Since the development of the steam engine people were interested in creating self-powered vehicles, this manifested itself during the industrial revolution as the train. However, as time went on, people became interested in creating a vehicle that wasn't confined to tracks. The first attempts were moderately successful but served little practical purpose. Automobiles first truly began to become popular with the invention of the electric motor which created cheaper, more powerful and safer cars. However, cars still had numerous problems and were mostly in the hands of the wealthy. It was the development of the internal combustion engine and the assembly line that truly succeeded in creating a vehicle that was practical and usable by all and pushed the automobile into the heart of American culture and made it one of the most significant inventions of the post-war period. -era of the industrial revolution, which led to a complete revolution of society. The first prototypes of self-powered vehicles began in the 1700s with the first built by Nicholas Cugnot, weighing over 8000 pounds and having a top speed of 2 miles per hour (Bottorff). This large size and slow speed meant that it was not practical as a car. Many other prototype vehicles were built in this style by various inventors but they were so heavy that they required metal rails to guide them, and so over time they evolved into trains and locomotives (Bottorff). Trains and steam power continued to develop, and interest in a self-powered vehicle that did not require tracks waned, until the mid-1800s, when new developments in power sources encouraged the development of the automobile. The first automobiles were powered by steam; however, it was a very poor source of energy due to... middle of paper......8-1969., 1954-1963"The Fuel & Engine". Car Bibles. NP, Dec. 15, 2013. Web. Feb. 23, 2014. “Henry Ford and the Assembly Line.” History of the 20th century. Np, nd Web. 23 February 2014. “Henry Ford Changes the World, 1908.” Eyewitness to history. Np, nd Web. 23 February 2014. “Internal Combustion Engine.” Information, please. Np, nd Web. 23 February 2014. “World's first electric car built by Victorian inventor in 1884.” The telegraph. Np, 24 April 2009. Web. 23 February. 2014. .