Evolution of Commercial Vehicles

Evolution of Commercial Vehicles dates back to a long time and happened over a period of time. Commercial Vehicles category will mainly include truck, bus, jeep, tractor, ambulance etc.

The evolution of bus dates back to the early 19th Century. In the early 1830's Sir Goldworthy Gruney from the UK had designed some kind of a Hugh stagecoach, which was powered by steam engine. This was probably the first kind of bus

developed by mankind. However, after the first breakthrough in 1830, the development of buses took a new stage in 1895.

It was during this time, that the first passenger bus with four to six horse power single cylinder engine was made in Germany. The modern term bus had come form the Latin word "Omnibus", meaning "for all". And, by the year 1915, bus service had started throughout the world. And slowly the Horse-Drawn Carriage and the Electric-Trolley cars were replaced by Buses.
The evolution of Jeep dates back to the First World War times. It was during this particular period that the US Army was looking for a fast, light weight, all terrain utility vehicle. And it became absolutely necessary as the war progressed. So the army called all the vehicle manufacturers and gave them a list of specifications and told them to manufacture such a vehicle within 49 days. However, only two companies responded to the call, and they were The Bantam Car Company and the Willys- Overland. Although initially the 49 day deadline was a problem, yet with outside help The Bantam Car Company finally did manage to build the first hand-built prototype within the timeframe. Later, after the testing was completed, the army testers came to the opinion that this vehicle was upto the mark and that it met all the requirements and specifications. Later, both Willys and Ford submitted prototypes based on the Bantam Plan. But it was Willys who finally got the army contract. Although no one knows for sure how the term "Jeep" came into being, yet different people have different versions of story about it. However, the most commonly known answer to this question is that the US Army had designated this particular vehicle as G.P (General Purpose vehicle), which later transformed into the term "Jeep". Initially the Willys had obtained the Jeep trademark from the United States Trademark Registration. However, down the years this trademark has changed hands from Willys to Kaiser to American Motors Corporation to Chrysler Corporation, which is the latest owner of this trademark.

Tractors are mainly used for agricultural purposes. The agricultural industry was highly benefited with the introduction of Tractors. The first Tractors used internal combustion technology. They were stationary and sometimes wheels were added on to it, to make it mobile. When tractors were first introduced, they were fitted with metallic tires. However, since 1932, rubber tires were introduced to replace metallic tires. Initially, the Tractors were also run based on the concept of steam engine. However, at the beginning of the 20th century experiments were made and gas powered tractors were introduced. The first ambulances were the stretchers, handcarts and the wagons. They were initially used to carry wounded soldiers to the on-field medical camps. Dominique Jean Larrey, a French surgeon in the 1700's designed the first light weighed two wheel wagons to carry the wounded soldiers and the surgeons.

Ambulance can be defined as, any vehicle that is used to transport people seeking medical attention to the near by medical center. The civil war made it absolutely necessary the need to have ambulances to carry the wounded. And slowly with time and technological advancement the concept of ambulance changed from the initial concept of pack animals pulling the medical wagons to the motorized ambulances that we see now-a-days. Even to the extent that today, helicopters and certain special boats are also used to transport the wounded to the medical centers.

The evolution of trucks dates back to the late 19th century. Gottlieb Daimler designed the first truck in 1896. However, the popularization of the concept of trucks happened during the World War times. It was during that period that the usefulness of the trucks was understood.

Trucks can be defined as heavy vehicles specially manufactured to carry out special functions like transporting heavy goods, machinery etc. and to do specialized work.

The specifications of the first truck were a four horse power engine which had two forward speeds and one reverse speed fitted with a belt drive. This was of German make and was the first pickup truck. However, with time, the development of trucks has come a long way. Today, trucks are very powerful and can be of 500 horsepower or more. Today's trucks are equipped with machinery that enables them to have very high power required for climbing mountainous regions and high altitude. They also have the required specifications to attain very high speed as well. The towing truck industry was established in 1916 by Ernest Holmes after he patented his invention.