Famous-Automobile-Makers
he men and women behind the over 100,000 patents that created the modern
automobile.
1. Nicolaus August Otto
One of the most important landmarks in engine design comes from Nicolaus Otto who in
1876 invented an effective gas motor engine. Nicolaus Otto built the first practical four-
stroke internal combustion engine called the "Otto Cycle Engine."
2. Gottlieb Daimler
In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler invented a gas engine that allowed for a revolution in car
design. On March 8, 1886, Daimler took a stagecoach and adapted it to hold his engine,
thereby designing the world's first four-wheeled automobile.
3. Karl Benz (Carl Benz)
Karl Benz was the German mechanical engineer who designed and in 1885 built the
world's first practical automobile to be powered by an internal-combustion engine.
4. John Lambert
America's first gasoline-powered automobile was the 1891 Lambert car invented by John
W. Lambert.
5. Duryea Brothers
America's first gasoline powered commercial car manufacturers were two brothers,
Charles Duryea (1861-1938) and Frank Duryea. The brothers were bicycle makers who
became interested in gasoline engines and automobiles. On September 20 1893, their
first automobile was constructed and successfully tested on the public streets of
Springfield, Massachusetts.
6. Henry Ford
Henry Ford improved the assembly line for automobile manufacturing (Model-T),
invented a transmission mechanism, and popularized the gas-powered automobile.
Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on his family's farm in Dearborn, Michigan. From the
time he was a young boy, Ford enjoyed tinkering with machines.
7. Rudolf Diesel
Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel-fueled internal combustion engine.
8. Charles Franklin Kettering
Charles Franklin Kettering invented the first automobile electrical ignition system and the
first practical engine-driven generator.
Antique Cars 1880 Through 1916
1910 Ford Tourer
In a Class of its Own
The classification of “Antique Car” applies to those wonderful automobiles that were
manufactured at the conception of motorized travel up until the US involvement in the
First World War in 1916. By that time, most car production was effectively stalled in
Britain, Germany, France, Italy and the US, to allow for the manufacturing of military
vehicles; often on the same factory production lines.
It Started With Steam
The first of the "horseless carriages" that man used to get him from one place to another
was propelled with steam. In 1765, Swiss engineer Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot was credited
with building the first full-scale steam vehicle which could carry four passengers at
3mph. In 1801 the Cornish Engineer, Richard Trevithick, produced a steam carriage that
could produce a top speed of 12 mph, with gears that provided a high ratios for level
roads and low ratios for going up hills. Steam powered vehicles continued to develop
until the arrival of the internal combustion engine patented by the Belgian, Etienne
Lenoir, in 1860.
The Arrival of the Four-Stroke Engine
The four-stroke engine was designed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz, almost at the
same time. But it was Benz who put his creation on a three wheeled tubular framed
chassis and produced the first limited-run production motorcar. Panhard and Levassor
were two French engineers who began manufacturing Daimler’s four-stroke engine and
then sold the rights to a manufacturing firm called Peugeot because they saw no future
in motorcars.
How Mercedes got its Name
As the demand for the motor car rose, so did production; Karl Benz produced 2,000 cars
by the end of 1890, mainly for rich buyers. In 1901, Daimler received an order for 30
cars from the wealthy Austro-Hungarian Consul, Emil Jellinek, on the condition that they
are named “Mercedes” after his daughter. Following that, all German Daimlers were
called Mercedes.
Ford Delivers the Model T
In 1903 Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company and produced the unmistakable
and very practical Model T, using the engine design of Etienne Lenoir. The Model T's
instant popularity changed the demand of motorcars overnight; to keep up with the
country’s insatiable desire for motoring, Ford created the first moving production line.
However, the advent of WWI ended the antique car era by halting any further big
advances in design and engineering.
We owe a great deal to the Antiques
We owe the rest of the development of the automobile industry to these early designs
with all their strengths and many weaknesses; antique designs did not have a windshield
or roof, featured square-sided body styling and bicycle-inspired fenders and wood
frames. But they used engine technologies still seen in many cars today.
Automobile Timeline - Pre1850
1771 crash of Nicolas Joseph Cugnot's steam-powered car into a stone wall
1769
The very first self-propelled road vehicle was a military tractor invented by French
engineer and mechanic, Nicolas Joseph Cugnot.
1789
The first U.S. patent for a steam-powered land vehicle was granted to Oliver Evans.
1801
Richard Trevithick built a road carriage powered by steam. It was the first built in Great
Britain.
1807
Francois Isaac de Rivaz of Switzerland invented an internal combustion engine that used
a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. Rivaz designed a car for his engine that was
the first internal combustion powered automobile. However, his was a very unsuccessful
design.
1823
Samuel Brown invents an internal combustion engine with separate combustion and
working cylinders. It is used to power a vehicle.
1832-1839
Between 1832 and 1839 (the exact year is uncertain), Robert Anderson of Scotland
invented the first crude electric carriage.
Automobile Timeline - Pre1900
Gottlieb Daimler - the world’s first motorbike
1863
Jean-Joseph-Etienne Lenoir builds a “horseless carriage” that uses an internal combustion engine that can reach speed of 3 mph).
1867
Nicholaus August Otto develops an improved internal combustion engine.
1870
Julius Hock builds the first internal combustion engine that runs on liquid gasoline.
1877
Nikolaus Otto builds the four-cycle internal combustion engine, the prototype for modern car engines.
August 21 1879
George Baldwin files for the first U.S. patent for an automobile - well, actually a wagon fitted with an internal combustion engine.
September 5 1885
The first gasoline pump is installed in Fort Wayne.
1885
Karl Benz builds a three-wheel automobile powered by a gasoline engine. the world’s first motorbike uses one of his internal combustion engines to build the world’s first
motorbike.
1886
Henry Ford builds his first automobile in Michigan.
1887
Gottlieb Daimler uses his internal combustion engine to build a four-wheel vehicle, considered the first modern automobile.
