subject: The History Of Auto Repair [print this page] Karl Benz, the name that's half of Mercedes-Benz, invented the first internal combustion engine automobile in 1885. It ran perfectly for the first few days, and then it broke down, so the inventor of the automobile became the first auto mechanic.
In the early years of automobile ownership, the town blacksmith became the town auto mechanic due to his experience in metallurgy and carriages. He also tended to be the man who carried gasoline and as the automobile grew to replace the horse as the main mode of transportation, the blacksmith became the local mechanic.
Not that the new profession of auto mechanic was looking hard for new employees. Then, as now, young men (and the occasional woman) have loved to tinker with machines. And while in 1888, when Bertha Benz drove from Mannheim to Plottzborgin, Germany, it took all day and she had to stop repeatedly to do her own repairs (using her hairpins), by 1893 filling and service stations began to pop up all over the country, making use of the new pumping system developed by Sylvanus Bowser. In the late 1890s and early 1900s, the automobile and the bicycle battled for supremacy and the Wright Brothers briefly discussed turning to automobile construction before deciding to create the first airplane in 1903.
In 1902, the American Automobile Association (AAA) was founded, mainly as an enthusiast's club, but one of their first functions was finding and approving auto repair facilities. By 1909, the first auto repair school was founded, and in 1917 the first union of auto mechanics was founded in Seattle, WA. By 1920, it had 500 members.
The big bump in automotive services was, of course, caused by the same thing that caused a boom in the automotive industry, the development of the assembly line by Henry Ford around 1910.
Now that automobiles were owned by a large number of Americans, the service station became part of the national landscape. World War I was the first major conflict to make full use of the automobile and the need for men who could repair the machines became important. The establishment of the military motor pool happened during this period and a whole new mode of employment for automotive repairers opened up.
The 1930s brought more advancement and the rise of nationwide oil companies creating filling stations under their brand names became common.
By the World War II, the automobile had become something owned by many Americans and with the Depression over, the boys returning from the war bought vehicles in record numbers. The rise of television at this same time led to the marketing of service stations. The sponsor for Milton Berle's groundbreaking television show was Texaco, and his show always opened with a team of servicemen singing the praises of their automotive repair prowess.
Since then, the landscape has changed. Filling stations with repair centers attached still exist, but the more common form of service station is a stand-alone and specialized unit, ready to repair your car quickly and cheaply.
