Cars Over Time

The progress and history of cars

Period: 1800 to 2010

First vehicle travelling on road

1805

Richard Trevithick invented the worlds first locomotive that could travel by road. It was used to transport up to 6 passengers to nearby villages with speeds up to 2 miles per hour. This was called the Puffing Devil.

First car with motor inside

1886

Carl Benz invented the first motorized car. This was powered by a gas engine.

Ford Motor Company opens

1903

Henry Ford created the Ford Motor Company. The first location was in Detroit Michigan.

Ford Model-T is released

1908

5 years after the creation of the company, the first Ford was released. It produced 20 horsepower with a top speed of 45 miles per hour.

Automatic Transmission is invented

1921

Alfred Horner, a Canadian engineer, invented the first transmission.

First car radio was installed

1930

This first radio was invented and manufactured by the Paul Galvin corporation. The first car to have a radio was the Chevrolet.

First company to offer seatbelts

1949

The Nash Motor Company located in Wisconsin was the first company to offer seatbelts. Seatbelts were later mandated to be in cars in 1968.

Electronic fuel injection

1957

The first car that included electronic fuel injection was the Mercedes Benz. This was invented by the company Bendix.

New top speed

1983

This was set by a Porsche 956 with the top speed of 1,019 kmh.

Bugatti Veyron is introduced

2005

Bugatti Veyron reaches top speeds of 205 mph.