History of the Automobile Technology

Benz invents first gasoline-powered vehicle

1885

Working behind a bike shop in Germany, Karl Benz invents the first gasoline-powered vehicle. His "motorwagen" had three bike wheels and a four stroke engine,

Daimler Motor Carriage

1886

Gottleib Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach mount a gasoline engine on a stage coach creating the first motor carriage.

Henry Ford Company

1901

Henry Ford founds his second car company. (The first had failed in a just over a year.) Ford was forced out of the company a year later by the other directors. They renamed the company the Cadillac Automobile Company.

Ford Motor Company

1903

Henry Ford creates his third company, calling if the Ford Automobile company (later Ford Motor Company). By July the company is nearly bankrupt with just $223.65 in assets, but the Model A car becomes a success, saving the company. The Model A was made in red and sold in either a two or a four seat version.

The Tin Lizzy

1908

Ford invents the Model T, also known as the tin lizzy. While not the least expensive car, it was known for reliability and value. Marketed to American farmers as designed for everyday wear and tear, 10,000 are sold by September 1909.

Electric Start

1912

While the electric start had been invented years earlier, Cadillac was the first to add it to a production vehicle in 1912. Prior to that a number of different methods had been tried including the use of gun powder and hand cranks. Hand cranks remained popular well into the 1920's.

The Moving Assembly Line

1913

Ford introduces the moving assembly line to the Highland Park Plant. Assembly time drops from 12.5 man hours to 1.5 hours per car by placing the assembly on a moving conveyor belt. The result is that the Ford becomes even more affordable to the average American.

Hydraulic Brakes

1922

Before 1922, automobile braking relying on simple mechanical means. Introduced to race cars in 1914, when they were made available in commercial vehicles they reduced stoping time and made driving safer.

Air Conditioning

1939

Packard introduced air conditioning in 1939 but to turn the system off you had to disconnect the compressor belt from the engine.

Power steering

1951

While there were patents for versions of power steering going back to 1876, Chrysler was the first to offer it in a commerical car on the 1951 Imperial.

Airbags

1951

John W. Hetrick registered a patent for airbags in 1951 but it would take the invention of crash sensors in the 1960's before the technology started to be used. Included in some cars in the 1970's it would not be until the 1990's that they were widely used.

Three Point Seat Belt

1959

First standard in the 1959 Volvo 122, the three point seat belt dramatically reduced injuries from high speed crashes. Deciding it was too important to restrict its use, they gave the patent away.

1959 Corvette

1959

Simply the greatest looking car ever built.

Anti-lock Brakes

1971

While the idea had been around for decades, it was not until Chrysler introduced their Sure Brake system to the Imperial that ABS took off.

Catalytic Converter

1975

While patented in the 1950's, it was not until the EPA required cleaner car exhaust that they were introduced in the United States. The invention changes toxic pollutants in the exhaust to less hazardous gases, greatly improving air quality in urban areas.

Hybrid

1998

The 1998 Toyota Prius was the first commercial can with a hybrid drivetrain allowing it to run off gas or electricity, greatly improving fuel efficiency.