The cars!Everybody knows Henry Ford, one of the world famous car companies was named after him. But already in the 18. There were cars in the 19th century, one of the first cars ran on a steam engine. Then in 1885 Karl Benz invented the first car with gasoline engine, which could drive up to 13 kilometers per hour. Gradually, the inventors improved the engine, the tires and the controls. And finally Henry Ford started to produce cars for everyone on the assembly line.
Here is a detailed development of the car:
The automobile, or car for short (from Greekάυτο~, áuto~ – self~ and Latinmobilis – movable, formerly motor carriage), is a self-propelled vehicle that can move on land independently of rails and without the use of draft animals, and under its own power. This definition also includes motorized two-wheelers, but in common usage the word is mostly used for multi-track vehicles. Often only the passenger car is meant. Higher speeds can be achieved. Mastering further distances.
Larger and sustained gradients are more easily overcome.
This article describes the general development of the car. The technical description is given in the article Motor vehicle.
4000 v ago. Chr.: The wheel is invented independently in several cultures.
400 v. Chr.: Hellenic siege towers moved by pedal wheels (muscle power).
308 v. Chr.: Chariot of Demetrios of Phaleron is moved by people inside the vehicle (muscle power).
100 v. Chr.Heron of Alexandria (Greek) builds a type of "steam engine" that already contains basic elements of today's automobile engine, such as a piston.
200 n. Chr.: The Roman Empire uses chariots moved by the muscle power of slaves inside.
1447: "Muscle-powered cars" appear in Germany.
1490: Leonardo da Vinci draws a kind of self-propelled armored car.
1600: Simon Stevin, a Dutch mathematician, builds a useful sailing carriage that can transport 30 people using wind power.
1650-1660: Johann Hautsch (German) sells mechanical show cars, driven by muscle power.
1674: Christiaan Huygens (Dutch) builds a piston engine with powder drive. He is considered the pioneer of internal combustion engines. The piston engine, on the basis of which most of today's engines work, was invented by the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695). It was an explosion engine in which gunpowder was actually used as the explosive substance.
1678: Ferdinand Verbiest (Belgian) builds a model of a three-wheeled steam car, but it remains the model. Probably the first automobile was built and used at the Chinese court in 1678 by the Jesuit priestFerdinand Verbiest (1688). This was a self-propelled steam engine.
1680: Isaac Newton (Englishman) presents a concept of a steam car.
1690: Denis Papin (Frenchman) builds a high-pressure steam engine with pistons.
1712 : Thomas Newcomen (Englishman) further develops this steam engine by replacing the water in the cylinder with hot steam. 1768: James Watt (Scotsman) makes further changes to the steam engine. Is thus considered the inventor of the direct-acting steam engine.
As early as 1768, Nicolas Joseph Cugnot, a French military engineer, built a three-wheeled steam car with a two-cylinder engine for the French army to transport cannons, but it was very prone to breakdowns and was hardly ever used.
1769: Nicolas Joseph Cugnot (Frenchman) makes first driving experiments with a steam-powered carriage. This holds four passengers. Reaches a speed of 9 km/h. The original is in the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris. The French Revolution prevented further attempts.
In the 19. Century
In 19. In the 19th century, a large number of steam automobiles were built. Already in 1828 there was a more or less regular shuttle service with a steam bus between London and Bath in England. Also at the beginning of the 20. In the early twentieth century, another successful steam truck was built, the Sentinel.
1800-1900: Many such "muscle cars" as well as "sailing cars" are built throughout Europe.
1801: Richard Trevithick (Englishman) builds the first steam-powered car, which by definition may also be called an "automobile.
1802: Isaac de Rivaz (Swiss) builds first car with internal combustion engine (u. A. With a hydrogen gas engine).
1829: Walter Hancock (Englishman) builds steam-powered cars for private use as well as several steam-powered omnibuses.
1860: Etienne Lenoir (Frenchman) patents an operable gas engine.
1868: Pierre Michaux and M. Perreaux (French) designed the first bicycle, powered by a steam engine.
1862-1866: Nikolaus August Otto (German) develops the four-stroke engine (gas engine), in 1876 he patents the four-stroke gasoline engine, although this patent was revoked in 1886. He also founds the "Gasmotorenfabrik Deutz AG".
In 1870, Siegfried Marcus undertook driving trials in Vienna with a direct-acting, compressionless two-stroke engine mounted on a simple handcart.
At the end of the 19th century. At the beginning of the twentieth century
The development of today's cars began in Germany in 1886. It was registered on 3. July1886 invented in Mannheim by Carl Benz. Shortly afterwards, independently of this, in Cannstatt near StuttgartGottlieb Daimler. Wilhelm Maybach and Siegfried Marcus in Vienna.
Bertha Benz made the first overland journey on 5. August1888 from Mannheim to Pforzheim. Ran out of gasoline. It had to "fill up". Gas stations did not yet exist. The corresponding chemicals were only available in pharmacies. This is how the Wiesloch town pharmacy became the world's first gas station.
Most of the vehicles produced at that time were based on the basic design of the Mercedes simplex (1906 – see photo above, sog. Simplex design). They had an engine in front, a gearbox and drive shafts to the driven wheels. The term "Simplex goes to Kaiser Wilhelm II. 1906 at an automobile exhibition in Berlin explained the starting process of the Mercedes. The "starting process", which takes only about 10 minutes compared to the laborious harnessing of horses in a carriage, is called a "simplex".
1886: "Benz& Co."Submits a patent specification for a three-wheeled "vehicle with gas engine operation. Karl Benz (German), the inventor drives around in public. 1894 – 1902 he is the first to mass-produce an automobile. 1887: Gottlieb Daimler (German) also builds automobiles completely independently of Karl Benz. Founds the "Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft. The carriage he developed reaches a maximum speed of 16 km/h. Actually based on a hackney carriage converted with a motor. He collaborates with the engine builder Wilhelm Maybach. Develops various vehicles.
1888/1889: Siegfried Marcus (a German living in Vienna), independently of Benz and Daimler, has a car built that is powered by a four-stroke gasoline engine and has the most essential components of a modern automobile.
The first documented speed record of an automobile is set in 1898 by the Frenchman Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat with 63.14 km/h with an electric car. Until 1964, automobile speed records are only recognized by vehicles driven by the wheels.
1891: Automobile factories are established in Europe and the USA, u. A. In FrancePeugeot. Daimler founds companies in England and in Austria. 1892: Rudolf Diesel is granted a patent for a "New Rational Heat Engine". Modifies the original Carnot process. The result is a higher efficiency. 1897 builds the first diesel engine.
1895: The world's first gasoline-powered omnibus begins operation with the Netphen Omnibus Company.
1898: The Austrian automobile manufacturer Gräf& Benz manufactures the first front-wheel drive car (patent 1900)
In 20. Century
At the end of the 19. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the various types of drive for automobiles were still competing very strongly with each other before the reciprocating piston engine became established. This is shown for example by the production figures of the American automobile production (75 manufacturers) from the year 1900:
A total of 4.192 automobiles produced.
1.688 steam cars
1.575 electric vehicles
929 vehicles with gasoline engine
It took until the 1920s for the gasoline-powered automobile to assert itself against other types of drive, such as e.B. Petroleum engine. The spirit engine. Reasons were among others.A. The technical progress in engine construction and cheap fuel from petroleum with a much higher energy density than electric storage as well as the advantages based on this, which are still valid today: a long range and a high possible speed.
The principle of the first automobile has been retained to this day. However, many technical innovations have been added:
1900: Gräf& Stift, Vienna, patents the front-wheel drive it developed in 1898 and builds two prototypes.
1901: Fredrick Lanchester patents the disc brake. The first production vehicle with disc brakes was the Citroën DS in 1955.
1903: The Spijker 60/80 HP is the first sports car with all-wheel drive. In the same year, Mary Anderson is granted the first patent for a windshield wiper. 1913: Ford introduces assembly line production of its vehicles. So that mass production of affordable automobiles.
1914: The first hydraulic braking system is introduced to the market.
1918: Chassis and body are made of steel.
1923: First truck with diesel engine
1926: "Benz& Co." Merges with "Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft" to form "Daimler Benz AG.
1931: The DKW F1 introduces front-wheel drive into series production.
1933: The rotary engine is developed.
1936: First passenger car with diesel engine
1940: The automatic transmission is introduced.
1948: The radial tire (belted tire) comes onto the market.
1949: The first German Motor Show after the war takes place in Berlin (Messehallen am Funkturm).
1952: The first gasoline direct injection system is used (Mercedes 300 SL). Power steering goes into series production.
1957: lap belts can be fitted "on request.
1963: A car with Wankel engine (rotary piston engine) is built.
1967: An electronic gasoline injection system is developed.
1972: First mass-produced road vehicle with all-wheel drive is introduced. ( Subaru Leone Station Wagon AWD )
1974: General Motors develops autocatalysts for gasoline engines.
1975: The anti-lock braking system (ABS) comes on the market.
1980: Vehicles with airbags are built.
1990: Catalytic converters for diesel engines are developed.
1995: The Electronic Stability Program is introduced. 1998: Vehicles with hybrid drive (electric-. Internal combustion engine) go into series production.
In 21. Century
Various development trends can be observed at present. For example, the integration of information electronics is increasingly pursued (navigation systems, entertainment media for passengers, etc.).). The main theme is also the further reduction in fuel consumption or. An alternative drive system. However, the technical advances in engine technology and lightweight construction are partly offset by additional comfort and safety features and more powerful vehicle engines. Despite this, fleet consumption continues to fall. In 2003, fleet consumption in Germany was calculated at 7.35 l/100 km. The main reason for this is the large proportion of newly registered diesel vehicles. This also led to a decline in total sales of gasoline and diesel fuel in Germany since 1999.