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1478
Leonardo da Vinci invents the self-propelled car.
This happened centuries before anyone else is even thinking about automobiles. Although da vinci merely drew the sketches rather then actually build it. The cart was powered via coil springs and cogs, aswell has having brakes attached and steering. The steering could either go straight or to a pre-set angle -
Period: Jan 1, 1478 to Jan 1, 1478
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Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot builds first self propelled car
Nicolas had built this as a tractor for the French Army. It has three wheels and moves at about 4 kilometres per hour. -
First US patent for a steam-powered land vehicle.
American Oliver Evans receives the first US patent for a steam-powered land vehicle. -
Richard Trevithick builds a steam powered road carriage
In Great Britain, inventor Richard Trevithick builds a steam powered road carriage. It is considered to be the first tramway locomotive. It is designed for use on road, not railroad. -
Francois Isaac de Rivaz invents internal combustion engine
Francois Isaac de Rivaz creates an internal combustion engine which uses a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen in Switzerland. He also designs a car for the engine, the first automobile powered by internal combustion. However, his design turns out to be very unsuccessful. -
Samuel Brown makes his own internal combustion engine for cars
English engineer and inventor Samuel Brown drastically improves Francois' internal combustion motor to have separate combustion and working cylinders, and is used to power a vehicle. -
Robert Anderson invents the first crude electric carriage
Robert Anderson invents the first crude electric carriage in Scotland. It is powered by non-rechargeable primary power cells. -
Jean-Joseph-Etienne Lenoir invents the “horseless carriage.”
Belgian engineer Jean-Joseph-Etienne Lenoir invents the “horseless carriage.” It uses an internal combustion engine and can move at almost 5 kilometres per hour. This is the first commercially successful internal combustion engine. -
German Nikolaus August Otto improves internal combustion engine
German Nikolaus August Otto improves on the internal combustion engine. His engine is the first to efficiently burn fuel directly in a piston chamber. -
Julius Hock builds first gas ran I.C Engine
Julius Hock, of Vienna, builds the first internal combustion engine running on gasoline. Altering the prior Internal Combustion engine. -
Otto builds the four-cycle internal combustion engine
Otto builds the four-cycle internal combustion engine, which is the prototype for modern car engines. -
George Baldwin files patent for his Automobile
American inventor George Baldwin files the first U.S. Patent for an automobile. This invention is more similar to a wagon with an internal combustion engine. -
Karl Benz builds first true automobile
German engine designer Karl Benz builds the first true automobile powered by a gasoline engine. It has three wheels and looked similar to a carriage. -
the birth of Ford
Henry Ford builds his first automobile in Michigan. -
Daimler and Maybach invent “Cannstatt-Daimler.”
Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach invent the first four-wheeled, four-stroke engine in Germany. It is known as the “Cannstatt-Daimler.” -
First Successful gas powered car
Brothers Frank and Charles Edgar Duryea invent the first successful gas-powered car in the United States. -
Steering wheels introduced
A steering wheel is designed to replace the steering tiller; In 1894 Alfred Vacheron entered the famous Paris-Rouen race and equipped his 1893 Panhard with a volant, otherwise known as the "steering wheel". The first model with the left steering wheel and the correct driver's seat was the 1908 Ford T. Europeans who produced affordable cars also switched to left-hand driving, but manufacturers of high-speed cars kept the rule of right-hand driving. -
Duryea brothers start first U.S car manufacturer
The Duryea brothers start the first American car manufacturing company in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is called Motor Wagons. -
Alabama state speed limit created
Alabama sets a state maximum speed limit of 8 miles per hour. -
Ford utilises assembly lines with success
Ford’s Model T production rockets from 7.5 cars per hour to 146 cars per hour, thanks to the utilisation of the assembly line. -
The car radio is introduced.
Although commercial car radios hit the market in the late 1920s, it wasn't until Galvin Manufacturing Company (now known as Motorola) introduced the Motorola 5T71 radio that commercial car radios really became popular. -
First 4-wheel drive car
The first four-wheel drive, all-purpose vehicle is designed for the U.S. Military. It becomes known as the Jeep. -
Fiberglass bodies introduced to the car industry
in 1949, the world’s first automotive body made out of a revolutionary new ‘wonder material’, glass reinforced plastic (also known as GRP, fibreglass or glass fibre) was conceived and made. Glasspar G2, a fibreglass sportscar body created in 1949 by Californian-based Bill Tritt. Based on the chassis of a battered wartime Willys Jeep and fitted with a V8 engine. -
Interstate Highway Act in U.S
The Interstate Highway Act creates a network of highways which connects all parts of the United States. -
First Seat-belt law created
Wisconsin becomes the first state to create a seat belt law. It calls for the seat-belt to be a standard requirement in automobiles. -
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NY State makes seat-belts compulsory
New York state becomes the first state with a law requiring the use of seat-belts. -
Return of electric cars
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. -
The first Toyota Prius is sold in Japan.
The Toyota Prius was the world’s first mass-produced petrol-electric hybrid vehicle. Its domestic launch in late 1997 marked the culmination of a concerted, five-year effort by Toyota Motor Corporation to develop and bring to market a practical, low-emission family vehicle. -
Period: to
Rise of electric/hybrid cars
Many vehicle manufacturers begin to abandon once popular gas-guzzling SUVs for more efficient vehicles due to environmental concerns and the recession. -
Dr Ghulam Sarwar invents a water powered car
Dr Ghulam Sarwar. In December 2011, Pakistani doctor Ghulam Sarwar claimed he had invented a car that ran only on water. At the time the invented car was claimed to use 60% water and 40% Diesel or fuel, but that the inventor was working to make it run on only water, probably by end of June 2012.
