• 1769: Nicholas Joseph Cugnot (1725-1804) from France built the first self-prOpelled road vehicle (military tractor) for the French Army. It was a three-wheeled vehicle with a maximum speed of 2.5 mph.
• 1832-1839: Robert Anderson, from Scotland built the first Electric Carriage.
• 1885/86: Karl Friedrich Benz (1844-1929) from Germany built the first true automobile. This three-wheeled vehicle was powered by an internal combustion engine. The engine was a four-stroke one and it formed a single unit along with the chassis.
• 1886: Gottileb Wilhelm Daimler (1834-1900) and Wilhelm Maybach (1846-1929) built the first gasoline powered, four-wheeled, four-stroke engine which is also known as the Cannstatt-Daimler.
• 1876-95: George Baldwin Selden (1846-1922) combined the internal combustion engine with a carriage. This vehicle was also powered by gasoline.
1893: Charles Edgar Duryea (1862-1938) and his brother Frank (1870-1967) from United States built the first successful gasoline powered car. This car had a 4 HP, 2-stroke motor. He is also credited with the setting up of American Car Manufacturing Company.
As time passed by more and more developments came in, that finally saw through after many experiments. Even now, various R&D efforts are being carried on by al the global auto majors. Their objective is to make the car more fuel-efficient and dynamic while ensuring that it suits all budgets and become easily afFordable. Today, with the help of latest technologies like GPS navigation system, power windows and locks, the automobile industry is touching the sky and this trend is here to stay. With more technological improvements in the offing, one can only hope of better and more advanced cars becoming a common sight across the globe in near future. |
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