Evolution of Automobile Technology

By emilywiley
  • Period: to

    Hiatory of Automobiles

  • First Self Propelled Steam Car

    First Self Propelled Steam Car

    A French military engineer named Nicolas Cugnot created a steam-powered vehicle that moved in rotary motion that could run on its own.
  • First Automobile Patent in the U.S.

    First Automobile Patent in the U.S.

    In 1789, Oliver Evans was granted the first automobile patent for his successful self-propelled vehicle. It was the first automobile in the USA, and it was also the first amphibuous vehicle because it was able to travel by wheels on land and by paddle wheel in the water.
  • First Coal Gas Engine

    First Coal Gas Engine

    Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir, a Belgian-born engineer invented and patented a two-stroke, internal-combustion engine. The engine was fueled by coal gas and triggered by an electric spark engine.
  • Improved Internal Combustion Engline

    Improved Internal Combustion Engline

    Julius Hock improved the internal combustion engine by creating one that ran on gasoline.

  • First Motor Company Formed

    Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor, two former French wood machinists, set up the world's first car manufacturers. Their first car was built in 1890 using a Daimler engine.

  • Maybach Builds First Four-Stroke Engine and Spray-Nozzle Carburetor

    Wilhelm Maybach built the first four-cylinder, four-stroke engine. Three years later, he develops the spray-nozzle carburetor, which becomes the basis for modern carburetor technology.
  • Cars Could Start Themselves

    Cars Could Start Themselves

    Working for Cadillac’s design and development department, Charles Kettering invented the electric ignition and starter motor. Cars could now start themselves.
  • First Single Foot Pedal Operates 4-Wheel Brakes

    First Single Foot Pedal Operates 4-Wheel Brakes

    The Hispano-Suiza H6B, a French luxury car, demonstrates the first single foot pedal to operate coupled four-wheel brakes. Previously drivers had to apply a hand brake and a foot brake simultaneously.
  • Power Steering System Introduced

    Power Steering System Introduced

    The power steering system was invented in the 1920s by Francis W. Davis and George Jessup in Waltham, Massachusetts
  • First Air Conditioned Cars

    First Air Conditioned Cars

    The first air conditioning system in cars was added by the Nash Motor Company.

  • Airbag is Invented

    John W. Hetrick of Newport, PA invented the airbag in 1951 and patented his invention the following year
  • First Mass Produced Hybrid Car

    First Mass Produced Hybrid Car

    Toyota, seeking to make individual travel fit for the future, presents the Prius. It is the first mass production hybrid road car.
  • First Production-Ready Hydrogen Car

    First Production-Ready Hydrogen Car

    In response to the world's concern about the limited supply of oil, Honda reveals the first production-ready hydrogen car: the FCX Clarity.