The History of the Automobile

Introduction

Once upon a time, not so long ago, did we get around on horseback, and with horses pulling carriages and carts. This was something that only really ended in the last couple of centuries.

If you were to go back in time and tell your great-great-great-grandparents that you drive a car, they would have no idea what you were talking about. Our innovation and evolution makes us come up with all kinds of devices that make life easier for us, cars were one of these inventions.  But, who the hell invented them, and when? Where did this genius innovation come from that allows us to travel at fast speeds to get where we need to go much faster?

We all have a favorite car, but none of us really know the history of automobiles all that well. So, today, we are going to change that and enlighten you to the history of automobiles, and how they came to pass.

Birth of the Automobile (1860-1908)

The automobile is noted to have first been invented in the 1800s in Germany and France. Although it would be a lie to say that while they invented the automobile, that Americans did not quickly take over the industry.

In the first half of the 20th Century, Americans became the predominant inventors of the automobile, but this does not change their origin. We will talk more about that time in the automobile’s history later.

For now, let’s focus on where they came from, their origins, and the beginnings of a new way of travel.

Otto Nicolaus

There were more than one inventor who contributed to what we know as automobiles today. One of the inventors who contributed to the early automobile was Nikoalus Otto. Otto was a German engineer who developed and invented the first four-stroke internal combustion engine.

This invention did not only help with the invention of cars as we know them, but it also offered the first ever reasonable alternative to steam engines as a more efficient source of power.

Otto built the first example of this back in 1861, and three years later, he formed a partnership with Eugen Langen, who was a German industrialist, and they improved this concept and at the Paris Exposition in 1867, they won a gold medal. 

Later on, in 1876, he continued his work, building an internal-combustion engine, one that used a four-stroke system.

This was then patented in 1862 by a French engineer, but as Otto was the one who actually built the first engine with this concept, we now call it the “Otto Cycle”.

Over the next ten years of industrial history, over 30,000 of these engines were built. Yet, in 1886, Otto’s patent was nullified when the French engineer Alphonse Beau de Rochas earlier patent of this concept was brought into the public eye.

This invention did not only help with the invention of cars as we know them, but it also offered the first ever reasonable alternative to steam engines as a more efficient source of power.

Otto built the first example of this back in 1861, and three years later, he formed a partnership with Eugen Langen, who was a German industrialist, and they improved this concept and at the Paris Exposition in 1867, they won a gold medal.

Karl Benz

Later on in automotive history, another German engineer took the wheel with the innovation of vehicular mechanics.

Karl Benz, was the man who designed and built the world’s first ever practically functional automobile that was powered by an internal combustion engine, in 1885.

Although the actual original Benz, which was a three-wheeled car, first ran in this same year, the design was not secured until the end of January in 1886.

In 1883, Benz&Co was formed with the desire to construct internal combustion engines, although the company completed their first four-wheeled vehicle in 1893, they managed to produce the first in a line of racing cars by 1899.

By the year that Karl Benz passed away (1929), Benz merged with ‘Daimler-Motoren-Gellschaft’ and formed Daimler-Benz, who we all know as Mercedes-Benz.

Benz himself had left the company back in 1906, to organize the company C. Benz Söhne with his children.

However, Karl (sometimes spelled Carl) Benz, was the first man to design and build the first ever functional car that worked with an internal combustion engine. This was a feat that revolutionized the industry, and took the world by storm. Cars would be easier to produce as the engines required less space.

This also meant that there was a greater variety of fuels that could be used, whereas in steam engines before, you only had the one fuel type.

Gottlieb Daimler

Gottlieb Daimler was also in the picture that formed the future of automation. He was more closely tied with Nikolaus Otto, who invented the four-stroke internal combustion engine.

He became the technical director of Nikolaus Otto’s firm. In 1882, only twenty years or so after Otto’s invention, Daimler and one of his coworkers left the firm, and started their own shop to build engines.

As they did this, they patented one of the first ever majorly successful superfast internal combustion engines in 1885.

They crafted a carburetor which made it possible to use gasoline as a fuel type. They used these early engines fueled by gasoline on bicycles, thus possibly crafting the world’s first ever motorcycle.

As well as a four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage, which was moved via a single cylinder engine.

The efforts of Daimler and his coworker peaked in the form of a four-wheeled automobile that was designed to be so in 1889.

This first example had light tubing, belt-driven wheels, and a rear-mounted engine.

From this they founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellshaft, and nine years later, they built the first ever Mercedes car.

As we know, later on this company merged with Benz, resulting in Mercedes-Benz.

Ford Motor Company [Henry Ford]

You may have noticed that most of these inventors and engineers were German, of course, we know that Germany and France had a big part to play in the widespread introduction of cars in our lives.

However, America did too, and that is where Ford comes in. Ford was always making headlines, good, bad, whatever, he made them. He was known as a technological marvel, and he was the creative soul behind an industry that grew beyond belief.

At a young age Ford spent his spare time working on a farm tinkering with mechanics in a mini shop he set up. Eventually he managed to build a small ‘farming locomotive’. Essentially a tractor that used an old mowing machine for the chassis, and a homemade steam engine as its power source.

Within a decade he was made chief engineer at the Detroit Edison Company plant. He did not have regular hours and experimented all he wanted to. At this point he fathomed it would take several years to build a gasoline-powered vehicle and managed to complete this feat by the end of 1893. By 96 he had made his first carriage, run on its own power.

By 1899 he created the Henry Ford Company, however, there were issues and while he built many racing vehicles, he eventually left in 1902, and ended up marketing his first automobile through the Ford Motor Company.

1909-1950 Ford and the Motor Revolution

Ford had a big part to play in the way that vehicles blew up the economy. As we said earlier, while Europe had a big part to play in the invention of automobiles, the Americans dipped their fingers in and took the reins not long after.

Henry Ford was a catalyst, and he started it all off with the Model T. Of course, there were many automobiles that came before the Model T. However, they were not remarkable, but the less expensive vehicles showed the validity of Ford’s genius.

And soon, the premise to turn a cheap automobile from a luxury item and toy into a necessity was ideal. Making it cheap, easy to maintain and versatile.

Impact on Global Economy

By the time we were in the mid 1920s, the American automobile had started its success in the industrial revolution that Ford started. The whole country was now on wheels, horse-drawn carriages were no longer needed, and automobiles were everywhere. The manufacturing and sales of cars became a massively important part of the way the American economy worked. Closed cars were also now starting to no longer be a rich-man’s thing.

At the start of the decades, most cars were open models, and those inside them would only be protected from the elements by canvas and isinglass side curtains, but no more. The Essex Coach came into play, it was a no-frills, two-door sedan car that was brought in during 1922, manufactured by the Hudson Motor Car Company. It reduced the cost of sheltered motoring from how much it cost for a touring car. Later on, manufacturers in Detroit were only producing closed models, and this became the new way of things. Everyone wanted one, and selling them cheaper meant everyone could have one. With that America was on wheels.

Henry Ford was a catalyst, and he started it all off with the Model T. Of course, there were many automobiles that came before the Model T. However, they were not remarkable, but the less expensive vehicles showed the validity of Ford’s genius. And soon, the premise to turn a cheap automobile from a luxury item and toy into a necessity was ideal. Making it cheap, easy to maintain and versatile.

Public and other Civilian Uses from Automobiles

As owning a car became more common, and their uses became every day for many families across the U.S. (and slowly other countries too), manufacturers started building classic cars, faster cars, and let’s be honest, fancier cars too. What car you had was not just a way to get around, it was a statement of who you were and your worth, and it is still that way for many today. However, back then, it was even more significant. From 1925 until 1935 we saw many new small automobiles hit the market, but also many larger ones as well. And, the two decades from 1925 became the era of the classic car.

The rise of fast and luxurious automobiles peaked so high, we probably won’t reach a peak like this ever again. The first car to breach this ‘classic’ barrier was the Rolls-Royce. The company was founded in 1906, and they were breathtaking at the time. Chassis build for limos and large sedans. Of course, many others followed after this, and cars became more of a statement, and a luxury as they are known as today. Humanity quickly went from a time on horse-drawn carriages to in the comfy seat of a closed car, thinking about engines rather than stables.

Military Applications

Of course, Ford did not only bring about the automobile craze that hit America like a storm, Ford had other applications too. And, in the Second World War, they helped out the military a great deal. In fact, the whole auto industry in America saved them with their auto innovations. It is no secret that German engineers were ahead of the game, but wide-spread and fast innovation made America meet that innovation with even more.

At the start of WWII, things seemed hopeless, there was a lack of tools and equipment, but the U.S. Automobile industry came to save the day. Back in the Second World War, things looked pretty hopeless really, the Nazi’s were rampaging left, right, and center over Europe, and they had the resources to do so. We often forget the degree to which we were losing.

We were spread crazy thin in the first year and a half of the war, there was no shortage of honorable men, but there just were not enough tools. The U.S. automotive industry came to save the day, providing the arsenal that allowed their allies to win the war.\ We often say that it was America that changed things, but if we are honest, it was the U.S. automotive industry that did. And what’s even more, they still do. Consider the Cadillac and Chrysler tanks, Ford B-24 bombers, and the Ford ventilators that were used during the 2020 pandemic!

Early Racing

Racing has always been a big thing, before we were racing cars, we raced horses (and we still do). Of course, in the years around 1910 we were already racing cars, and it drew some of the largest crowds in U.S. sporting history.

This popularity faded during the war, but post-war it picked back up again, and it became one of the highest-ranking U.S. spectator sports. In fact, by 1969, the attendance was up to 41,300,000, that’s even higher than the NFL! The only sport known to beat automobile racing at this time was horse racing.

By the time we hit the 50s and 60s manufacturers tested new designs at races. Ford was the most successful at this, they won the 24-hour Grand Prix race, and it was the first ever American car that did so. But, let’s step back a bit, while America was successful thanks to Ford in this regard, we cannot easily forget that pioneers in automobile racing were the French, they were the first to do it, and ‘Grand Prix’… French. While America took the reins in racing, and took to it well, we cannot forget that France and Germany were the first to get their teeth in.

1951-2021 Growth of the Automotive Industry

The post-war era brought about many new cars and much in the way of mechanics and innovation. However, it was also subordinate to some questionable aesthetics of not-so-functional styles, often at the expense of safety and the economy. Quality deteriorated for the most part. But it also saw the rise of Japanese Automobile makers, and more companies, countries, and people got involved in the first of the auto industry.

Types of Automobiles

What happened over a series of 160 odd years, brought about many different types of automobiles. Today we have so many choices, types, brands, makes, styles, and colors to choose from, we are utterly spoiled for choice.

There would be so many ways to define automobiles, however, the easiest is by how it looks. This means the shape of the vehicle, is it tall, is it low, how many doors, and so on. There are plenty of options, as you may see wherever you go into a car sales office.  Let’s break it down and take a look at each of these styles that are available everywhere today. Regardless of make and model, the real focus is the shape.

SUV

SUV stands for ‘Sport-Utility Vehicle’. They are often also crossovers, taller and boxier than a sedan is, and they have more ground clearance than others. They do have station-wagon styled cargo space.

Most SUV’s also offer four-wheel drive too. Larger versions of these can have three rows of seats, and you can get these from subcompacts such as Hyundai Kona, or even something like the recent Renault Captur which is considered to be a compact SUV.

Of course, you can get medium-sized and full size ones as well, such as the Chevrolet Tahoe. You can also get luxury brand SUVs too!

Coupe

Coupes, we do like a coupe, and they are typically seen as a nice, sleek car. They are historically considered to be two-door vehicles with a typical trunk and a hard roof.

This includes vehicles such as Audi A5’s or Ford Mustangs. You can even get sports-cars (two-seaters) such as Porsche Boxster that are also Coupes. Car companies, however, started to apply ‘coupe’ to four doors as well, or crossovers that have a low roofline that is similar to traditional ‘coupe’ styling.

Most SUV’s also offer four-wheel drive too. Larger versions of these can have three rows of seats, and you can get these from subcompacts such as Hyundai Kona, or even something like the recent Renault Captur which is considered to be a compact SUV. Of course, you can get medium-sized and full size ones as well, such as the Chevrolet Tahoe.

You can also get luxury brand SUVs too!

sedan

Sedans are made with four doors and a standard trunk. Like a majority of vehicles in many different styles, you can get a sedan from small sub-compact vehicles such as a Kia Rio, or a Nissan Versa, all the way to compacts like a Honda Civic, or a medium size such as a Nissan Altima. You can then also get a full-sized such as a Dodge Charger.

You could even go bigger and get a luxury brand such as a Mercedes-Benz, as they do sedans as well.

hatchbacks

Originally, the name ‘hatchback’ references a compact, or even a subcompact sedan with a squared roof and rear flip door. These cars include a Kia Rio, Toyota Aygo, and Volkswagen Golf. You can also find rear hatches to be on larger cars too, such as Audi 7’s.

They look a bit like sedans, but they have a more steep hatchback trunk. They are often a bit smaller too. Most first-cars for many drivers are traditionally hatchbacks, as they are also one of the most affordable car types. You could even go bigger and get a luxury brand such as a Mercedes-Benz, as they do sedans as well.

Convertibles

If the roof of the car retracts into its body, it is a convertible. A majority of convertibles will have a fabric roof that will fold down automatically through the car’s internal electrics, however, some are manual that need deconstruction by-hand (Looking at you Citroën C3 Pluriel).

You can also get a few types that have a retractable hardtop, which is in many ways, more convenient for most who don’t live in warm climates. You can also get quasi-convertibles, such as the Corvette, or Porsche 911 Targa. This is when only the front section of the roof retracts, or requires removal by hand.

Station Wagon

Station wagons are not unlike sedans in many ways, but they do have an extended roofline and a hatch door. A lot of large dog owners will have these cars, because there is plenty of trunk space for a large dog.

Some station wagons, such as the Subaru Outback, will have higher ground clearance, and perhaps more rugged body work to make them more similar to an SUV. They are, however, more like the close cousin of the sedan, and more like a third cousin once removed to the SUV. Station wagons are less popular now, there are fewer for sale now in the U.S. although they are still popular in some places.

Sports Cars

Sports cars are hot, they are sporty, hot, steamy, and cool-looking. They are coupes and convertibles, low riding, with very little ground clearance. They are usually also sleek and come with a price tag higher than most paychecks.

A majority of these cars are two-seaters, although there are a few with rear seats too. This includes cars such as the Porsche 911, however, it could also include muscle cars such as the Dodge Challenger. There are also high-life sports cars for the vastly wealthy such as the Aston Martin Vantage. These will stop traffic with their almost otherworldly aesthetics.

Pick-Up Trucks

Let’s not forget pick-up trucks. If you live in the south, or in a rural area, you will often find these in abundance. They have a passenger cab and an open-cargo space in the rear. Pick-up trucks typically have four-wheel drive, or all-wheel drive.

There is only one real exception to this which is the Honda Ridgeline, where the pickup body is mounted to a totally separated steel frame. It is a bit like a crossover pick-up. Pick-up trucks only come as full-size, or middle-sized.

4x4s

4×4’s are much like SUVs, and in some ways are like Pick-up trucks too. A 4×4 is simply a car which has the engine which will power all 4 wheels in unison. It is a four-wheel/ all-wheel drive vehicle.

Supercars

Super cars are made for speed, they are fast in terms of their top speed and their acceleration. They have a hierarchy that begins with the sports cars we spoke about earlier and ends with hypercars.

Supercars are a high performing medium. They are made from vehicles that won’t be ashamed to tear up a track. These include the Lamborghini Huracán, the Aventador, the McLaren 720S and more.

Racing

While it is totally possible to race any car you want. Back in the earliest days of automotive racing, the French would race on African dirt tracks using standard family cars.

Of course, you can race any car that has the power to race, drag races, rally stages, dirt track, and so on. However, racing cars, like the ones you see in the Grand Prix or Formula One are very different to the cars you would keep in your garage at home. In Formula One you see cars that are single-seater, open-cockpit, open-wheel cars. They have substantial front and rear wings with a rear engine.

This substantially assists with the aerodynamics of the vehicle, and they will often have large engines and can hit speeds of 300 km/h, sometimes more. In the Grand Prix, these same style of cars are used, however they are usually tinkered with to meet certain requirements. Some cars are even specifically named as Grand Prix cars, such as the Mercedes 1914 GP (GP standing for Grand Prix).

Electric Cars and Hybrids

While once upon a time, steam seemed like the best fuel for transportation, we changed to gasoline, however, gas may not be the best, and with the current climate crisis, engineers and mechanical companies are looking towards new horizons.

Economical value, fuel efficiency, climate friendliness, and for cost-friendliness, electric cars made their way into our lives. Of course, not everyone is going to love electric cars, but hybrids are there as a back-up.

Hybrids provide the option of using either electricity or gas to power your vehicle. For those who are worried there are not enough EV charging stations around, Hybrids will not break down if your car runs out of battery, the gasoline can keep it going.

Electric vehicles have a battery instead of a gas tank. They also have an electrical motor instead of having an internal combustion engine. Hybrids are a combination of gas and electric vehicles. This means they have a battery, a motor, a tank, and an internal combustion engine. They are becoming more widely available, and they can look sleek, such as the Nissan Leaf (EV) or the Toyota Yaris (PHEV).

While when electric cars first came out they did not have the best driving range, this has been vastly improved upon in the last few years, and you can get EV’s with excellent mileage. We also praise their lack of fuel emissions, and even PHEV’s only release tailpipe emissions when using their gas tank instead of electrical charge.

The biggest issue with EV and PHEV at the moment is that not everywhere has sufficient EV charging points, and while there are many homes that have space to install their own EV charging stations, some in larger cities, and compact countries do not.

The future of cars

Technology is rapidly evolving, there is no doubt about that. Our advancements in technology have come far.

When cars were first invented with Otto, Ford, Daimler, and Benz, this looked like the height of technology. That was less than 200 years ago. Now, we can listen to music as we drive, have heated seats, and we are even seeing driverless cars become a more common thing.At this time we have electric cars, hybrids, and driverless cars all coming onto the scene.But what does the future hold? Who knows?

Some worry for the future of becoming TOO automated, but the truth is, the way these cars work is just becoming more creative to fit in with the way we run our lives now.

Your commute to work would be more constructive if you had a driverless car. You wouldn’t need to work overtime, you could work on the way to and from work as well (for some jobs).

The future looks to me more electric regardless of the way that driverless cars are taking the world by storm. Electric cars still give vehicle enthusiasts the ability to get behind the wheel and focus on the road, but are also more ecologically and economically friendly.

So, for the future, we can expect more electric cars and driverless cars to be the primary form of transportation. It is totally possible that the internal combustion engine could end up being a museum artifact, much like the steam engine.

Summary

We started this history less back in 1860, and now we are in 2022. That is only 162 years. In those 162 years we saw cars take over from horse-drawn carriages, become a household normality, and now we are watching electrics take over.

The automobile industry is ever-changing, and automobiles will be forever evolving alongside the way we run our lives. Will we ever get to flying cars like in ‘Back To The Future’, who knows? Maybe one day.

However, whatever the case, we can all surely appreciate the majesty of human innovation and how the simple car has come, and all of those who contributed to make it such an incredible aspect of our lives.

After all, where would we be, if not for our cars?

934 Packard Victoria Convertible

953 MG

962 Ford Anglia

936 Ford Standard Tudor Sedan

956 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster

1912 Baker Electric Roadster.

958 Triumph TR3

970 Triumph TR6

983 Porsche 911

1909 Rolland-Pilain Roadster.

1909 ITALA ‘ Palombella’ Limousine.

983 Porsche 911

1917 Ford Model T

1924 Ford Model T Touring ii

1914 Ford Model T

1929 Duesenberg Model J Brougham

1929 Duesenberg J Convertible Coupe by Murphy ($2,4 million)

1928 ROLLS-ROYCE MERLIN SPEEDSTER.

1930 Cadillac V16 Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton ii

1930 Cadillac V16 Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton ii

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