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A History of the Car by Poche Matrite http://www.fcocar.com The car stands out as one of man's greatest inventions. You may not realize that cars are not merely a twentieth century invention, but actually date back to the sixteenth century. The oldest cars were run by steam. Nicholas- Joseph Cugnot, a Frenchman, invented a steam engine powered vehicle, similar to a tricycle, that weighed a 9000 pounds! The wheels of this vehicle were made of wood and the engine was placed between a recycled crankshaft of a canyon chariot. This huge artifact(and eyesore) didn't last long, but the idea was quickly used as a launching point in England. The first internal-combustion engine was patented by Etienne Lenoir (a Belgian), in France. A six later, Gottlieb Daimler introduced the first patent for a internal-combustion propelled car. The prototype car, weighing more 4000 pounds, was introduced in Paris by Daimler's supervisor, Nicholas Otto. This introduction is considered by many to be the industrial birth of the car. Daimler continued to work on refining his project. He later built an 80 pound engine, which is considered the forerunner of the blast engine. Even while this activity was going on, Karl Benz, an engineer continued to work on his design for first usable vehicle propelled by an internal-combustion engine. His work on his prototype vehicle, a small tricycle, was completed in 1885. In 1893 he introduced his four wheeled vehicle. Benz' company pioneered the development of motor vehicles, but later the company, reluctant to use other pioneer's inventions, lost much of its momentum. In 1926, the Benz company merged with the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft company, creating the Mercedes Benz company. The fierce competition between car manufacturers continued between 1880 and the beginning of the twentieth century. The competition among manufactures spurred improvements in a variety of car parts, such as brakes, shock absorbers, shifts and ignitions. All the car engines were powered initially with gasoline (which was discovered by Eilhard Mitscherlich). Louis Renault's home became his car factory as he experimented with arming the first car. Henry Ford, an American, created a rolling, gas powered machine, but Ford's claim to fame came from his development of the first assembly line in his Highland Park factory. The actual assembly line was a metallic chain with car chassis placed on the chain. His factory automation procedures reduced the cost of car production. The Ford Company's Model T was one of the highest selling cars (15 million) - its sales record was only beat 50 years later by the Volkswagen Beetle. Ultimately, much of the development was helped by some visionary manufacturers, such as Ettore Bugatti, Ferdinand Porsche, Armand Peugeot, Andr~~ Citro~~n, Ferrucio Lamborghiniand, and Enzo Ferrari. They all made significant contributions to the development of the modern day car. |