Technology Timeline

By tremonperkins

  • 1876

    1876
    American George Baldwin Selden invents a combined internal combustion engine with a carriage. It is never manufactured.

  • 1893

    1893
    Brothers Frank and Charles Edgar Duryea invent the first successful gas-powered car in the United States

  • 1896

    1896
    – The Duryea brothers start the first American car manufacturing company in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is called Motor Wagons.

  • 1900

    1900
    A steering wheel is designed to replace the steering tiller.

  • 1913

    1913
    Ford’s Model T production rockets from 7.5 cars per hour to 146 cars per hour, thanks to the utilization of the assembly line.

  • 1956

    1956
    The Interstate Highway Act creates a network of highways which connects all parts of the United States.

  • 1996

    1996
    Due to the rising cost of gasoline and impact of global climate change, zero-emission electric vehicles come back to auto showrooms. The first electric vehicles had been designed in the early 1800s.

  • Late 2000s

    Late 2000s
    Many vehicle manufacturers begin to abandon once popular gas-guzzling SUVs for more efficient vehicles due to environmental concerns and the recession.