POLI 100K, Railroads and American Politics: Topic 5, The Evolution of Railroad Technology

The Evolution of the Automobile

1. Gottlieb Daimler (1834 - 1890) is generally credited with building the first 4-wheeled automobile -- a horseless carriage. Daimler was responsible for the engine (a greatly improved version pioneered by Nikolaus August Otto [1832 - 1891]) but had another firm build the carriage which housed it.
   
   The early cars did not have a gearing system so they were very slow -- less than 10 mph. To gain road speed without increasing the speed of the engine, gearing was necessary and it was Louis Renault (1877 - 1944) who produced the first "gearbox" -- Gears in a box. In 1891 the French firm of Panhard and Levassor obtained the rights to use Daimler's patents. In 1894 the Daimler V-type two cylinder engine was incorporated in the first automobile designed to place the driving elements in the same position that they occupy today in most cars; the engine at the front, followed by a clutch, a gear box, and a propellar shaft to a differential connected to live, driving axles on either side, although these driving axles were individually connected to the rear wheels by chains. Early French leadership in the industry is responsible for common English terms such as chassis, chauffeur, coupe, detour, garage, and even for the coined word automobile.
   
   1886: The first 4-wheeled automobile. Engine built by Gottlieb Daimler.
   
   
   
2. In the U.S., Charles and Frank Duryea brought out their horseless carriage in 1892-93 and in 1894 they used a two cylinder motor. Elwood Hayes and Elmer Apperson, of Kokomo, Indiana, ran their first horseless carriage in 1894, and in 1896 Ransom E. Olds and Alexander Winton separately built their own automobiles. Henry Ford built his first experimental car in 1893 and his first practical model in 1896.
   
   1892: The Duryea brothers construct the first American cars. Below is an 1896 version.
   
   
   1896: Henry Ford's First Car
   
   
   1896: Henry Ford at the Wheel of his First Car
   
   
   1907: Henry Ford's Model T goes into Production -- this is the 1913 Model on Display at the Smithsonian
   
   
   
3. In 1911 Charles F. Kettering (1876 -1958) perfected the electric self-starter and it was introduced by Cadillac in 1912. One of the most important inventions in history, it led to a social revolution.
   
   Kettering was a mechanical genius. While he worked for National Cash Register (NCR) he invented the electric cash register among other less well known business inventions. These formed the basis for NCR's highly profitable business. After NCR, he invented the modern battery ignition system for the automobile (spark plugs, distributer cap, etc.), the storage battery that could be recharged as the engine ran (he founded DELCO about this time), four-wheel brakes, ethyl gasoline, faster drying automobile paint, freon, and the Diesel locomotive.
   
   Charles F. Kettering
   (29 August 1876 - 25 November 1958)
   
   
   1911: Charles F. Kettering perfects the Self-Starter
   
   
   
4. By World War I, front bumpers, electric horns, rear-view mirrors, foot pedal accelerators, V-8 engines, and overdrive had all appeared. The technology had gelled and the modern car had emerged.
   
   1915 Mercer: A Recognizably Modern Car
   
   
   

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