Otomobil Tarihi

1770 In France, a military engineer named Nicholas Joseph Cugnot builds a large steam-driven vehicle. It could only operate for 12 to 15 minutes before running out of steam, and its tremendous weight and poor balance made it very difficult to steer.
1784 James Watt patents a steam carriage. However, no practical applications come of it.

An 1897 Leon Bollee.
1785 John Fitch invents a steam-propelled boat in New Jersey (for which he receives a patent in 1791). The following year, in 1786, he organizes a company to build steam engines. He even builds a model of a road vehicle with an engine. However, he committed suicide during development of these ideas. Oh well.
1787 Oliver Evans patents a steam engine in Maryland, for use in land transportation.
1791 Nathan Read receives a Federal patent for a high pressure boiler and improved cylinder. He begins plans to apply these to land carriages.
1797 Richard Trevithick begins work on a high-pressure steam engine in England. James Watt opposes his work, feeling that it is publicly hazardous.
1801 Cornishman Richard Trevithick builds a steam carriage, which undergoes a public run on Christmas Eve. It carries several people, driving uphill at around 5 to 6 miles per hour, and along level roads at 8 to 9 miles per hour. During another run a few days later, the boiler catches fire, destroying the carriage. This shows how unstable engines in the past were - very unstable.
1803 Richard Trevithick builds an improved steam carriage ( it didn't explode so much ), which is shipped to London. It drives around London, reaching speeds of 8 to 9 miles per hour, or around 14 km/h. His funding then runs out, and the engine is sold.
1807 In Switzerland, Isaac de Rivaz patents a trolley powered by a primitive gas engine, which could drive across a room. It had difficulty in operation, as its exhaust valve had to be manually operated. Note : It was extremely pollutive.
1825 Thomas Blanchard completes one of the first few operable steam carriages of the United States in Massachusetts. It was able to drive forward and in reverse, steer and climb hills. He publicly demonstrated the vehicle the following year.
1835 A steam wagon is built in Vermont, and demonstrated successfully by an unknown inventor.
1837 Thomas Davenport, a blacksmith from Vermont, patents the first electric motor. A pre 1901 Duryea. More to come.. just click on those cute little green words down there
1844 New Yorker Stuart Perry constructs an internal combustion engine, using turpentine as fuel. It was patented in 1844 and 1846, and had a two-cycle method of operation.
1853 Richard Dudgeon begins work on an operable steam carriage ( whoa! a steam carriage that might actually work! ), and it is exhibited in the Crystal Palace in 1857. He builds another in 1866, which undergoes public trials.




1859 Belgian J. J. Étienne Lenoir builds an engine dilated by the combustion of gas, and used a jump-spark method. A Paris company is formed to develop the engine. One of his engines, an 18-liter, could develop 2 horsepower ( for the uninitiated, it refers to having the power equivalent to having 2 horses pull along your carriage ). This was a significant development in the evolution of cars over the years.

1879
Karl Benz ( yep, Mercedes-BENZ ) builds his first two-stroke gasoline engine. A 1903 Krieger - one of the earliest hybrids This 1903 Krieger proves that there is nothing new under the sun. This car is a front wheel drive electric-gasoline hybrid car and has power steering. A gasoline engine supplements the battery pack.
1883 Gottlieb Daimler experiments with a single-cylinder engine mounted in a bicycle frame.
1886 Daimler carries out tests with a gas engine mounted in a converted four-seater phaeton carriage.
1895 Benz builds 135 cars (62 were his most popular model, the Velo), including an assortment of phaetons, landaus and omnibuses. Over 40 Benz cars are driving around in France.
1896 Charles E. and J. Frank Duryea together found the U.S. auto industry by building and selling 13 vehicles based on the same design.
1897 The design of an electric motor for wheel hubs by Ferdinand Porsche lays the foundation for numerous other inventions.
1899 Benz builds his 2,000th car.. whoa.
1902 Packard patents the "H" shift pattern.
1903 Ford Motor Company is incorporated with $28,000 capital, which was a fortune in those days . The first Model A runabout is sold.
1908 The General Motors Company is incorporated in New Jersey by William Durant. Buick and Oldsmobile become part of it.
1909 Cadillac and Oakland join the General Motors Company.
1910 Automobile production reaches 181,000 in the United States.
1911 Chevrolet Motor Company is organized.
A 1929 CordL

A 1929 CordL.
1923 As Technical Director at Daimler in Stuttgart, Ferdinand Porsche develops the legendary supercharged Mercedes-Benz SS and SSK sports cars, among others.
1929 Duesenberg announces its new 265-horsepower car (hence the famous phrase, 'it's a Duesy').
1930 The Depression causes a slump in U.S. automotive sales.
1936 54% of U.S. families now own cars. Surprised? Ford and his mass production methods made cars cheap and available even to farmers.
1940 The first true automatic transmission is offered by Oldsmobile.
1941 Packard is the first to offer air conditioning (air-con! at long last..).




1941 Willys delivers the first Jeeps to the U.S. Army.

The 1939 Crosley Series 1A. Looks ugly now, but it was the rage back then.
1945 The end of WWII, incidentally. Tucker debuts with a prototype automobile, although the model itself will not appear until 1948.
1946 Chevrolet is one of the first car manufacturers to make use of television to advertise their cars.
1947 Packard offers power seats and windows in its automobiles. YOU thought it was a pretty new thing, didn't YOU?
1948 The Roadster, Type 356 No. 1, is built under the direction of Ferdinand Porsche, Jr. - the first automobile to carry the now famous Porsche name.

The Porsche Roadster 356.
1949 General Motors fields the first true hardtops.
1950 Goodyear develops puncture-sealing tires.
1951 Kaiser features a padded dashboard, and a pop-out windshield.
1952 Packard offers power brakes.
1955 Chevrolet introduces the Corvette.
1955 The first McDonald's drive-in opens. It was one of the most innovative concepts ever, and there was a continuous stream of cars visiting it. Many drive-ins would soon follow.

A 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.
1956 Ford automobiles offer seat belts, but the public is uninterested. Then again, at that time cars weren't all that fast, so who would care about seat belts? Of course as you all know seat belts are one of the most important safety features in cars.
1957 An average car sells for $2,749.
1958 The first Toyotas and Datsuns ( Japanese cars btw ) arrive in the United States.





1959 Chrysler offers non-glare rearview mirrors.
1960 80% of U.S. families have cars.
1961 Warranties are extended to at least 12,000 miles/12 months.
1963 The first emission controls are mandated, to keep the rising emissions of pollution down ( duh ).
1964 All new American cars have front seatbelts standard. Incidentally, crash test dummies were introduced around this time.

A 1964 Lincoln Continental.
1966 Rear seat belts become standard in the United States.
1968 Front shoulder harnesses are required in addition to seatbelts, in America. All the recent developments in safety devices were evidence of the growing speeds of cars.

A 1970 Cadillac Coupe DeVille.
1971 Emission controls are on their way up, horsepower is on its way down, and muscle cars are on their way out.
1973 Chevrolets are offered with air bags, but there are few takers. Remember when no one bothered about seat belts? Hmm..
1974 Traffic deaths are reduced by the new 55 m.p.h. speed limit in the United States.
1975 U.S. domestic cars install catalytic converters to cut emissions.

A Chevrolet Corvette.. in the 90s!
1984 Chryslers launches the modern minivan.
1986 Center-mounted brake lights are mandated.
1999 Hey.. 1999 is this year! It doesn't belong to the past... if you wanna know more about cars today, well, you know where to click.