it did not become the first home videogame. The PlayStation is released by Sony in

Later other consoles were built however due to the 1995, marking a completely new era in videogames. With sheer number of consoles; the best way to look at these con- CD-ROM technology, the price of PlayStation games drops dramatically from those of cartridge based games. soles would be by generation. The “Brown Box” would be the first and only console in generation 1. In 1996 Nintendo releases the N64 markIn 1972, the world’s first home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey is released. It sold a total of 330,000 units over its lifespan. Also in 1972 PONG was released, it becomes the first commercially successful video game.

ing the last mass-market system to use cartridges. Though more expensive, N64 cartridges load much faster than CDRom games but suffer from many of the traditional flaws inherent in cartridge style games – dust buildup and incorrect cartridge insertion.

In 1977 Atari released the Video Game Computer System (Atari 2600). It was the most successful video game console of its time. That same year, Nintendo released the Color TU Game 6, which had 6 variations of pong. Atari goes on to open the first Pizza Time Theater, which later becomes Chuck E. Cheese’s.

At the end of the century Sony releases the PlayStation 2, the first 128 bit system, featuring backward compliance - having the ability to play older PlayStation games as well. The PlayStation 2 quickly becomes the most popular console by targeting and older more affluent market of college students and recent graduates with more disposable income than previous gamers. The PS2 also marks the rise in popularity of console games played over highspeed internet connections.

At the beginning of the third generation Space Invaders is released it was one of the earliest shooting games and the aim was to defeat waves of aliens with a laser cannon to earn as many points as possible. In 1980 Pacman is released and it is still universally considered as one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games, and an icon of the 1980s popular culture. In 1981 Donkey Kong and Frogger are released

The Jazz Age and its Effects on the Country

The Jazz Age and its Effects on the Country The Jazz Age was a time of joy and prosperity, but people paid the price with the disheartening Great Depression. In simpler terms peoples zany spending and carefree lifestyles in the Jazz Age impacted everyone’s way of life in Great Depression. Fitzgerald was the first to call a period in the roaring twenties the "Jazz Age" retrospectively to refer to the decade after World War I and before the stock market crash in 1929, during which Americans embarked upon what he called "the gaudiest spree in history." The Jazz Age is inextricably associated with the wealthy white "flappers", which were young women that scorned the conventions of etiquette and established style similar to what we know today. The image to the left is a cover from life magazine in the 1920’s, is proves that people in the Jazz Age had a great time. Another thing to note in the image is the high quality of clothing, the woman’s pearl necklace, something that changed tremendously in the imminent Depression. “Flappers” in the jazz age were to their parent as hippies in the 60’s were to their parents, and punk to their parents today. This “Flapper Code” is an example of a Flapper declaring their Flapperhood.“If one judge by appearances, I suppose I am a flapper. I am within the age limit. I wear bobbed hair, the badge of flapper hood. (And, oh, what a comfort it is!), I powder my nose. I wear fringed skirts and bright-colored sweaters, and scarves, and waists with Peter Pan collars, and low- heeled "finale hopper" shoes. I adore dancing. I spend a large amount of time in automobiles. I attend hops, and proms, and ball-games, and crew races, and other affairs at men's colleges. But none the less some of the most thoroughbred super flappers might blush to claim sister ship or even remote relationship with such as I…”

day" with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The Great Depression had devastating effects in virtually every country, rich and poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, and international trade plunged by a half to two-thirds. Unemployment in the United States rose to 25%, and in some countries rose as high as 33%. One painting depicts the common emotion during the 1930’s, Migrant Mother, by Dorothea Lange. (Shown on the right). Lange’s field notes remarked, “Seven hungry children. Father is native Californian. Destitute in pea pickers’ camp … because of failure of the early pea crop. These people had just sold their tires to buy food." Many women were left no other option, but to play mothers, wives, workers, and teachers simultaneously. As if a character from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, the subject represents the backbone to the family unit as she supports (literally) her children in the photo. Thus, people in the Jazz Age had their fun and their dancA woman in the Depression ing, but they paid for this great time with the terrible Great Depression. Clothing changed, the upper class disappeared and the common goal changed from having fun to surviving and trying to get through.

The Great Depression began on "Black Tues20

The History Flight; a History of the Airplane

The History of Flight; a History of the Airplane Aviation was really born on the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, N.C., when Orville Wright crawled into his prone position between the wings of the biplane he and his brother Wilbur had built, opened the throttle of their homemade 12horsepower engine, and took to the air. He covered 120 ft in 12 sec. Later that day, in one of four flights, Wilbur stayed up 59 Orville and Wilbur Wrightsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; seconds and Wright Flyer covered 852 ft. Less than two decades later British aviators Alcock and Brown made the first nonstop transatlantic flight in June 1919. They flew a modified World War I Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland to Clifden, Ireland. Winston Churchill presented them with the Daily Mail prize for the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in "less than 72 consecutive hours" and they were knighted by King George V.

The Vickers Vimy that crossed the Atlantic Ocean

In 1947 Capt. Charles E. Yeager the famed U.S.A.F pilot and test pilot became the first man to reach mach 1. He flew the X-1 rocketpowered research The Bell X-1, the first plane to fly plane built by faster than the speed of sound. Bell Aircraft Corp., faster than the speed of sound at Muroc Air Force Base, Calif. Today almost all military fixed wing fighter jets have the ability to fly above the speed of sound. More recently certain jet powered passenger aircrafts have the ability to travel at the speed of sound. The North American The Xâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;15, the worlds fastest plane. X-15, a rocket-powered research aircraft, bridged the gap between manned flight in the atmosphere and space flight. After its initial test flights in 1959, the X-15 became the first winged aircraft to attain hypersonic velocities of Mach 4, 5, and 6 (four to six times the speed of sound) and to operate at altitudes well above 30,500 meters (100,000 feet). The X-15 was carried to an altitude of 12,000 meters (40,000 feet) under the wing of a Boeing B-52 bomber. During one test, it attained an altitude of over 108 kilometers (67 miles), flying so high that it functioned more as a spacecraft than an airplane. In 1967 it reached Mach 6.72 (7,297 kilometers or 4,534 miles per hour)..

The History Flight; a History of the Airplane The Concorde was the first commercially viable supersonic passenger plane. Many people that have flown on the Concorde regard it as the pinnacle of travel. On every transatlantic flight caviar and champagne was served, with passengers receiving personalized apparel and monogrammed stationary. The Concorde was first flown in 1969, and continues to fly after 27 years.

The Concorde, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fastest passenger aircraft. Air travel has progressed tremendously from the days of early flight at Kitty Hawk. Air transportation has become common, with several million people taking to the skies every year. During the first commercial passenger flights, passengers were not allowed any luggage, only basic food and refreshments, nowadays passengers travel in comfort, with fully catered meals, comfortable cabins and luggage allowed. The airplane has rapidly advanced since its beginning and bears little resemblance to its original form. With new shapes and engines constantly being redesigned, the new century should bring radical evolution to air transportation as we know it.

Gamers Corner

The Presidential Pickle; A 20th Century Presidential Crossword

Across 1. The youngest person ever elected President. 4. Sworn into office on an airplane. 5. Won election with 271 electoral votes. 7. Only President to resign. 8. Preceded Franklin D. Roosevelt. 10. Peanut farmer. 12. Won with the greatest number of electoral votes. 13. Born in Lamar, Missouri. 14. He swore in Presidents Coolidge and Hoover.

Down 2. General in Word War II 3. First President to have regularly scheduled press conferences. 6. 30th President of the United States. 8. Died in office on Aug 2, 1923. 9. Served the longest time in office. 10. 42nd President of the United States. 11. Only President who did not win election as either Vice-President or President 24

Letter from the Editor; a Century in a Page

Letter from the Editor; a Century in a Page The 20th Century has been an exciting time both in U.S. history as well as in the history of the world. The century has truly left its mark and shaped the future of the world.

tionals have sprung up, businesses that have a permanent place in history. Businesses include Samuel Walton’s, Walmart, and Steve Job’s, Apple Computers. Such businesses have cemented themselves in history, by finding the right niche at the right time and popularizing their products through effective marketing or cutthroat pricing.

Great progress hinges on great leadership, the 20th Century would not have had rapid innovation and growth without great leaders. This list includes: MuThe U.S. has been involved in 5 major wars all hammad Ali, an African-American boxer widely rehaving a different impact and end result. Firstly, garded as one of the best and most loved boxers of all World War I, the first of the great wars, a war that left time, The Beatles, a euro rock band universally reparts of Europe crippled and boosted the prominence garded as the greatest band in history. Albert Einof the U.S. Secondly, World War II, the war that cripstein, the science and physics genius that failed high pled all of Europe, parts of Asia and North America. school, Mahatma Ghandi, a true peacekeeper and adDuring this war every country in the world made vocate of non-violent resistance. FDR a man who inrapid advances in aerial and surface combat. The spired and motivated the nation and in turn the world death toll and atrocities were staggering, all politiout of the greatest depression in history, and part of cians swore off wars after seeing the massive destructhe world out of the depression. Michael Jackson, a tion. Thirdly, the Korean War, a battle that no matter prominent singer, across all demographics, Nelson how well thought out will always result in an impasse. Mandela, activist turned pacifist, a man imprisoned Fourth, the Vietnam War, which showed the world a for most of his life who forgave those who imprisoned new hands-on approach to surface warfare, with gohim. On the lighter side, Pikachu from Pokémon and rilla techniques. The U.S. suffered severe casualties Mario from well Mario, both popular pop culture figover several years in a war that was only intended to ures that are recognized the world over. And finally last a few months. Lastly, the Gulf War, the true techJFK, this country’s greatest President. nological war, utilizing UAV’s and satellite technology. The 20th Century reflects the Industrial RevoOver the course of the 20th Century almost lution in many ways, technologies advanced, countries every person has felt the affects of globalization and and people were brought closer and the world has adimproved transportation, with advancements in aviavanced so much that people in the 19th Century could tion, automobiles and watercraft. At the beginning of not begin to imagine what we take for granted. Thus the century no one measured speed in miles per hour, the 20th Century has brought massive technological breaking of the sound barrier and alternative energy advancements and shaped nations thru an endless was only heard of in sci-fi books. battle. During this century every country has become If the next century bring about half as much globalized, at the beginning of the century someone innovation and change as the 20th century, many who lived in New York could not find caviar from the ideas and concepts from this centuries boldest minds Baltic, but closer to the end of the century advancewill soon become reality. Concepts such as space coloments in transportation allowed one to enjoy foreign nization, personal flight and unlimited renewable endelicacies by walking down the road. ergy might be closer than we think. Onward… Since the beginning of the century, multina25

An Automotive Timeline

An Automotive Timeline First Internal Combustion Engine – 1823 The internal combustion engine is widely known as the heart of any modern car, but when and where was the first internal combustion made? This depends on your view of the first internal combustion engine. There were many drawings and prototypes going as far back to Da Vinci, but the first successful internal combustion engine was designed and created by Samuel Brown, the only flaw in Brown’s design is that he used Da Vinci technology which produced highly inefficient power.

Carroll Shelby International. First Car to exceed 100 MPH – 1904 How fast can your soccer mom van go? 90mph? Some cars as early as 1904 were faster than that. Louis Rigolly pushed his 15-liter Gobron-Brillié to an unheard of 103.56 MPH or 166.66 kilometers per hour making the Gobron-Brillié the world's first car to reach 100 MPH and Louis Rigolly the first driver to do so. My suggestion? Get a Bugatti Veyron. Formulation of GM – 1908 Who is GM? What is this Big Three? General Motors was founded in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for Buick. GM is widely regarded as one of the “Detroit Three” or “The Big Three”. GM is also the parent company for several other American car companies, including; GMC, Chevrolet and Cadillac.

First Automobile – 1885

First mass-produced car – 1908

What was the first automobile? No, it was not the Model T, the Model T was the first automobile to be mass produced on an assembly line. The Karl Benz Patent Motorwagen (or motorcar) was the first automobile, that is, a vehicle designed to be propelled by a motor. Other earlier cars were powered under their own steam, (no pun intended), but the Motorwagen was the first successful automobile.

Before a wise man name Henry Ford started producing automibles, you had to wait over a month for your car. Ford started producing the Model T, dubbed the Tin Lizzie on a production line, something new to the people of 19th Century America and revolutionized how cars were produced. His famous saying goes, “You can have it in any color as long as its black.” His reasoning? Black paint dries faster allowing for more cars to be produced in a given timeframe.

First Car to have drum brakes – 1902 Can you believe a car without brakes? The modern automobile drum brake was invented by Louis Renault, though a less-sophisticated drum brake had been used by Maybach a year earlier. Formulation of Ford – 1903 What is Ford? Are they connected to Mercury? The Ford Motor Company was launched in a converted factory with $28,000 in cash from twelve investors, most notably John and Horace Dodge (who would later become the founders of Dodge). Henry Ford's first attempt under his name was the Henry Ford Company on November 3, 1901, which became the Cadillac Motor Company on August 22, 1902. Ford is widely regarded as one of the “Detroit Three” or “The Big Three”. Ford is also the parent company for several other American car companies, including; Lincoln and Mercury. Ford also has produced many vehicles with SVT, their in-house tuning firm, and

First Car with layout of today - 1916 Did you know that what we think of as common layout for the automobile i.e. clutch, brake, accelerator, gear shifter and handbrake on the center console, was not the common layout for cars in the early 20th Century. Some cars didn’t even have an ignition; one had to crank a lever on the front of the car. The first car to have this modern layout was the Cadillac Type 53. Formulation of Chrysler – 1925 The company was founded by Walter Chrysler when the Maxwell Motor Company (est. 1904) was reorganized into the Chrysler Corporation. Chrysler is widely regarded as one of the “Detroit Three” or “The Big Three”. Chrysler is also the parent company for several other American car companies, including; Dodge, Jeep and the Ram sub brand. Chrysler also has produced many vehicles with SRT their in-house tuning firm. 26

An Automotive Timeline First car with power steering – 1926 Your car has heavy steering? Try a car without power steering. Francis Wright Davis used a Pierce-Arrow to introduce the first power steering system. It works by integrating the steering linkage with a hydraulic system. First suspension system – 1931

How is that bumpy ride in your sports car, with super hard suspension? Some cars had no suspension. Karl Benz, was once again ahead of the game. Mercedes-Benz introduced the first modern independent front suspension system, giving cars a smoother ride and better handling. By making each front wheel independent of the other though attached to a single axle, independent front suspension minimizes the transfer of road shock from one wheel to the other.

First air-conditioned car – 1939 Sure you wish your car had a five zone climate control like that on the Maybach, but at least your car has air conditioning. The Nash Motor Company was the first to add air conditioning system to their cars. First Car to have disc brakes - 1954 Sure cars had drum brakes, but those aren’t great at stopping the faster cars that had started to be produced in the 50s, cue disc brakes. Several cars featured disc brakes as early as 1902, but these designs were ineffective. The first production car to feature disc brakes at all 4 corners was the Austin-Healey 100S. Air bags become standard - 1973 Crashed? Think airbags are your enemy? They might have saved your life. The Oldsmobile Toronado was the first car with passenger air bag intended for sale to the public. Cadillac’s were available with driver and passenger airbags options during the same year. The Oil Crisis - 1973 Think gas prices are expensive now? The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries ) proclaimed an oil embargo "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war; it lasted until March 1974. On 27

Annotated Bibliography

Was a basic springboard for the article about aviation. Much of the other information not cited here was previous knowledge from readings.

Wikipedia was used as the main fact source, other smaller sites were used as well.

Wikipedia contributors. "WalMart." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 May. 2010. Web. 10 May. 2010. I used this website to obtain most of the information for the Wal-Mart article. Wikipedia contributors. "WalMart." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 May. 2010. Web. 10 May. 2010. I used this website to obtain most information for the section about the Wright Brothers. Wikipedia contributors. "North American X15." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 May. 2010. Web. 10 May. 2010. This website was used to gather information about the world’s fastest plane. The article at : http://www.ideamouth.com/ politics/walmartflyer.pdf was extensively used in the Wal– Mart article "Famous Firsts in Aviation." Infoplease. © 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease. 10 May. 2010 <http://www.infoplease.com/ ipa/A0004537.html>. 28