The Automobile: A Necessity Even 100 Years Ago

—“The Place of the Automobile,” Editorial from the May 10, 1924, issue of The Saturday Evening Post

The automobile has become an American institution. [Today, 83 percent of] automobiles in use throughout the world are in the United States — one car for every 7.3 persons. Over six million families in this country own cars on incomes of $40 a week or less. It must be acknowledged that many persons are buying cars who are not in a position to afford them; but bank savings are larger than ever before.

The motor car has passed out of the luxury class and become practically a necessity … a fixture with the average family and must be recognized as such. Food, clothing, and shelter are the three basic necessities, but over the years, we have kept adding one feature after another to the list of so-called necessities — electric lights, indoor plumbing, telephones, music. And now the automobile.

This article is featured in the May/June 2024 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.