History of the Automobile
For the first time, a drawing of a car, like many other mechanisms, was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci’s device was a self-propelled wagon with a spring drive. It’s a pity, but everything was limited only to drawings.
In 1769, in France, the engineer Cugnot tested the first copy of a steam-powered machine, and in 1770 a second larger sample was created. Today, Cugno’s car is considered the first example of not only a car, but also a steam locomotive. But the steam car, unlike the steam locomotive, was not widely used. The reasons were low efficiency, large dimensions and difficulties in maintenance.
The advent of a compact, lightweight, sufficiently powerful and relatively easy to maintain internal combustion engine paved the way for the development of the automotive industry. In 1885 and 1886, German inventors Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz independently assembled and patented the first gasoline-powered automobiles, leading to the birth of the automobile industry in France, England, and Germany at the end of the 19th century.
Contrary to popular belief, electric vehicles are not the product of rising fuel prices. In fact, they appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century, but eventually gave way to cars with internal combustion engines, due to the need for long-term battery charging.
In 1900, Ferdinand Porsche designed the first four-wheel drive electric car, which contained an electric motor that transmitted torque to the wheels. As a result, this technology made it possible to make a cheap taxi in Moscow.
The first race car was a Mercedes designed by Wilhelm Maybach, chief engineer at DMG. The car was equipped with a 35 horsepower engine and named after the customer’s daughter, Emil Jellinek. This model incorporates many innovative design features such as honeycomb radiator, steel frame, etc.
A significant contribution to the popularization of the car was made by the American industrialist and entrepreneur Henry Ford, who introduced the world’s first car assembly line at his factory in 1913.
In 1923, the first car powered by Rudolf Diesel was manufactured. The car was made by the Karl Benz company.