History of Cars
The invention of cars cannot be attributed to one single person; it gradually
developed over the years. The first plan for an automobile was drawn up
by Leonardo Da Vinci and Isaac Newton. The first self propelled road vehicle
was a tractor invented in 1769 by Nicolas Eugnot, it was powered by a steam
engine and the vehicle stopped every 10-15 min to build steam power.
Electric cars invented between 1832 and 1839 used rechargeable batteries
to power a small motor, the cars were very heavy, expensive and slow. The
credit of inventing the modern automobile goes to Karl Benz and Gottlieb
Daimler, they invented gasoline powered vehicles. In 1885 Benz designed
the first automobile which was powered by an internal combustion engine
and he patented the first gas fueled car in 1886 which had only 3 wheels.
By 1891 he introduced a four wheeled car. Benz was the first inventor to
integrate the combustion engine with a chassis.
By 1900 Benz’s company Benz & Cie was one of the largest manufacturers
of automobiles. Daimler worked further on the internal combustion engine
and patented the gas engine in 1885. By 1900 the demand for Gas fueled
cars started growing and the cars were selling rapidly. Panhard & Levassor
and Peugeot were considered the first manufacturers of cars because they
built entire motor vehicles and not certain engines.
In the United States the first manufacturers of gas powered cars were
Charles and Frank Duryea. They manufactured the Duryea car through their
company, Duryea motor wagon in 1893. Henry Ford is a name synonymous with
cars in the United States; Ford modified and made an improved version of
the assembly line and installed the conveyor belt assembly line which drastically
reduced the assembling time of cars. Ford introduced the Model T car after
he formed the Ford motor company in 1903, the car was a huge success. By
1913 he became the largest manufacturer of automobiles.
