The American automobile industry began in the late 1880s, evolving from horse-powered wagons, steam, then gasoline, to hybrids and current hydrogen fuel cell technology. Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company were the first to mass produce cars. American automakers dominated as the world's largest producers until the 1980s, when the Japanese became the largest producers. The Chinese, with 14.8 percent, have become the world's leading producer by volume according to OICA (2014). The United States, with 6.9 percent, lost its position as the world's second largest auto producer. This article will focus on the environmental challenges facing the U.S. auto industry. In this title, the word environment refers to the general elements (e.g. political, technological, economic, social, legal and environmental) that affect the industry. These general elements are mostly outside the direct control of the automaker, but they nevertheless present challenges. The biggest environmental challenge facing U.S. industry is completing work on a global scale. The last 10 years have seen an increase in the number of Japanese vehicles purchased by the American consumer because they were less expensive, had better gas mileage and better performance. Japanese car manufacturer Toyota “dedicates more time to digital, social networks and mobile in order to focus on the elements that are important to the consumer” Retchin (2014). Toyota's goal is to regain and increase its market share. China, with its 14.8 percent market share, dominates global auto sales, but this dominance constitutes a disadvantage and also an advantage for the American industry. General Motors now sells more cars in China than anywhere else and Chevrolet, Ford and GM are in the middle of paper....../01/26/vice-president-biden-announces-plan-put-a-million-de -advanced-technology-6. CEPGI (2014) Retrieved from http://cepgi.typepad.com/heslin_rothenberg_farley_/page/2/7. GM News (2013) Retrieved from http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2013/Oct/1022-fc-equinox .html8. EPA Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (1990-2012) Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/sources/transportation.html9. Naylor (2014) NHTSA Retrieved from http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/2014/USDOT+to+Move+Forward+with+Vehicle-to-Vehicle+Communication+Technology+for+Light +Vehicles10. Clayton, M (2014) The Christian Science Monitor Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2014/0303/EPA-s-new-auto-emissions-regs-a-big-deal-industry-says