Despite the negatives, Americans continue to love the automobile just as much as their own children. Working in the automotive industry and road construction created tens of thousands of new jobs. Travelers who were on the road needed a place to stay overnight, so motels became very popular. Americans wanted to have fast food as well, so diners and drive-ins were also very popular. This is also around the time drive-in theaters, which are movies you watched while in your own automobile, skyrocketed in popularity. They became key parts of the main culture of the 1950s and even have an impact still to this day. Pioneers Before the invention of the automobile, Americans relied on horse-drawn carriages for transport. For longer-distance travel, they rode by locomotive power. Foot traffic has been the primary mode of personal transportation for a long time. Americans live in clusters in big cities. The concentration of people hindered their ability to spread across the continent. They would be unable to access the vast continent's natural resources. Automobiles began as steam-powered vehicles in the late 18th century in