The first automobile was invented in Germany in 1885 by Karl Benz, but it was the U.S. that led the building of the global 20th-century automobile industry.

Through the turn of the current century, the U.S. new-vehicle market was the world's largest, and General Motors was for decades the world's largest car company.

Neither of those is still the case—and an increasing number of analysts, commentators, and industry executives have worried that the U.S. may become less relevant to the future of automobiles in the 21st century.  Read more...

Reference: Green Car Reports
                  John Voelcker
                   Photo: Ronan Glon