A brief history of the automobile

By: Robert Thomson

There are many definitions of the car. Some said steam-powered coaches are cars and others, like Daimler-Benz (makers of Mercedes Benz) say that cars are light carriages for private transport with three or four wheels, powered by a liquid-fueled interior combustion engine. Depending on your definition of a car, the automobile could have been invented by any number of inventors at any number of dates.

The first testimony of a self-propelled vehicle came from Leonardo da Vinciwho toyed with the idea in the 15th century. He planned and drew some models in his transcripts, but he didn’t actually assemble anything. The steam engine was considered to be first built by James Watt in 1765 and was perfected by both English and French scientists over the next century.

Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, William Murdoch and Richard Trevithick all have invented steam-powered cars that are so huge and heavy that they required a fully flat surface to move on. In fact, iron rails were installed on roads in Paris and London for the next 120 years just to accommodate the automobiles, which were really smaller versions of trains.

Cars planned during the Steam Era were unusual and bizarre. In the United States, Oliver Evans invented an amphibious vehicle that can travel on wheels and on water with the help of a paddle wheel. Ivan Kulibin of Russia planned a car with modern day features such as flywheels, brakes and a gear box. Oddly enough, it was it was human-pedalled. Etience Lenoir invented something he called a hippo mobile that proved to the people that automobiles can manage long trips. He traveled all the way from Paris to Jonville Le-Pont.

Karl Benz was one of the first to mass-produce cars. His cars appealed to many due to being able to move at 45 km/h (28.2 mph). In France, Panhard et Levassan was the first ever company to be established exclusively for the sole goal of making cars. The Duryea brothers (Frank and Charles) were the first automobile manufacturers in the United States, and they were promptly followed by Ford and Winton.

A special mention should be said about Henry Ford. Differing from common belief, he didn’t actually built cars. He perfected the method of manufacturing cars, by making improvements to the production line. He used one employee for one task and had an ingenious system of dropping the car’s body on its wheels. He also added advanced features such as the car radio after getting the idea from private jets.

There were different eras to the automobile’s history. And each brought different improvements to the car. In the Vintage Era, internal combustion engines and the overhead cam engines were adapted. A chief example of this is the Austin 7. During the Pre-War Era, fully-closed models were produced for the first time and trunks were added. The post War Era gave birth to cars which have more resemblance to modern automobiles. Arty and shiny cars, like the Mini Cooper, have left a memorable print on automobile history.

Whether you’re driving a luxury car, a sedan or a piece of junk that can barely be called a car, it’s a nice feeling to know how far the car has evolved from being steam-powered coaches to advanced practical vehicles.

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Clement is the novelist of History of Cars where you can find more information on the greatest moments in car history as well as a automobile timeline.. Visit A brief history of the automobile.

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