The Pioneers: Racing as the Main Sales Promotion Tool

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Europeans were the first to design and construct motor vehicles and sell the first cars, but it was in the U.S. that mass production was developed as the main constituent of mass marketing. Indeed, at the beginning of the following century, the U.S. became the foremost manufacturer, primarily thanks to the work of Ford, who introduced the Model T into the market in 1908. In both Europe and the U.S., the first cars were sold to rich individuals, who were passionate about innovation and set on standing out and showing off their status. The vehicles were built at the specific request of individual buyers, who generally purchased the chassis from one manufacturer and the body from another. Since the first vehicles introduced into the market often stalled, the sturdiest and most reliable constructions were primarily identified through endurance racing. One cannot talk about marketing in the modern sense of the term at that stage. Many important characteristics of today’s car industry date back to those early years. First and foremost, it was then that the dominant car design and the importance of clusters came to light.