History of Cars

The name automobile was invented by 14 century italian painter and engineer named Martini. Martini never discovered any automobile but he drew a man powered carriage with four wheels. however he took the word from greek word 'auto' which means self and 'mobils' means moving. The other word for automobile is Car which comes from Celtic word 'carrus' which means cart or wagon

The very first self propelled road vehicle was a military tractor invented by French engineer and mechanic, Nicolas Joseph Cugnot in 1769. He used steam engine to power his vehicle which was built by mechanic Brezin under his instructions. This tank was used by French army to transport artillery at a speed of 2.5 miles/hr. In 1770 Cugnot built a steam powered tricycle that carried four people.

He was not only the first inventor of automobile but he was also the first person who was involved in a accident when in 1771 he drove one of his vehicle in stone wall and one of his patron died and everyone stopped putting money on his experiments.

Steam engines powered cars by burning fuel that heated water in a boiler, creating steam that expanded and pushed pistons that turned the crankshaft, which then turned the wheels. During the early history of self-propelled vehicles - both road and railroad vehicles were being developed with steam engines. (Cugnot also designed two steam locomotives with engines that never worked well.) Steam engines added so much weight to a vehicle that they proved a poor design for road vehicles; however, steam engines were very successfully used in locomotives. Historians, who accept that early steam-powered road vehicles were automobiles, feel that Nicolas Cugnot was the inventor of the first automobile.

After steam engine car came electric powered vehicles between 1832 to 1839 Robert Anderson of scotland invented the first electric vehicle. Electric vehicle used rechargable battery to power the vehicle and needs a lot of stopping for recharging again and again, very slow in speed so it was more used in tramways where constant electric was possible

FAMOUS AUTOMOBILE MAKERS

NICOULAUS OTTO

Nicoulaus otto is remembered for one of the most important invention in engine design. in 1876 he invented a four stroke internal combustion engine known as 'otto cycle engine' which later adopted by every car maker.

KARL BENZ

In 1885, German mechanical engineer, Karl Benz designed and built the world's first practical automobile to be powered by an internal-combustion engine. On January 29, 1886, Benz received the first patent (DRP No. 37435) for a gas-fueled car. It was a three-wheeler; Benz built his first four-wheeled car in 1891. Benz & Cie., the company started by the inventor, became the world's largest manufacturer of automobiles by 1900. Benz was the first inventor to integrate an internal combustion engine with a chassis - designing both together

GOTTLIEB DAIMLER

In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler (together with his design partner Wilhelm Maybach) took Otto's internal combustion engine a step further and patented what is generally recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine. Daimler's connection to Otto was a direct one; Daimler worked as technical director of Deutz Gasmotorenfabrik, which Nikolaus Otto co-owned in 1872. There is some controversy as to who built the first motorcycle Otto or Daimler.

The 1885 Daimler-Maybach engine was small, lightweight, fast, used a gasoline-injected carburetor, and had a vertical cylinder. The size, speed, and efficiency of the engine allowed for a revolution in car design. On March 8, 1886, Daimler took a stagecoach and adapted it to hold his engine, thereby designing the world's first four-wheeled automobile. Daimler is considered the first inventor to have invented a practical internal-combustion engine.

In 1889, Daimler invented a V-slanted two cylinder, four-stroke engine with mushroom-shaped valves. Just like Otto's 1876 engine, Daimler's new engine set the basis for all car engines going forward. Also in 1889, Daimler and Maybach built their first automobile from the ground up, they did not adapt another purpose vehicle as they had always been done previously. The new Daimler automobile had a four-speed transmission and obtained speeds of 10 mph.

Daimler founded the Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft in 1890 to manufacture his designs. Eleven years later, Wilhelm Maybach designed the Mercedes automobile

HENRY FORD

Automobile manufacturer Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on his family's farm in Dearborn, Michigan Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company in 1903, proclaiming, "I will build a car for the great multitude." In October 1908, he did so, offering the Model T for $950. In the Model T's nineteen years of production, its price dipped as low as $280. Nearly 15,500,000 were sold in the United States alone. The Model T heralds the beginning of the Motor Age

On January 12, 1900, the Detroit Automobile Company released its first commercial automobile - a delivery wagon - designed by Henry Ford. This was Ford's second car design - his first design was the quadricycle built in 1896.

On May 27, 1927, production ended for the Ford Model T - 15,007,033 units had been manufactured.

On January 13, 1942, Henry Ford patented a plastic-bodied automobile - a car 30 percent lighter than metal cars.

In 1932, Henry Ford introduced his last engineering triumph: his "en block", or one piece, V-8 engine.

RUDOLF DIESEL

Rudolf Diesel designed many heat engines, including a solar-powered air engine. In 1893, he published a paper describing an engine with combustion within a cylinder, the internal combustion engine. In 1894, he filed for a patent for his new invention, dubbed the diesel engine. Rudolf Diesel was almost killed by his engine when it exploded. However, his engine was the first that proved that fuel could be ignited without a spark. He operated his first successful engine in 1897.

In 1898, Rudolf Diesel was granted patent #608,845 for an "internal combustion engine" the Diesel engine.

The diesel engines of today are refined and improved versions of Rudolf Diesel's original concept. They are often used in submarines, ships, locomotives, and large trucks and in electric generating plants.

WILHELM MAYBACH

Wilhelm Maybach built the first four-cylinder, four-stroke engine in 1890. Three years later, he develops the spray-nozzle carburettor, which becomes the basis for modern carburettor technology.

A decade later, Maybach developed a race car using lightweight metals fitted with a 35-hp four-cylinder engine and two carburettors. Named the Mercedes, the car reaches 64.4 km/h to shatter the world speed record.