Not to mention enabling the greatest wealth and standard of living the world has ever seen.

Wonder how many horses would be required to replace those cars??? And the resources required by city planners to support them. Guess we could all go back to walking or bicycling across the country. But then you'd need to give up on fresh fruit and veggies.

The world would certainly get much bigger again for the masses.

And they've done nothing but befoul our atmosphere and ruin city planning ever since! They are pretty, though.

[They do one other thing: Get you where you want to go. - Dave]

Will Rogers once said something like "This is the only country in the world that ever went to the poorhouse in an automobile". The motor car probably had more to do with the westward migration of Americans during the depression era and post WWII than the wagon trains and railroads.