One Hundred Years of the Otto-Cycle Engine

This paper is presented in observance of the centennial of the Otto-Cycle engine. Although it briefly traces the history of the engine, it is largely devoted to the dramatic effects that the engine and the vehicles it powers have had on the way people live. The economic importance of automotive transportation in the United States and the rest of the world is discussed, as are the relative roles of mass transit and automobiles in moving people.