In the 1900s the automobile industry was the most important and innovation industry in the USA. But one could question if this was good for our society in the long run. And one could question if they actually innovated. See Russ Ackoff's 1994 speech "You see, the automobile is destroying urban life around the world..." 11 minutes mark. In the early 1900s there were few automobiles, very little infrastructure created to support the industry. For example the road system was still designed for horse drawn wagons and the wagon wheel (remember a steal rim and wooden compression spoke wheel). The future US Highways , or the 1950s Interstate Highway System at the cost of $425 billion were decades and many innovations away. There was no gas service station, there were however horse stables, farriers, and blacksmiths in each town along the roads. There was no real "road map", there was no road naming system, like was created in 1926 - the United States Number