History Of Auto Essay, Research Paper

The making of automobiles started in the year 1770. In 1770 a man named Nicholas

Joseph Cungnot from France built a large steam-driven vehicle. The vehicle didn?t last

long because the vehicle could only be driven for 12 to 15 minutes before running out of

steam and the vehicle was too heavy and had poor balance and made it difficult to steer.

Nothing more had been done until in the 1784. In 1784 James Watt made a patent

on a steam carriage, but nothing became of it. Then in 1785 John Fitch invented a

steam-propelled boat in New Jersey. And then in 1786 he organized a company to build

the steam engines and then even built a model of a road vehicle with an engine but

committed suicide before anything came of it. In 1787 Oliver Evans put a patent on a

steam engine in Maryland, for the use in land transportation?s.

In 1791 Nathan Read got a federal patent for a high pressure boiler and improved

cylinder. And began to make plans to apply this to a land carriage. In 1792 Oliver

petitioned the American government for a patent on a reciprocating engine plus a rotating

engine and boiler-enclosed furnace, but it was unsuccessful. In 1797 Richard Trevithick

began to work on a high-pressured steam engine in England. And James Watt opposes his

work, he felt that it is publicly hazardous.

And then in 1801 Cirnishman Richard Trevithick built a steam carriage. This

carriage held several people and went 5 to 6 mile per hour uphill and 8 to 9 miles per hour

on flat land. But cought fire and was destroyed. In 1803 Richard built an improved steam

carriage, which was shipped to London. It was drove around London and reached to

speed of 8 to 9 miles per hour. But then funding for it ran out and the engine was sold.

And then in 1804 Oliver Evans was granted and American patent for his steam engine to

power boats and land carriages. He put in a newspaper and began to publicly sell the

engines. And then in 1805 Evans constructed a 20 -ton steam dredge for the City of

Philadelphia, called the ?Orukter Amphiboles? or the Amphilibios Digger. It was the the

first vehicle to move under its own power across the streets of Philadelphia. In 1807 Isaac

de Rivaz of Switzerland put a patent on a trolley powered by a primitive gas engine.

In 1815 Colonel John H. Stevens received a charter from the state of New Jersey

to build the first American railway.

Later in 1825 Thomas Blanchard completed 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 up hills. In 1826 Samuel Brown put a patent on a

?gas-and-vacuum? engine, which would climbed Shooter?s Hill in London. And John

Stevens completed a circular track in Hoboken. And then in 1829 Goldsworthy Gurney?s

steam carriage traveled from London to Bath. This was the first long travel for a

self-propelled road vehicle.

1832, officals in Fredericksburg, Virginia and Troy, New York, began to build

improved road ways for the steam carriages to drive on. 1835, a steam wagon is built in

Vermont, and demonstrated by an unknown inventor. And then in 1837, Thomas

Davenport patented an electric motor.

Later in 1844 Stuart Perry, from New York, constructed an internal combustion

engine, using turpentine as fuel. It was patented in 1844 and 1846, and had a two-cycle

method of operation. In 1847 Moses G. Farmer of Massachusetts built a locomotive

powered by forty-eight Grove electrical cells of one-pint capacity each. That then became

the first electrical powered land carriage.

In 1851 the American Steam Carriage Company is established in New York City.

However, the business failed a few years later. And then in 1853, Eugenio Barsanti and

Felice Matteucci patented the first practicable gas engine in Italy. No workable designs

became of their effort though. And Richard Dudgeon began to work on an operable steam

carriage, and built another in 1866. In 1857 Dr. Alfred Drake exhibits an ?explosive gas

engine? at the Crystal Palace in New York. The engine was ignited by internally-placed

hot tubes. And in 1859 Belgian J. J. Etienne Lenoir built an engine dilated but the

combustion of gas and used a jump-spark method. A company in Paris is formed to

develop the engine.

1866, Nikolaus August Otto patented a ?free-piston? engine in Germany. Joseph

Ravel Built the first steam car to have a boiler heated by petroleum, rather then fuel in

1868.

The 1870?s got a little more busy then before. In 1870 Siegfried Marcus, of

Austria, put an?atmospheric? engine in to a wheelbarrow , to consider it as a airship

engine. It was unable to be propelled more then 200 yards. John Ericcson built a small

experimental steam engine which worked by solar power. Later in 1872 Nikolaus Otto

formed a company with the engineer Eugen Langen to produce his ?free-piston? engine.

In 1873 a self-propelled carriage called L?Obeissante was constructed by Amedee Bollee.

1876, Otto?s chief engineer, Franz Rings developed a petroleum engine to replace to

?free-piston? engine. Bollee finished his second vehicle in 1878. In 1879 Karl Benz built

his first two-stroke gasoline engine.

French aristocrat Comte Albert de Dion backed George Bouton and George

Trepardoux to build a workshop to make steam carriages in 1882. In 1883 Gottlieb

Daimler did an experiment with a single-cylinder engine mounted in a bicycle frame. After

moving to Puteaux in 1884, de Dion, Bouton and Trepardoux started to fill a series of

orders for light steam vehicles. Karl Benz finished a three-wheeled vehicle in 1885, the

vehicle had a four-cycle gasoline engine. And it could develop 3/4 horsepower. In 1886,

Nicolaus Otto tried to patent a four-stroke engine but a four-stroke engine was already

patented in France. Also in 1886, Daimler carried out test with a gas engine mounted in a

converted four-seater carriage. And then in 1887 Leeon Serpollet built stem tricycle and

obtained the first drivers license in Paris. In 1888 Benz started to sell his improved motor

carriage and sold two of them outside of Germany through a a French agent. Then in

1889 Armand Peugoet had a Serpollet steam tricycle built and it was exhibited.

In 1890 Leon Serpollet and Ernest Archdeacon took a trip driving the steam

tricycle. They drove for 286 miles in 15 days. And in 1891 Emile Levassor built a motor

car with a mid-mounted Daimler engine, later to be laid out in the front and under the

hood. Panhard et Levassor in 1892 began to sell their cars to the public. A four seated

dog cart priced at L200, and a wagonette at L212. Solid rubber tires cost an extra L20.

Charles Duryea began to build a one-cylinder automobile in the United States in 1893. In

1894 Karl Benz introduced a new four-wheeled vehicle called the Velo. Benz built 135

cars in 1895 over forty of them drove the streets of France. In 1896 Charles E. and J.

Frank Duryea together found the United States auto industry by building and selling 13

vehicles based on the same design. H.O. Keller, of Reading, Pennsylvania, became the

first franchised dealer in 1898.

In 1900 then William McKinley became the first United States President to to ride

in a car. Then in 1901 Olsmobile built the 425 Curved Dash models, making them then

the world?s first mass-produced gas car. In 1902 Packard patented and presented the ?H?

shift pattern. Ford Motor Company in 1903 sold the forst Model A runabout. A year

later in 1904 the Sturtevant was among the first American cars with an automatic

transmission. And then in 1905 the first cars are sold on the installment plan. In 1907

John Willys purchases the Overland Company of Indianapolis later to be named the

Willys-Overland. Then in 1908 General Motors Company was incorporated in New

Jersey by William Durant. Buick and Oldsmobile became apart of it. In 1909 Catillac and

Oakland join the General Motors Company.

Starting in 1910 Automobile production reached 181,000 in the Untied States. In

1911 Chevrolet Motor Company is organized. And then in 1912 Catillac adopted the

modern electric start. And in 1915 Catillac introduced the first successful v8 engine in the

United States. In 1917 Henry Leland, the former head of Catillac, started the Lincoln

Motor Company. In 1918 Charles Nash bought the Thomas B. Jeffery Company and

renamed it Nash motors.

Things now are starting to work out for the companies. In 1920 the first

production car came out that had four-wheel hydraulic brakes and a straight-eight engine.

Mercedes-Benz and SSK sports cars came along in 1923 at this time they developed a

legendary supercharger for these cars. Catilliac introduced a shatter-resistant glass in

1926. Then in 1927 the last of the Model Ts were built. Synchromesh transmissions were

introduced by Catillac in 1928.

The Depression caused a slump in the automotive sales in the United Stated in

1930. 1932 was the year that Oldsmobile and Packard engines featured the automatic

chokes. Ford came out with their V-8 engines in 1934. The first all steel wagon came out

in 1935 that was made by Chevy. By 1936 fifty-four percent of the United States families

owned cars. In 1937 Oldsmobile introduced the semiautomatic transmission. Then one

year later in 1938 several of the auto makers offered the shifter on the steering column.

Volkswagon in 1939 got their factory in Wolfsburg finished but held off until the war was

over to start the production of the cars.

The first automatic transmission was offered by Oldsmobile in 1940, at least the

first true automatic transmission. And then Packard in 1941 offered air conditioning, they

were the first to offer it. Advertisement on television was not big for automobiles until

1946 when Chevrolet started it all. In 1947 Packard offered power seats and windows in

all of the automobiles. In 1948 ?The Roadster? was built by Ferdinand Porsche Jr., this

was first true Porsche car out. And then in 1949 General Motors offered the first true

hard top car.

Packard offered power brakes in 1952. And the out came the Corvettes that

happened in 1953. The world went crazy over these cars. After that came the

medium-size cars by Ford in 1954. McDonald?s drive thru opened for the first time in

1955. Seat belts for cars came along in 1956 Ford offered this and the public really didn?t

care about this. Toyotas and Datsuns were driven in the United States for the first time in

1958.

By 1960 eighty percent of the United Stated families owned cars. At this time,

also, the three big companies offered compact cars to try and fight Volkswagon. In 1961

the warranties on cars got extended to 12,000 miles of 12 months. After the reaction of

the public not being good on the seat belt idea they still ended up putting seat belts in all

cars in the front seats in 1964, and this was standard. And it was not until 1966 that rear

seat belts were standard for the cars. But then in 1968 front shoulder harnesses are

required in addition to the seatbelts, in America. This was to make the seat belts a little

more comfortable to wear.

In 1970 Imports took 14.6 percent of the sales in the U.S. . Airbags started to be

offered in 1973 by Chevrolets. Because of death increases in the United States the speed

limit was reduced to 55 mph in 1974. Catalytic converters and installed to all domestic

cars in 1975 to try and cut down on emissions. And then in 1979 the second energy crisis

began.

In June of 1981 General Motors launched the Saturn project. The minivan was

launched in 1984 by Chrysler. And then in 1985 Saturn is finally founded. AMC was

taken over by Chrystler and then they offer their Jeep. The new Continental is Lincolin?s

first car with a six-cylinder and front-wheel drive and that took place in 1988. General

Motors introduced Geo brand of Suzuki, Isuzu, and Toyota models in 1989.

1990 was a big year for Ford they bought out Jaguar that year. In that year also

the Catillac Allante is the first front-wheel drive car. 1992 was the first year for the

Dodge Viper to be released, this car has 400 horses( horsepower). Pickup and sport

utility vehicles sales began to take off in 1993. The three door pickup was unveils in 1995

by Chevrolet. In 1996 General Motors announced plans to market an electric car.

Things since then have been about the same. Everyone competing to be the best

one and nothing really changes except the look of the car and a couple more horsepower.