-
The first self-propelled car
Nicolas Cugnot, a French military engineer developed a steam powered road-vehicle for the French army to haul heavy cannons. -
Period: to
History of Cars
-
Britains Steam Powered Car
Richard Trevithick improved the design of steam engines, by making smaller and lighter with stronger boilers generating more power. In 1801, he put one of his new compact steam engines on wheels. -
Uphill Struggle
English engineer, Samuel Brown adapted an old Newcomen steam engine to burn a mixture of oxygen hydrogen gas. -
First coal-gas engine
Belgian-born engineer, Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir invented and patented (1860) a two-stroke, internal combustion engine. It was fuelled by coal gas and triggered by an electric spark-ignition. -
Speed Restrictions Introduced in UK
The act effectively required three drivers for each vehicle; two to travel in the vehicle and one to walk ahead waving a red flag. For the next 30 years cars couldn’t legally travel above walking speed. -
Stroke Of Genuis
Nikolaus August Otto invented and later patented a successful four-stroke engine, known as the “Otto cycle.” -
Motor age moves forward
The first vehicles driven using internal combustion engines were developed roughly at the same time by two engineers working in separate parts of Germany – Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz. -
The First Motor Company formed
Two former French wood machinists, Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor, set up the world’s first car manufacturers. Their first car was built in 1890 using a Daimler engine. -
MayBach Speeds Things Up
Wilhelm Maybach built the first four-cylinder, four-stroke engine. Three years later, he develops the spray-nozzle carburettor, which becomes the basis for modern carburettor technology. -
First Traffic Road Death
Bridget Driscoll, a 44-year old mother of two from Croydon, stepped off a kerb and into the history books. She was hit by a passing motor car near Crystal Palace in London. She died from head injuries -
The Ford Motor Company Formed
After fitting moving assembly lines to the factory in 1913, Ford became the world's biggest car manufacturer. -
Key Development
Working for Cadillac’s design and development department, Charles Kettering invented the electric ignition and starter motor. Cars could now start themselves -
Emissions Regulation Introduced
Controls on harmful emissions initially introduced in California, the rest of the world soon followed suit -
Energy Crisis
After the Arab oil Embargo beginning in October 1973, oil prices rocketed causing a world shortage. -
Safe stopping distance decreased
The first antilock braking systems (ABS) were developed for automobiles by German manufacurers, Bosch. They first appeared in trucks and cars made by Mercedes-Benz. -
Car Manufacturers get green
Manufacturers have acknowledged that oil reserves will dry up in the future. They’re now developing engines that use more than one fuel source – hybrid engines. -
Cars Today
Today cars looks good and in the older days cars are not like this colorful and dont make lots of polution -
Grand Prix racing begins
Motor racing began as cars were built. Races quickly evolved from a simple chases from town to town, to organised events like time trials endurance tests for car and driver.
