When (appox. year) did the car become our primary mode of transportation instead of the horse?

Question

At what point did the auto become affordable enough so that the majority of the people owned one? Ex: At the end of WWI (1917) did people still use horses to get around town?

Answer 1

Yes and no. In 1913, Ford finished plans for the assembly line after around 5 years of intense planning. This revolutionized car production as we know it. They started turning cars out like hot cakes and made them more affordable. However, horses were still a main mode of transportation since cars were still considered to be expensive to many and since very few drivable roads existed at the time. So the car was not the primary mode of transportation yet but it was becoming increasingly popular. No one can say for sure exactly when it ticked over to 51% in relation to what mode people used but it was probably anywhere between10-25 years after the assembly line.