History of Cars

by Richard Crittendon

The invention of wheel has brought about epochal changes in way human civilization has evolved. From bullock carts to modern vehicles, we have seen a paradigm shift in transportation modules and cars are unarguably the most evolved form of these. When you need to rock the road, you just turn on the keys of your machine.

But have you ever tried to sneak a peak into the history of your car? Or, for example, at what stages it has actually gone through to attain the current form? Or, have you checked to see what is the actual development story of your car?

Well, just give a bit of rest to your staggering neurons, as herein you'll find a brief account of the history of cars.

The First Car!

Many scholars have discrete opinions about the first ever automobile that appeared in the history and hence no exact inventor of the machine can be convincingly pointed out. Various automobile engineers from Nicolas Cugnet and Richard Trevithik to Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, have been credited with the invention of the car. But, the invention of modern cars is originally accredited to Karl Benz. This legendary inventor built the first ever four-stroke gasoline based automobile, "Motorwagon", in Manheim in 1885 and achieved patent over the technology under his company, Benz and Cie. The commercial production of the vehicle was started in 1888. Moving further with the advancement in vehicle technology, Benz designed the first internal combustion engine, named 'boxermotor' in Germany.

Several other entrepreneurs have hopped into the industry to make most out of the newly appeared automotive segment. Daimler and Maybach together founded the brand 'Daimler' in 1890. The most notable change in the car segment was marked in the year 1926, when 'Benz and Cie' and DMG merged to form Daimler-Benz company with Mercedes Benz as its most prominent brand. Meanwhile, a number of other brands were also emerging across the major parts of the world, especially Western Europe, Peugeot in France and DMC in Britain were among the few notable ones.

Improvements in Automobile Designs

The first automobiles consisted of the body of the horse-drawn vehicle with four rubber tires fitted beneath it. That apart it also lacked nearly any safety gears that are routinely available in modern vehicles. With the advent of new materials and technology, the automobile body underwent significant modifications in its structure and performance. The wooden exterior of the automobile was replaced with the metallic body and the interiors got more and more luxurious with the passage of time. Similarly significant changes were seen in engine design, architecture and technology. However the basic usage of an internal combustion remains prevalent in most cars even after the passage of a century. Modern cars have achieved high levels of perfection in performance as well as fuel efficiency. Along with high speeds and striking designs, automobiles today can also boast of effective safety measures. Last but not the least one must note that a lot of the development that we find in cars today are a result of incremental developments that took place during the long and illustrious history of cars.

About the Author

Article written by Richard Crittendon of Automobile.com. For related information, see the recent article on the 2008 Jeep Patriot review.

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