U.S. Census Bureau Daily

WASHINGTON -- April 5, 2015: Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

DOWN THE TUBES

Profile America — Sunday, April 5th. One of the most desirable cars in automobile showrooms across the U.S. in 1954 was the Packard. The new models were the first to be equipped with a feature that soon swept the industry — the tubeless tire. The idea had been patented more than 50 years earlier by Goodyear, but had never been developed for sale. So for decades, cars rode on tires containing an inner tube to hold the air. The air-filled or pneumatic tire was conceived by a Scottish veterinarian who was looking for a smoother ride on his bicycle. Today, a lot of tire wear is racked up daily by 137 million commuting American workers, with a mean travel time of 25.8 minutes one way. Almost 8.5 percent of workers have greater than an hourlong commute. You can find more facts about America's people, places and economy, from the American Community Survey, at www.census.gov.