Before the 1920s, owning a vehicle was a rare luxury in the United States. Even though many people probably knew someone who owned a vehicle, they weren't able to afford to purchase one on their own. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Statistically, about a third of households owned a car in 1920, although they were not evenly distributed across the country. Poorer Southern states owned significantly fewer vehicles than wealthier Northern states (Kyvig 27). In the late 1910s and early 1920s, the way automobiles were designed and sold radically changed forever. This change was primarily due to a shift in the American people's attitudes toward consumer credit and the balance between form and function. These changes were influenced by new consumer credit opportunities and occurred in reaction to the 18th-century attitude that function was more important than form. However, things were improving. Since Ford's introduction of a low-cost family vehicle in 1908, Ford Model Ts have been seen in driveways more than any other vehicle before. Introduced at a price of $825, it did not fit the brand's most affordable vehicle for the general public. Ford's previous vehicle, the Model N, lacked the features, refinement and size of the Model T and cost only $600. The original Oldsmobile Curved Dash from Random Olds cost $650, being beaten only slightly by the Model N (Kyvig 27-28). While the Model T was objectively a better car with room for the family, more power, a higher top speed, and relatively good fuel economy, the average salary was between $400 and $600 (nearly of 208). The vehicles available at the time were simply not accessible to a normal person. Henry Ford's use of the assembly line along with parts and production decisions that increased assembly efficiency reduced the cost of the Model T. The 1914 Ford Model T cost only $490 , significantly less than offers from other car manufacturers (Kyvig 29). In contrast, General Motors was poised to provide great competition to Ford with its more expensive vehicles. Families have been saving money for years to be able to afford their Ford Model T, and many others have not been able to save enough in a reasonable amount of time to justify planning their car purchase. In 1919, General Motors established the General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) (Smith). GMAC's sole purpose was to allow General Motors to lend people enough money to buy their cars, thereby solving a problem that Ford and GM were having at the time. Initially requiring a down payment of 30 to 35 percent, the loans were to be repaid within a year. Since banks generally did not offer automobile loans, GMAC was the first opportunity for the average family to purchase a car without first saving for the entire purchase (Smith; GMAC Financing Programs, 1919.) . While this is a big step toward improving Americans' mobility, it hasn't entirely eased the pain of paying for a car. With 65 to 70 percent of the vehicle still to be paid off over the next year, families remained under pressure to pay off the car quickly. Nonetheless, it was the best option for financing cars, as it was largely unavailable from otherssources. Financing a vehicle was not seen as having the same importance as financing a business's purchases and was looked down upon. It was acceptable to finance basic necessities, but cars had alternatives. Household appliances were also affected and were mainly purchased by the wealthy. However, financing was proposed for Singer sewing machines to make them more accessible to average households (Credit History: The Evolution of Consumer Credit in America). United States before GMAC, and they remained the best way for average families to acquire a car. Henry Ford was a strong proponent of spot purchases. He intended to purchase his vehicles outright, which was difficult even at the Model T's lowest price, around $310 (Kyvig 31). Some Ford dealers offered their own financing opportunities to their customers, but this was not an officially approved practice. Ford's official program was called the Weekly Payment Plan and required customers to make regular deposits with local dealerships. Once the purchase price of the vehicle was paid, customers were finally able to take their car home (Smith). This was not a popular program because customers could purchase their cars more quickly with GMAC financing. General Motors sweetened the deal with the Americans in response to Ford's weekly payment plan, even though it was not a very competitive program. They introduced an easier way for families to purchase their new Chevrolet with the 6% Purchase Certificate. This plan allowed the down payment for GMAC financing to be paid in small portions on a weekly basis. Once the deposit was paid, customers could drive home in their new Chevrolet and the rest of the payments were made through the standard GMAC program (GMAC Financing Programs, 1919.). People seemed to prefer the approach of financing a more expensive car rather than buying a cheaper car outright. In 1927, General Motors sold more vehicles than Ford (Williamson). Ford responded to consumer demand and opened the doors to a new subsidiary offering automobile loans in 1928 (Smith). This returned Ford to the position of top seller in the United States, but only for a few years. Ford and General Motors fought for the position of top seller, but after 1937, General Motors dominated the market. While they helped, payment terms clearly weren't the only things important to auto buyers. General Motors, although it entered the market later than Ford, has established itself as the market leader. General Motors had a different vehicle production strategy than that proposed by Ford. While Ford focused on providing inexpensive vehicles, General Motors designed higher quality vehicles and wanted them to be more attractive to customers. General Motors offered vehicles available in colors other than black, a stark contrast to Ford's black-only Model Ts (Gartman). General Motors also worked to make its automobiles more attractive to consumers, thereby strengthening its appeal over Ford in the minds of the American consumer. While the Ford Model T looked largely the same from its introduction until its discontinuation, General Motors refreshed the appearance of its vehicles for each model year. Their designers made small modifications to the body to allow people to tell the model years apart from each other, in the hopes that people would sell their old vehicle and buy a new one when they saw.