In this blog post, we will look at how cars have gone beyond being a simple means of transportation to become the engine of human civilization by transforming industry and culture.
Technology changes society, and the culture and daily lives of people within that changed society gradually change as well. Technological advances do not simply make human life more convenient, but fundamentally change the structure and patterns of society, forming new cultures and lifestyles. We can witness these changes in how deeply smartphones, the Internet, and various digital technologies have taken root in our daily lives. These changes have a significant impact on how people communicate, work, and enjoy their leisure time. New technologies themselves can form industrial ecosystems, and the advantages they offer can lead to efficient and innovative system changes.
The advent of automobiles is a prime example of how technology has influenced human history. Cars are more than just a means of transportation; they presented a new economic paradigm as part of the industrial revolution, which accelerated social change around the world. Cars are the epitome of the machine industry, consisting of an outer body, core components such as an engine and power transmission system, and hundreds of large and small parts that make up the core components. Various materials such as steel, glass, rubber, and textiles are required to manufacture a single automobile, and the processes of processing and assembling these materials require advanced technology and precision. New technologies are continuously developed and applied in this process, which has a ripple effect not only on the automobile industry but also on other industries.
The automobile industry itself has great economic value, but the countless industries derived from it, such as transportation, petroleum refining, and maintenance, account for a significant portion of the development of modern society. It has also made a significant contribution to the quality of human life, and even today, smart cars, personal transportation, and driverless cars are considered to be the biggest factors in future growth.
The background to the emergence of automobiles lies in the simple human instinct to move from place to place. In order for humans to live, their basic needs must be met, and various goods are necessary to fulfill these needs. The problem lies in the difference in location between goods and humans. Therefore, whether humans themselves move or goods are moved, movement is necessary, and it is this instinct and desire that led to the development of means of transportation. People used early forms of transportation such as carriages and carts to meet their transportation needs, which gradually developed into mechanized forms. Airplanes, ships, trains, and automobiles were invented to travel along the three routes available to humans: air, water, and land. The automobile is a means of transportation that runs on land, which is the easiest to use, but does not use rails.
A car is defined in the Road Transportation Vehicle Act as “a device manufactured for the purpose of moving on land by means of a motor,” and in the KS Industrial Standards as “a vehicle equipped with a motor and steering device that can travel on the ground using these devices.” The Road Transportation Vehicle Act emphasizes behavior on roads and emphasizes the “purpose of movement on land,” while industrial standards emphasize mechanical devices such as “engines” and “steering devices.” Although there are slight differences, overall, automobiles can be defined as vehicles that move on land with an “engine” that generates mechanical energy and a “steering device” that sets the direction. Accordingly, motorcycles are classified as automobiles because they have engines and handlebars and run on roads. Strictly speaking, electric bikes and kickboards, which have recently become popular, are also two-wheeled “automobiles” that run on electricity. On the other hand, bicycles are not classified as automobiles because they do not have engines, and trains are not classified as automobiles because they run on rails rather than roads, even though they have engines and steering devices.
In addition to the engine and steering system, there are many other components that make up an actual automobile. First, automobiles are broadly divided into the body and the chassis. The body is the foundation of the automobile, supporting its movement and carrying people and objects. An excellent car body must be strong enough to run on the road without changing shape, flexible enough to protect the driver in the event of a collision, and light enough to reduce fuel consumption and increase stability. Vehicles can also be classified by their car bodies. The car body is the outer shell of a car, and its design and function vary depending on its shape. For example, a car with two doors and a low roof is a coupe, while a car with a roof that extends horizontally to the trunk is a wagon. SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles) have a higher overall height and ground clearance than ordinary cars, while trucks have a roofless cargo bed. The body is the identity of a car that provides the most information to ordinary users.
The remaining elements of a car, excluding the body, are called the chassis. Therefore, the chassis consists of various mechanical devices related to the performance, function, and safety of the car. The main components of the chassis include the engine, steering system, power transmission system, suspension system, wheels and tires, and braking system, which were mentioned in the definition of a car above. The power transmission device transmits power generated by the engine to the wheels, the suspension system mitigates shocks to the car to improve ride comfort, the wheels and tires absorb shocks between the ground and the car, and the braking system controls the driving speed and stops the car. Like the car body, cars are also classified according to their main chassis components. Typically, cars are classified according to their engines as gasoline cars, diesel cars, LPG cars, LNG cars, and electric cars. Gasoline cars use gasoline as fuel and have a spark ignition engine that ignites a mixture of air and fuel with an ignition device to cause an explosion. Since the explosion is caused by the ignition device, it can explode at relatively low temperatures, which has the advantages of good output and low noise. Therefore, they are often used in luxury passenger cars for their comfortable ride. Diesel cars, which are the most widely used cars along with gasoline cars, use a compression ignition engine that compresses diesel fuel to cause self-ignition. Although self-ignition causes loud noise and low power, diesel cars are widely used in SUVs and large vehicles due to their high power and fuel efficiency. LPG and LNG are natural fuels that cause little environmental pollution and are characterized by high efficiency and high energy storage density. Each engine has different characteristics, and the types of cars that require those characteristics vary, so the type of engine is a very important factor in determining the characteristics of a car. In addition to the engine, numerous other devices have their own roles, and their functions combine to create a complex mechanical device called an automobile.
Automobiles are also classified according to their purpose, in addition to their body type and engine. Early automobiles were invented for the purpose of moving people from place to place, so they were broadly classified into passenger cars for transporting people and trucks for transporting goods. However, as society diversified and automobiles were required to perform various functions, special-purpose vehicles with specific uses began to appear. Examples of special-purpose vehicles include fire trucks for extinguishing fires, tow trucks for towing cars, and construction vehicles such as excavators used at construction sites. There are also recreational vehicles used for human entertainment. These are not designed to move people or perform special functions, but are simply made for people’s enjoyment. These vehicles have developed into various forms, such as all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) for off-road use and racing cars for racing. In addition, vehicles for leisure activities, such as camper vans, have become popular in recent years. The existence of automobiles with various uses gives us an idea of how many roles automobiles play in our society.
Cars, a product of such advanced civilization, were first created in Europe in the 17th century. British scientist John Haworth built a spring-powered car in 1633, and in 1680, Newton planned a self-propelled car that used steam to create recoil. However, strictly speaking, these cars cannot be considered to be cars that use a “prime mover” because they were unable to convert other energy sources into mechanical energy. The first car that actually fits the definition was a steam-powered car built in 1770, which converted the linear motion of a piston using steam into rotational motion. With time, steam-powered cars gradually developed and became a means of public transportation in the early 19th century. However, they were not suitable for personal use due to their large size, heavy weight, and delays in steam generation, and they did not have a significant impact on society as automobiles. The real social changes brought about by automobiles were due to electric cars and internal combustion engines. After British inventor Davidson built an electric car in 1873, technology for making small, efficient cars developed, and Ford established a mass production line for practical cars, which led to major changes in society.
Small, efficient, and practical cars owned by individuals were so shocking that they changed the paradigm. In the days when transportation was limited to bridges, people could only travel a few dozen kilometers a day. Even with horses and oxen, it was difficult to travel more than 100 km, and it was even more difficult for the common people to use them. Therefore, the advent of automobiles that ordinary people could own was very revolutionary. The distance that could be traveled in a day increased to hundreds of kilometers, and places that used to take hours to reach could now be reached in just a few minutes. More importantly, the majority of the population was able to enjoy these benefits. With industrialization and scientific development, organic connections and flows between multiple systems and individual systems became important in society. The role of automobiles is to serve as a means of transportation that keeps this flow going. They are like red blood cells flowing through the blood vessels in the human body. Like red blood cells, automobiles are small and efficient, supplying the materials and manpower necessary to maintain the system in every corner of the land. The advent of automobiles is similar to the cure of anemia. Anemia is a disease in which there is a lack of red blood cells or hemoglobin, which carries oxygen. People with anemia cannot engage in dynamic physical activity because even a little exercise can cause oxygen deficiency, which is dangerous. However, just as healthy people can move quickly and exercise, the invention of the private car has given society a driving force to become more dynamic and develop rapidly.
The current automotive industry has a tremendous impact on industry and the economy. With a history of more than 130 years, the automotive industry is the oldest existing industry, the largest industry in the world, and an industry that is still growing today. Management guru Dr. P. Drucker referred to the automotive industry as the “industry of industries” in consideration of its objective scale and influence. As we have seen with the numerous devices and parts mentioned above, the automotive industry requires tremendous technological capabilities and supporting industries, and it is a concept that includes upstream industries such as materials, research, and manufacturing equipment prior to manufacturing, as well as downstream industries such as sales, maintenance, distribution, and service industries after manufacturing. The automotive industry contributes greatly to the national economy and accounts for a large share of imports and exports. As of 2023, the share of automobile-related tax revenue in South Korea has decreased slightly due to the spread of electric and eco-friendly vehicles and reduced fuel consumption, but it still plays an important role in the national finances.
However, there are also significant negative effects. A representative example is air pollution. Carbon dioxide emissions are causing tremendous problems for the atmosphere, along with an increase in fine dust from diesel vehicle exhaust and tire wear. Electric and hybrid vehicles are emerging as alternatives to solve exhaust gas problems, and their development and advancement are actively underway. However, research by the National Institute of Environmental Science shows that fine dust emissions from tire wear rank second among all causes, highlighting the need for awareness of tires. Land pollution from the construction of roads, which are the infrastructure for automobiles, is also serious. As asphalt blocks the soil from the outside and causes it to rot, there is a growing need to develop environmentally friendly asphalt. In addition to environmental issues, social problems such as traffic accidents and lack of parking spaces continue to arise. Recently, there has been a social movement to solve the cost problems associated with car ownership and the inefficient use of car space through car sharing.
Cars, which are the embodiment of human technological progress and industrialization and a source of livelihood for hundreds of millions of people, are still evolving. Smart cars, which automatically and organically connect cars, drivers, the surrounding environment, and transportation infrastructure to provide services, have been selected as one of South Korea’s 19 key future growth engines. Major companies such as Google, Apple, Baidu, and Microsoft are already conducting research and development on autonomous vehicles. In addition, new personal transportation means such as electric bikes and electric wheels are opening a new chapter in the automotive industry. The electric vehicle market is already growing every year, and related legislation is steadily being proposed, laying the foundation for electric vehicles to take root in society. Electric vehicles are particularly popular among young people in their 20s and 30s due to their low price and efficiency. These new technologies are going beyond the development of the automotive industry and leading to changes in transportation infrastructure and urban planning, which will ultimately reshape the way we live. Automobiles, which are called the flower of the mechanical and electronic industry and have led the development of humankind, are now leading the way to the future with smart cars, autonomous vehicles, and new personal transportation.
