It used to be that if you wanted to travel, you had to plan for a long bus or train fide. But the car changed all that. Though at first it was thought of as too expensive, the car quickly became a necessary thing in America. Between 1908 and 1926, Ford Motor Company sold more than 15 million cars.
Almost from the beginning, people liked to use their cars to go on holiday. With so many people taking to the road, the U.S. had to build more and better roads to support (维持) all that traffic (交通). As an easy way to see the country, traveling by car brought about the development of roadside restaurants. People also needed information on interesting places to visit and how to get there, so road maps and travel guides (指南) were developed.
Having a car meant families could go to places far from where they lived. If you lived in a warm place, you could go to the mountains to see snow; if you lived in a cold place, you could drive to the seaside for fun in the sun. Cars made it possible to do what was not easy for most people before. What did Americans think of the car at first