The History of the Automobile
The First Mass Producers of Cars - The Assembly Line
1891 Panhard-Levassor vehicle with front engine

More of This Feature
• Part I: Steam Cars • Part 2: Electric Cars • Part 3: Gas Cars • Part 4: Assembly Line
Related Resources
• More Car History • Car Model History • Car Parts History • American Roads • Panhard and Levassor • Duryea Brothers • Henry Ford • Car Invention Trivia
By the early 1900s, gasoline cars started to outsell all other types of motor vehicles. The market was growing for economical automobiles and the need for industrial production was pressing.
The first car manufacturers in the world were French: Panhard & Levassor (1889) and Peugeot (1891). By car manufacturer we mean builders of entire motor vehicles for sale and not just engine inventors who experimented with car design to test their engines - Daimler and Benz began as the latter before becoming full car manufacturers and made their early money by licensing their patents and selling their engines to car manufacturers.
Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor were partners in a woodworking machinery business, when they decided to become car manufacturers. They built their first car in 1890 using a Daimler engine. Edouard Sarazin, who held the license rights to the Daimler patent for France, commissioned the team. (Licensing a patent means that you pay a fee and then you have the right to build and use someone's invention for profit - in this case Sarazin had the right to build and sell Daimler engines in France.) The partners not only manufactured cars, they made improvements to the automotive body design.
Panhard-Levassor made vehicles with a pedal-operated clutch, a chain transmission leading to a change-speed gearbox, and a front radiator. Levassor was the first designer to move the engine to the front of the car and use a rear-wheel drive layout. This design was known as the Systeme Panhard and quickly became the standard for all cars because it gave a better balance and improved steering. Panhard and Levassor are also credited with the invention of the modern transmission - installed in their 1895 Panhard.
Panhard and Levassor also shared the licensing rights to Daimler motors with Armand Peugot. A Peugot car went on to win the first car race held in France, which gained Peugot publicity and boosted car sales. Ironically, the "Paris to Marseille" race of 1897 resulted in a fatal auto accident, killing Emile Levassor. (Learn more about Panhard and Levassor)
Early on, French manufacturers did not standardize car models - each car was different from the other. The first standardized car was the 1894, Benz Velo. One hundred and thirty four identical Velos were manufactured in 1895.
Charles and Frank Duryea America's first gasoline-powered commercial car manufacturers were Charles and Frank Duryea. The brothers were bicycle makers who became interested in gasoline engines and automobiles and built their first motor vehicle in 1893, in Springfield, Massachusetts. By 1896, the Duryea Motor Wagon Company had sold thirteen models of the Duryea, an expensive limousine, which remained in production into the 1920s. (Learn more about Charles and Frank Duryea)
Ransome Eli Olds The first automobile to be mass produced in the United States was the 1901, Curved Dash Oldsmobile, built by the American car manufacturer Ransome Eli Olds (1864-1950). Olds invented the basic concept of the assembly line and started the Detroit area automobile industry. He first began making steam and gasoline engines with his father, Pliny Fisk Olds, in Lansing, Michigan in 1885. Olds designed his first steam-powered car in 1887. In 1899, with a growing experience of gasoline engines, Olds moved to Detroit to start the Olds Motor Works, and produce low-priced cars. He produced 425 "Curved Dash Olds" in 1901, and was America's leading auto manufacturer from 1901 to 1904.
Henry Ford American car manufacturer, Henry Ford (1863-1947) invented an improved assembly line and installed the first conveyor belt-based assembly line in his car factory in Ford's Highland Park, Michigan plant, around 1913-14. The assembly line reduced production costs for cars by reducing assembly time. Ford's famous Model T was assembled in ninety-three minutes. Ford made his first car, called the "Quadricycle," in June, 1896. However, success came after he formed the Ford Motor Company in 1903. This was the third car manufacturing company formed to produce the cars he designed. He introduced the Model T in 1908 and it was a success. After installing the moving assembly lines in his factory in 1913, Ford became the world's biggest car manufacturer. By 1927, 15 million Model Ts had been manufactured. Automobile History

Model A Ford circa 1930
Contents:
The History of Cars
Famous Automobile Makers
Timelines
Different Models
Automobile Accessories/Parts
Related Information: Motorcycles, Tractors, Roads, Engines Featured Article
The History of Cars Written by your guide: A multi-part feature on the history of automobiles starting with the first steam, electrical, and gasoline-engine cars. Learn the controversy behind discovering who was really first in car history and understand the importance of the internal combustion engine. The lives of many famous automotive makers are explored in detail with special pages on the assembly line, the origins of the name automobile, the patent disputes, and more. After reading this article try our fun automobile trivia quiz to test your knowledge.
Famous Automobile Makers
Nicolaus August Otto Nicolaus August Otto invented the gas motor engine in 1876.
Gottlieb Daimler In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler invented a gas engine that allowed for a revolution in car design.
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.
John Lambert America's first gasoline-powered automobile was the 1891 Lambert car invented by John W. Lambert.
Duryea Brothers They founded America's first company to manufacture and sell gasoline-powered vehicles.
Henry Ford Henry Ford improved the assembly line for automobile manufacturing (Model-T), invented a transmission mechanism, and popularized the gas-powered automobile.
Rudolf Diesel Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel-fueled internal combustion engine.
Charles Franklin Kettering Charles Franklin Kettering invented the first automobile electrical ignition system and the first practical engine-driven generator.
Automobile Timelines
Automobile History The history of the automobile that covers over one hundred years of technology.
History of American Roads The history of roads and the automobile.
Automotive History - A Chronological History
How a Internal-Combustion Engine Works
Books on Car History
Different Makes of Automobiles
Plymouth Automobile 1939
Worldwide History of the Valiant series
Tracing the Corvette's History
General Motors History
Polish & Eastern European Cars
Tom Schmidt's Mustang Links
Race car driver, Enzo Ferrari founded Ferrari in 1939. The first Ferrari was built in 1946, the 125s.
Solar Powered Cars
Ambulance History
Trucks
Jeeps
Taxicab
A Brief History of the First 100 Years of the Automobile Industry in the United States
Automobile Accessories and Parts
WWII Car Mechanic
Air Bags
Air Conditioning in Cars The first car with an actual refrigeration system was the 1940 model year Packard.
Bendix Drive or Starter Drive
Brakes In 1901, British inventor Frederick William Lanchester patented disc brakes.
Car Radio In 1929, American Paul Galvin, the head of Galvin Manufacturing Corporation, invented the first car radio. The first car radios were not available from carmakers. Consumers had to purchase the radios separately. Galvin coined the name "Motorola" for the company's new products combining the idea of motion and radio. (early Motorola radio.)
Cruise Control
Differential
Driveshaft In 1898, Louis Renault invented the first driveshaft.
Electric Windows Daimler introduced electric windows in cars in 1948.
Fender In 1901, Frederick Simms invented the first car fender. Similar to the railway engine buffers of the period.
Fuel Injection The first electronic fuel injection system for cars was invented in 1966 in Britain.
The History of Gasoline
Heater Canadian Thomas Ahearn invented the first electric car heater in 1890.
Ignition
Internal-Combustion Engine
License Plates On April 25, 1901 the state of New York became the first state to require car license plates by law. The very first license plates were called number plates - first issued in 1893 in France by the police.
Spark Plug
1930’s Superchargers
Muffler - Inventor Eugene Houdry
Odometer
Seat Belts/Safety Belts
Supercharger Ferdinand Porsche invented the first supercharged Mercedes-Benz SS & SSK sports cars in Stuttgart, Germany in 1923.
Third Brake Light In 1974, psychologist John Voevodsky invented the third brake light, a brake light that is mounted in the base of rear windshields. When drivers press their brakes, a triangle of light will warn following drivers to slow down.
Tires
Transmissions In 1832, W. H. James invented a rudimentary three-speed transmission. Panhard and Levassor are credited with the invention of the modern transmission - installed in their 1895 Panhard. On April 28, 1908, Leonard Dyer obtained one of the earliest patents for an automobile transmission.
Turn Signals Buick introduced the first electric turn signals in 1938.
Power Steering Francis W. Davis invented power steering. In the 1920s, Davis was the chief engineer of the truck division of the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company, and he saw first hand how hard it was to steer heavy vehicles. Davis quit his job and rented a small engineering shop in Waltham, MA. He developed a hydraulic power steering system that led to power steering. Power steering became commercially available by 1951. Motorcycle
Right: Gottllieb Daimler's 1885 Motorcycle
American, Sylvester Howard Roper (1823-1896) invented a two-cylinder, steam-engine motorcycle (powered by coal) in 1867. This can be considered the first motorcycle, if you allow your description of a motorcycle to include a steam engine. Howard Roper also invented a steam engine car.German, Gottlieb Daimler invented the first gas-engined motorcycle in 1885, which was an engine attached to a wooden bike. That marked the moment in history when the dual development of a viable gas-powered engine and the modern bicycle collided. Gottlieb Daimler used a new engine invented by engineer, Nicolaus August Otto. Otto invented the first "Four-Stroke Internal-Combustion Engine" in 1876. He called it the "Otto Cycle Engine" As soon as he completed his engine, Daimler (a former Otto employee) built it into a motorcycle. History of the Harley Davidson MotorcycleMany of the nineteenth century inventors who worked on early motorcycles often moved on to other inventions. Daimler and Roper, for example, both went on to develop automobiles. However, inventors Harley and the Davidsons developed motorcycles and their business competitors were other new start-up companies such as Excelsior, Indian, Pierce, Merkel, Schickel and Thor.
In 1903, William Harley and his friends Arthur and Walter Davidson launched the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. The bike had a quality engine, so it could prove itself in races, however, the company planned to manufacture it as a transport vehicle. Merchant, C. H. Lange, sold the first officially distributed Harley-Davidson in Chicago.Hog HeavenCelebrating 100 years of the Harley Davidson motorcycle.The First Motorcycle? A few early attempts at two-wheeled locomotion - Gottlieb Daimler is thought to have invented the real gas-powered motorcycle in 1885.The History of the Motorcycle Nicholaus August Otto, who invented the Otto Cycle, had an assistant, Gottlieb Daimler. Daimler left Otto to develop his own engine. In 1885 he made a wooden bike. He drove it with his engine instead of with a pedal arrangement.Motorcycle Online Features on motorcycle history: Adventures of the Wild Turkeys - The Rise and Fall of the NSU Empire - The Sammy Miller Museum - A Brief History of Indian Motocycles.Motorcycles @ About Find out about motorcycles today with guide Walter Kern, also read his section on the history behind different models of motorcycles and the motorcycle gangs.
Windshield Wipers - Inventor Mary Anderson
History of Tractors
Gasoline Powered TractorsAccording to Vintage Farm Tractors by Ralph W. Sanders (ISBN1-55192-031-X) "Credit goes to the Charter Gasoline Engine Company of Sterling, Illinois, for first successfully using gasoline as fuel. Charter's creation of a gasoline fueled engine in 1887 soon led to early gasoline traction engines before the term "tractor" was coined by others. Charter adapted its engine to a Rumley steam-traction-engine chassis, and in 1889 produced six of the machines to become one of the first working gasoline traction engines."
John FroelichVintage Farm Tractors discusses several other early gas-powered tractors, "John Froelich, a custom thresherman from Iowa,decided to try gasoline power for threshing.
zSB(3,3)
Sponsored Links
TractorsFind it Fast! Free Guide to Tractorstractorssearch.info
TractorsGreat free information on Tractors!TractorsDirectory.Info
Agricultural TractorThousands of Prequalified Suppliers Trade Leads, Products & Companies.www.Alibaba.comHe mounted a Van Duzen gasoline engine on a Robinson chassis and rigged his own gearing for propulsion. Froelich used the machine successfully to power a threshing machine by belt during his fifty-two day harvest season of 1892 in South Dakota. The Froelich tractor, forerunner of the later Waterloo Boy tractor, is considered by many to be the first successful gasoline tractor known. Froelich's machine fathered a long line of stationary gasoline engines and, eventually, the famous John Deere two cylinder tractor.
William PatersonJ.I. Case's first pioneering efforts at producing a gas tracion engine date to 1894, or maybe earlier, when William Paterson of Stockton, California, came to Racine to make an experimental engine for Case. Case ads in the 1940s, harking back to the firm's history in the gas tractor field, claimed 1892 as the date for Paterson's gas traction engine: patent dates suggest 1894. The early machine ran, but not well enough to be produced.
Charles Hart and Charles ParrCharles W. Hart and Charles H. Parr began their pioneering work on gas engines in the late 1800s while studying mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In 1897, the two men formed the Hart-Parr Gasoline Engine Company of Madison. In 1900, they moved their operation to Hart's hometown of Charles City, Iowa, where they found financing to make gas traction engines based on their innovative ideas.
Their efforts led them to erect the first factory in the United States dedicated to the production of gas traction engines. Hart-Parr is also credited with coining the word "tractor" for machines that had previously been called gas traction engines. The firm's first tractor effort, Hart-Parr No.1, was made in 1901."
Ford TractorsHenry Ford produced his first experimental gasoline powered tractor in 1907, under the direction of chief engineer Joseph Galamb. It was referred to as an "automobile plow" and the name tractor was not used. After 1910, gasoline powered tractors were used extensively in farming.
Frick TractorsThe Frick Company was located in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. George Frick started his business in 1853 and built steam engines into the 1940's. The Frick Company was also well known for sawmills and refrigeration units

The History of the Automobile
The Internal Combustion Engine and Early Gas-Powered Cars

More of This Car Feature
-Part I: Steam Cars -Part 2: Electric Cars -Part 3: Gas Cars -Part 4: Assembly Lines
Related Car Resources
-More Car History -Car Model History -Car Parts History -Understanding Engines -Nicolaus August Otto -Karl Benz -Gottlieb Daimler -Gasoline -Car Invention Trivia
The very first self-powered road vehicles were powered by steam engines and by that definition Nicolas Joseph Cugnot of France built the first automobile in 1769 - recognized by the British Royal Automobile Club and the Automobile Club de France as being the first. So why do so many history books say that the automobile was invented by either Gottlieb Daimler or Karl Benz? It is because both Daimler and Benz invented highly successful and practical gasoline-powered vehicles that ushered in the age of modern automobiles. Daimler and Benz invented cars that looked and worked like the cars we use today. However, it is unfair to say that either man invented "the" automobile.
History of the Internal Combustion Engine - The Heart of the Automobile An internal combustion engine is any engine that uses the explosive combustion of fuel to push a piston within a cylinder - the piston's movement turns a crankshaft that then turns the car wheels via a chain or a drive shaft. The different types of fuel commonly used for car combustion engines are gasoline (or petrol), diesel, and kerosene.
A brief outline of the history of the internal combustion engine includes the following highlights:
1680 - Dutch physicist, Christian Huygens designed (but never built) an internal combustion engine that was to be fueled with gunpowder.
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 - the first internal combustion powered automobile. However, his was a very unsuccessful design.
1824 - English engineer, Samuel Brown adapted an old Newcomen steam engine to burn gas, and he used it to briefly power a vehicle up Shooter's Hill in London.
1858 - Belgian-born engineer, Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir invented and patented (1860) a double-acting, electric spark-ignition internal combustion engine fueled by coal gas. In 1863, Lenoir attached an improved engine (using petroleum and a primitive carburetor) to a three-wheeled wagon that managed to complete an historic fifty-mile road trip. (See image at top)
1862 - Alphonse Beau de Rochas, a French civil engineer, patented but did not build a four-stroke engine (French patent #52,593, January 16, 1862).
1864 - Austrian engineer, Siegfried Marcus*, built a one-cylinder engine with a crude carburetor, and attached his engine to a cart for a rocky 500-foot drive. Several years later, Marcus designed a vehicle that briefly ran at 10 mph that a few historians have considered as the forerunner of the modern automobile by being the world's first gasoline-powered vehicle (however, read conflicting notes below).
1873 - George Brayton, an American engineer, developed an unsuccessful two-stroke kerosene engine (it used two external pumping cylinders). However, it was considered the first safe and practical oil engine.
1866 - German engineers, Eugen Langen and Nikolaus August Otto improved on Lenoir's and de Rochas' designs and invented a more efficient gas engine.
1876 - Nikolaus August Otto invented and later patented a successful four-stroke engine, known as the "Otto cycle".
1876 - The first successful two-stroke engine was invented by Sir Dougald Clerk.
1883 - French engineer, Edouard Delamare-Debouteville, built a single-cylinder four-stroke engine that ran on stove gas. It is not certain if he did indeed build a car, however, Delamare-Debouteville's designs were very advanced for the time - ahead of both Daimler and Benz in some ways at least on paper.
1885 - Gottlieb Daimler invented what is often recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine - with a vertical cylinder, and with gasoline injected through a carburetor (patented in 1887). Daimler first built a two-wheeled vehicle the "Reitwagen" (Riding Carriage) with this engine and a year later built the world's first four-wheeled motor vehicle.
1886 - On January 29, Karl Benz received the first patent (DRP No. 37435) for a gas-fueled car.
1889 - Daimler built an improved four-stroke engine with mushroom-shaped valves and two V-slant cylinders.
1890 - Wilhelm Maybach built the first four-cylinder, four-stroke engine.
Further Reading - The Mechanics of Internal Combustion Engines - What is a 2-stroke? 4-stroke? Engine design and car design were integral activities, almost all of the engine designers mentioned above also designed cars, and a few went on to become major manufacturers of automobiles. All of these inventors and more made notable improvements in the evolution of the internal combustion vehicles.
The Importance of Nicolaus Otto One of the most important landmarks in engine design comes from Nicolaus August Otto who in 1876 invented an effective gas motor engine. Otto built the first practical four-stroke internal combustion engine called the "Otto Cycle Engine," and as soon as he had completed his engine, he built it into a motorcycle. Otto's contributions were very historically significant, it was his four-stoke engine that was universally adopted for all liquid-fueled automobiles going forward. (Learn more about Nicolaus Otto)
The Importance of Karl Benz In 1885, German mechanical engineer, Karl Benz designed and built the world's first practical automobile to be powered by an internal-combustion engine. On January 29, 1886, Benz received the first patent (DRP No. 37435) for a gas-fueled car. It was a three-wheeler; Benz built his first four-wheeled car in 1891. Benz & Cie., the company started by the inventor, became the world's largest manufacturer of automobiles by 1900. Benz was the first inventor to integrate an internal combustion engine with a chassis - designing both together. (Learn more about Karl Benz)
The Importance of Gottlieb Daimler In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler (together with his design partner Wilhelm Maybach) took Otto's internal combustion engine a step further and patented what is generally recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine. Daimler's connection to Otto was a direct one; Daimler worked as technical director of Deutz Gasmotorenfabrik, which Nikolaus Otto co-owned in 1872. There is some controversy as to who built the first motorcycle Otto or Daimler.
The 1885 Daimler-Maybach engine was small, lightweight, fast, used a gasoline-injected carburetor, and had a vertical cylinder. The size, speed, and efficiency of the engine 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. Daimler is considered the first inventor to have invented a practical internal-combustion engine.
In 1889, Daimler invented a V-slanted two cylinder, four-stroke engine with mushroom-shaped valves. Just like Otto's 1876 engine, Daimler's new engine set the basis for all car engines going forward. Also in 1889, Daimler and Maybach built their first automobile from the ground up, they did not adapt another purpose vehicle as they had always been done previously. The new Daimler automobile had a four-speed transmission and obtained speeds of 10 mph.
Daimler founded the Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft in 1890 to manufacture his designs. Eleven years later, Wilhelm Maybach designed the Mercedes automobile. (Learn more about Gottlieb Daimler & Wilhelm Maybach)
*If Siegfried Marcus built his second car in 1875 and it was as claimed, it would have been the first vehicle powered by a four-cycle engine and the first to use gasoline as a fuel, the first having a carburetor for a gasoline engine and the first having a magneto ignition. However, the only existing evidence indicates that the vehicle was built circa 1888/89 - too late to be first.

The History of the Automobile
Early Steam Powered Cars
Old Engraving depicting the 1771 crash of Nicolas Joseph Cugnot's steam-powered car into a stone wall.
More of This Feature • Part I:Steam Cars • Part 2: Electric Cars • Part 3:The First Gas-Powered Cars • Part 4:The Assembly Line Related Resources • More Car History • Car Model History • Car Parts History • History of Steam Engines • Railroads • Car Invention Trivia By Mary Bellis The automobile as we know it was not invented in a single day by a single inventor. The history of the automobile reflects an evolution that took place worldwide. It is estimated that over 100,000 patents created the modern automobile. However, we can point to the many firsts that occurred along the way. Starting with the first theoretical plans for a motor vehicle that had been drawn up by both Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton. In 1769, the very first self-propelled road vehicle was a military tractor invented by French engineer and mechanic, Nicolas Joseph Cugnot (1725 - 1804). Cugnot used a steam engine to power his vehicle, built under his instructions at the Paris Arsenal by mechanic Brezin. It was used by the French Army to haul artillery at a whopping speed of 2 1/2 mph on only three wheels. The vehicle had to stop every ten to fifteen minutes to build up steam power. The steam engine and boiler were separate from the rest of the vehicle and placed in the front (see engraving above). The following year (1770), Cugnot built a steam-powered tricycle that carried four passengers. In 1771, Cugnot drove one of his road vehicles into a stone wall, making Cugnot the first person to get into a motor vehicle accident. This was the beginning of bad luck for the inventor. After one of Cugnot's patrons died and the other was exiled, the money for Cugnot's road vehicle experiments ended. Steam engines powered cars by burning fuel that heated water in a boiler, creating steam that expanded and pushed pistons that turned the crankshaft, which then turned the wheels. During the early history of self-propelled vehicles - both road and railroad vehicles were being developed with steam engines. (Cugnot also designed two steam locomotives with engines that never worked well.) Steam engines added so much weight to a vehicle that they proved a poor design for road vehicles; however, steam engines were very successfully used in locomotives. Historians, who accept that early steam-powered road vehicles were automobiles, feel that Nicolas Cugnot was the inventor of the first automobile. After Cugnot Several Other Inventors Designed Steam-Powered Road Vehicles Cugnot’s vehicle was improved by Frenchman, Onesiphore Pecqueur, who also invented the first differential gear. In 1789, the first U.S. patent for a steam-powered land vehicle was granted to Oliver Evans. In 1801, Richard Trevithick built a road carriage powered by steam - the first in Great Britain. In Britain, from 1820 to 1840, steam-powered stagecoaches were in regular service. These were later banned from public roads and Britain's railroad system developed as a result. Steam-driven road tractors (built by Charles Deitz) pulled passenger carriages around Paris and Bordeaux up to 1850. In the United States, numerous steam coaches were built from 1860 to 1880. Inventors included: Harrison Dyer, Joseph Dixon, Rufus Porter, and William T. James. Amedee Bollee Sr. built advanced steam cars from 1873 to 1883. The "La Mancelle" built in 1878, had a front-mounted engine, shaft drive to the differential, chain drive to the rear wheels, steering wheel on a vertical shaft and driver's seat behind the engine. The boiler was carried behind the passenger compartment. In 1871, Dr. J. W. Carhart, professor of physics at Wisconsin State University, and the J. I. Case Company built a working steam car that won a 200-mile race. Early Electric Cars Steam engines were not the only engines used in early automobiles. Vehicles with electrical engines were also invented. Between 1832 and 1839 (the exact year is uncertain), Robert Anderson of Scotland invented the first electric carriage. Electric cars used rechargeable batteries that powered a small electric motor. The vehicles were heavy, slow, expensive, and needed to stop for recharging frequently. Both steam and electric road vehicles were abandoned in favor of gas-powered vehicles. Electricity found greater success in tramways and streetcars, where a constant supply of electricity was possible. The History of Electric Vehicles Learn more about the history of electrical vehicles from 1890 to the present. However, around 1900, electric land vehicles in America outsold all other types of cars. Then in the several years following 1900, sales of electric vehicles took a nosedive as a new type of vehicle came to dominate the consumer market.