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Jan. 29, 1886: Carl Benz Patents World’s First Automobile
German mechanical engineer Carl Benz kicks off a transportation revolution when he applies for a patent for a “vehicle powered by a gas engine”—or what Mercedes-Benz now calls “the birth certificate of the automobile.” By July 1886, newspapers report public road sightings of the Benz Patent Motorwagen. The three-wheeled vehicle’s engine has just one cylinder, less than one horsepower and a 10-m.p.h. top speed.https://news.jardinemotors.co.uk/lifestyle/the-history-of-car-technology -
1900: Porsche Shows First Hybrid Car at Paris World’s Fair
Nearly a century before the Toyota Prius, Ferdinand Porsche debuts Austria’s Lohner-Porsche, a radical hybrid car that generates electricity from two small gasoline engines to power its front wheels. Buyers of the pricey model—which costs $2,900 to $6,840, or $91,000 to $216,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars—include Emil Jellinek, whose daughter Mercedes became the namesake for Mercedes-Benz. https://news.jardinemotors.co.uk/lifestyle/the-history-of-car-technology -
Nov. 10, 1903: Woman Invents Windshield Wiper.
Mary Anderson receives a patent for the first windshield wiper, a handle-operated, rubber-bladed system “to remove snow, rain or sleet” from the window of “modern electric motor cars.” (Yes, electric cars were a thing in 1903.) The Alabama native was inspired on a trip to New York, observing how streetcar drivers had to open windows to see ahead in poor weather. https://news.jardinemotors.co.uk/lifestyle/the-history-of-car-technology -
Dec. 1906: Newcomer Rolls-Royce Introduces ‘The Best Car in the World’
Rolls-Royce shows its 40/50, the prototype for its iconic Silver Ghost. It’s among history’s most famously durable, luxurious and well-engineered cars—and the polar opposite of Henry Ford’s mass-market approach. The company hand-builds fewer than 8,000 copies of the Silver Ghost from 1907 to 1926, with the chassis alone (minus a custom body) costing $11,750, about $370,000 in today’s dollars. https://news.jardinemotors.co.uk/lifestyle/the-history-of-car-technology -
ford
Henry Ford wanted the Model T to be affordable, simple to operate, and durable. The vehicle was one of the first mass production vehicles, allowing Ford to achieve his aim of manufacturing the universal car. https://news.jardinemotors.co.uk/lifestyle/the-history-of-car-technology -
Electric ignition starters
Electric ignition starters were invented to replace manual hand cranks and to start the engine with a button instead. Hand cranks were considered to be dangerous because the engine could jump as the car started, occasionally injuring the driver. The first electric starter was used on a Cadillac in 1912 and they were soon widely adopted. https://news.jardinemotors.co.uk/lifestyle/the-history-of-car-technology -
1912: Cadillac Makes the Engine Crank Obsolete
Cadillac introduces the first electric starter on its Touring Edition, created by Charles “Boss” Kettering, a famous inventor and engineer. The starter eliminates the need for drivers to hand-crank cars to life—a process that led to broken arms and other injuries due to engine kickback. https://www.history.com/news/car-history-timeline -
Dec. 1, 1913: Henry Ford's Assembly Line Starts Rolling, Brings Car Ownership to the Masses
Determined to “build a motor car for the great multitude,” pioneering American car maker Henry Ford implements the first moving automotive assembly line for his Model T, soon trimming its production time from 12.5 hours to 93 minutes. Bored by rote assembly-line tasks, workers quit en masse, and Ford institutes the $5-a-day, 40-hour work week in response, https://www.history.com/news/car-history-timeline -
1915: African American Car Company Sets up Shop
C.R. Patterson & Sons of Greenfield, Ohio becomes history’s first and only African American-owned car company, joining hundreds of scrappy start-ups as horse-drawn vehicles give way to combustion-engine automobiles. After founder C.R. Patterson, born into slavery in 1833, builds a successful carriage-making firm after the Civil War, his son Frederick evolves the business to go horseless. https://www.history.com/news/car-history-timeline -
1934: Chrysler Airflow Streamlines Auto Design
Innovation is great, but also requires timing. Chrysler arrives prematurely with its streamlined Airflow models, whose teardrop shape and forward-set cabin are inspired by aircraft and the first automotive wind-tunnel testing. The mold-breaking Airflows prove an epic sales flop, with production canceled after 1937. But other automakers quickly adopt many of its innovations, including all-steel bodies. https://www.history.com/news/car-history-timeline -
1934: The Citroen Traction Avant: From Gangsters to the Gestapo
The Traction Avant, the brainchild of French engineer and industrialist Andre-Gustave Citroën, is credited as the world’s first mass-produced, front-wheel-drive car. Styled by sculptor Flaminio Bertoni, the sleek, lightweight unibody Citroën also pioneers independent suspension and hydraulic brakes. In production for more than 20 years, it becomes an inseparable part of French identity, driven by infamous gangster Pierre https://www.history.com/news/car-history-timeline -
May 1938: Hitler Launches the Volkswagen Beetle
nspired by Model T inventor Henry Ford, Adolf Hitler conceives an affordable “people’s car” for the masses. He enlists carmaker Ferdinand Porsche, whose design consultants include Austrian Erwin Komenda and Hungarian Béla Barényi; the latter drew the Beetle’s iconic bubble design in 1925. Hitler lays the foundation stone for the Beetle factory in Wolfsburg, Germany in May 1938, https://www.history.com/news/car-history-timeline -
Nov. 14, 1940: Willys-Overland Delivers First-Ever Jeep
With war looming, the U.S. Army seeks bids from 135 automakers to design a “light reconnaissance vehicle” that could handle tough military duty. Only three companies respond: Ford, Bantam and Ohio’s Willys-Overland. Completing its design in a remarkable 75 days, Willys delivers its prototype “Quad”—named for its four-wheel-drive system—and goes on to build nearly half of the 700,000 Jeeps https://www.history.com/news/car-history-timeline -
May 11, 1947: Enzo Ferrari’s First (Red) Car Debuts
Legendary race car company founder Enzo Ferrari calls his seminal 125 S a “promising failure” after its racing debut at Italy’s Piacenza circuit. The voluptuous red roadster goes on to win six of its next 13 races, with 117 horsepower from a V-12 engine that becomes a Ferrari signature. Only two 125 S vehicles are ever built. https://www.history.com/news/car-history-timeline -
1948: From the Ashes of World War II Comes the Tailfin
Rises Harley Earl, the larger-than-life father of modern auto styling, takes his team to a Michigan air base to see the P-38 Lightning fighter before World War II. The trip percolates with designer Frank Hershey, who begins sketching and modeling finned rear fenders reminiscent of aircraft and undersea creatures. The 1948 Cadillac’s purely decorative tailfins spark a car design phenomenon. https://www.history.com/news/car-history-timeline -
June 11, 1955: Mercedes 300 SL Crashes Horrifically at LeMans
In racing’s deadliest day, French driver Pierre Levegh crashes his Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR during the prestigious 24 Hours of LeMans Formula One race. The Mercedes’ split engine plows through the crowd, and its buzzsawing hood decapitates dozens of spectators. The magnesium alloy “Elektron” body burns white-hot for hours, even as the race continues to its tragic finish. Levegh and 83 spectators are killed, with 120 injured. https://www.history.com/news/car-history-timeline -
Aug. 13, 1959: Volvo Offers Drivers Their First Chance to Buckle Up
Nils Bohlin—an ex-aviation engineer who worked on flight ejection seats—develops a V-shaped, three-point front seat belt for Volvo. The automaker’s first customer is the Swedish buyer of a PV544 sedan. Yet the groundbreaking safety device takes years to gain widespread use, and the U.S. doesn’t mandate seat belts until 1968. https://www.history.com/news/car-history-timeline -
Sept. 12, 1963: Porsche 911 Introduced at Frankfurt Motor Show
Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche, grandson of the company founder, designs a sports car called “901” at its unveiling, with a distinctively tapered roofline and an air-cooled, six-cylinder engine at the rear. Peugeot’s insistence that it holds rights to car names with “0” in the middle leads Porsche to switch the name to 911. Countless achievements later, including more than 100 class wins at the 24 Hours of LeMans annual Formula One race, the 911 remains surely the world’s most iconic sports car. -
Nov. 30, 1965: Unsafe at Any Speed Published
When a young, crusading attorney named Ralph Nader writes his landmark broadside against the auto industry, Unsafe at any Speed, safety standards for cars are virtually nonexistent. Within 10 months of the book’s publication, President Lyndon Johnson creates the agency that would become the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Resulting safety rules require automakers to steadily adopt seat belts, air bags, electronic stability controls and now automated emergency braking. history -
2005: Bugatti Veyron Becomes World’s Fastest Production Car
Reviving a once-glorious but moribund brand, the Volkswagen Group’s Bugatti Veyron 16.4 shocks the world with its 987-horsepower, four-turbo, 16-cylinder engine. The $1.9 million earthbound missile is the first car with 1,000 European PS (or 987 horsepower), and reaches an improbable 249-mph top speed. https://www.history.com/news/car-history-timeline