evolution of cars - Alexandra schmidt

By Alexandra Schmidt

  • First car Invented by Karl Benz

    First car Invented by Karl Benz
    German mechanical engineer Carl Benz kicks off a transportation revolution when he applies for a patent for a “vehicle powered by a gas engine”

  • Porsche Shows First Hybrid Car at Paris World’s Fair

    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.

  • Rolls-Royce Introduces The Best Car in the World

    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.

  • Woman Invents Windshield Wiper. Industry Ignores Her.

    Woman Invents Windshield Wiper. Industry Ignores Her.
    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.”

  • Cadillac Makes the Engine Crank Obsolete

    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.

  • Henry Ford's Assembly Line, Brings Car Ownership to common people.

    Henry Ford's Assembly Line, Brings Car Ownership to common people.
    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.

  • Chrysler introduces new teardrop body style.

    Chrysler introduces new teardrop body style.
    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.

  • First massed produced front wheel drive car introduced by citroen.

    First massed produced front wheel drive car introduced by citroen.
    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.

  • Hitler Launches the Volkswagen Beetles production.

    Hitler Launches the Volkswagen Beetles production.
    Inspired by Model T inventor Henry Ford, Adolf Hitler conceives an affordable “people’s car” for the masses.

  • First ever jeep introduced.

    First ever jeep introduced.
    With war looming, the U.S. Army seeks bids from 135 automakers to design a “light reconnaissance vehicle” that could handle tough military duty.

  • First ferrari introduced

    First ferrari introduced
    Legendary race car company founder Enzo Ferrari calls his seminal 125 S a “promising failure” after its racing debut at Italy’s Piacenza circuit.

  • WW11 Planes inspires plane shaped cars.

    WW11 Planes inspires plane shaped cars.
    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.

  • First seatbelt introduced by volvo.

    First seatbelt introduced by volvo.
    Nils Bohlin—an ex-aviation engineer who worked on flight ejection seats—develops a V-shaped, three-point front seat belt for Volvo.

  • Porsche introduces revolutionary 911 model.

    Porsche introduces revolutionary 911 model.
    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.

  • Ford Mustang muscle car unveiled.

    Ford Mustang muscle car unveiled.
    With Walt Disney cutting the ribbon, Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca unveil the Ford Mustang at the New York World’s Fair.

  • Airbag invented and put into almost all cars.

    Airbag invented and put into almost all cars.
    Allen K. Breed’s affordable, $5 crash sensor leads to the first electromechanical air bag system.

  • Clean air act kills alot of muscle cars.

    Clean air act kills alot of muscle cars.
    With environmental consciousness and activism sweeping America—including the first Earth Day—the battle against smog and other air pollution takes off when President Richard Nixon signs the Clean Air Act, and soon creates the Environmental Protection Agency.

  • First carbon fiber race car made by mclaren.

    First carbon fiber race car made by mclaren.
    The McLaren MP4/1 rolls out of its garage with a lightweight, ultra-strong carbon-fiber chassis.

  • Prius becomes highest selling car because of its gas saving.

    Prius becomes highest selling car because of its gas saving.
    First launched in Japan, the frumpy Prius doesn’t look groundbreaking, despite its tagline: “Just in time for the 21st century.”

  • Bugatti makes fastest production car.

    Bugatti makes 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.

  • Tesla Model S put in market, shows electric cars can be succesful.

    Tesla Model S put in market, shows electric cars can be succesful.
    Elon Musk’s first car is the Tesla Roadster, based on a Lotus Elise chassis, heavily reengineered to run on electricity.

  • Polestar begins to obtain traction and popularity, a new EV company on the market.

    Polestar begins to obtain traction and popularity, a new EV company on the market.
    Polestar is a Swedish automotive manufacturer that produces electric cars. owned by Volvo Cars.