How has the Otto Cycle Engine changed the U.S economy?

Answer 1

There are six types of engines that drive vehicles. There are two types of steam engines, piston and turbine, the second type being quite rare. There are three types of internal combustion engines: two cycle, otto engines, and diesel engines. And there is the sterling engine in a very few experimental cars.

The Otto 4 cycle engine does not get the mileage of the diesel engine. It gets better mileage than the earlier 2 cycle engine.

A 2 cycle is much lighter than a 4 cycle engine. It is smaller and cheaper than a 4 cycle engine. It would not get the mileage of a 4 cycle engine. It would make sense to use a 2 cycle engine in something requiring light weight and high power that would not last real long. Lets try using it in power saws and motor bikes.

A diesel engine will last longer than a gasoline engine. It gets better mileage. It is much heavier. We will use it in large vehicles and in stationary applications.

So. It made sense to put an Otto engine in a smaller vehicle that would wear out sooner than a diesel engine would. That would be an Automobile and a light truck.

The first Automobiles and light trucks did not change the American economy. A farmer could get his crops to market much faster in a truck than in a horse drawn wagon. A person could go wherever they wanted much faster in an automobile than in a horse drawn carriage. A horse drawn hack changed to a taxi. The same man drove it. A blacksmith repaired wagons and cars.

The Otto Engine changed the way equipment was pulled through farmer's fields. Modified cars could pull equipment much faster than horses. The fields used for growing feed for horses could be diverted to other crops. With farm fields mechanized, many of the helpers needed to work the fields left for northern factories.

In the South, a number would return in September to pick cotton but that would be a brief trip back to the old home place for a month while the car companies retooled for new models.

As time has passed it has meant the death of the old industries. At one time steel mills had to be close to the automobile manufacturing companies. Shipping steel across the ocean simply was not practical. In fact shipping it to the South was not practical. Besides, the South did not have the concentrations of population to support large factories.

Automobiles changed that. People could come from miles around to work in factories. As long as factories had parking lots, people could drive to jobs. They did not have to live in a near by large town. They did not need to hop on a subway or train to get to work or have a bus going that way at exactly the right time. If a person needed to work late, they would not be out of luck if they missed the 5:15.

So. The change was gradual. It was cumulative. It was permanent.