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History of cars/vehicles/automobiles

Intro

I was running through some articles and happened to pass by the history of automobile inventions. I discovered some past events and people who pioneered our modern cars from Wikipedia. Did you know when and who caused the first accident or the creator of the first spark plug?How the first invention looked like? Continue reading to find out more.. 

Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot first automobile invention and first car accident 



In 1768, the first steam-powered automobile capable of human transportation was built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot. In 1770, a full-size version of the fardier à vapeur was built, specified to be able to carry 4 tons and cover (7.8 km or 4.8 miles) in one hour, a performance it never achieved in practice.

The vehicle, which weighed about 2.5 tonnes , had two wheels at the rear and one in the front which supported the steam boiler and driving mechanism. The power unit was articulated to the "trailer" and steered by means of a double handle arrangement. One source states that it seated four passengers and moved at a speed of 2.25 miles per hour(3.6 km/h).
The vehicle was reported to have been very unstable due to poor weight distribution - which would have been a serious disadvantage seeing that it was intended that the fardier should be able to traverse rough terrain and climb steep hills.

 In 1771, the second vehicle is said to have gone out of control and knocked down part of the Arsenal wall (reported to be the first known automobile accident.


  • Surprise! François Isaac de Rivaz first hydrogen powered car.






In 1807, François Isaac de Rivaz designed the first car powered by an internal combustion engine and fueled by hydrogen. After retirement from the Army, living in Switzerland, he invented a primitive internal combustion engine which he constructed in 1807.

It was powered by a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen manually ignited by electric spark, but the engine neither involved the in-cylinder compression, the crank , nor the connecting rod . A year later, Isaac built an early automobile for his new engine to power. His engine was never commercially successful.

Karl Benz first petrol or gasoline powered automobile, first spark plug invention, first gear invention. 



In 1886, the first petrol- or gasoline-powered automobile, was invented by Karl Benz. This is also considered to be the first "production" vehicle as Benz made several other identical copies. Despite the business misfortunes, Karl Benz led in the development of new engines in the early factory he and his wife owned.

To get more revenues, in 1878 he began to work on new patents .Benz finished his two-stroke engine on December 31, 1878, New Year's Eve, and was granted a patent for it in 1879.

Benz later, patented the speed regulation system, the ignition using sparks with battery, the spark plug, the carburetor , the clutch, the gear shift, and the water radiator whiwerwere to become the standard for his two-stroke engine.

Suprise!  Anos Yedlik and electric powered cars. 

In 1828, Ányos Jedlik, a Hungarian who invented an early type of electric motor , created a tiny model car powered by his new motor. At the turn of the 20th century electrically powered automobiles appeared but only occupied a niche market until the turn of the 21st century.

Reference:Wikipedia:history of automobiles

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