Car Articles

We travel to and fro almost every day in our lives. But, have we ever wondered about the automobile we use for travel. Have we ever bothered to read about its evolution? Well, here's something for those interested.

By definition, an automobile or car is a wheeled vehicle that carries its own motor and transports passengers. The automobile, as we know it, was not invented in a single day or by a single inventor. History reflects an evolution of the automobile that took place worldwide. Over a hundred thousand patents created the modern automobile.

The military tractor was the very first self-propelled road vehicle invented in 1769. French engineer and mechanic, Nicolas Joseph Cugnot was the mastermind of the invention. Under Nicholas' supervision, a mechanic by the name Brezin built the tractor at the Paris Arsenal. A steam engine was used to power the vehicle. Unlike the modern day car, the tractor had only three wheels and moved at an extraordinary speed of two and a half miles per hour. The steam-powered tractor stopped every 10-15 minutes for power buildup. Today, it would have been very annoying to wait that long every now and then. However, at that time, the vehicle seemed to be of great help to the French Army which used it to haul artillery. A year later, Cugnot built a steam-powered tricycle that carried four passengers.

Water was heated in a boiler and as it boiled, steam was created. Steam expanded, pushing the pistons that turned the crankshaft which in turn turned the wheels. The steam engine and boiler were separate from the rest of the vehicle and placed in the front. These steam engines were very heavy, miserably designed and thus, were not appreciated for road vehicles. However, they proved to be of much use in railroad vehicles.

One fine day, as Cugnot drove, he banged into a stone wall. That was the world's very first motor vehicle accident and that was when Cugnot saw that something bad could also happen. Until then, everything had seemed to be fine. More misfortune followed. Cugnot designed two steam locomotives with engines that never worked well. A little later, one of Cugnot's patrons died and the other was banished. Cugnot ran short of money and thus, his road vehicle experiments came to an end. However, if steam-powered vehicles were considered as automobiles, without doubt, Nicolas Cugnot was the inventor of the first automobile.

After Cugnot, history records several other steam-powered road vehicle inventions. Frenchman, Onesiphore Pecqueur experimented on Cugnot's vehicle and fortunately the vehicle showed improvement. He also invented the first differential gear. In 1789, the first U.S. patent for a steam-powered land vehicle was granted to Oliver Evans. In 1801, a steam-powered road carriage was built. Richard Trevithick was the inventor and the carriage was the first of its kind in Great Britain. The steam-powered stage carriages became very popular in Great Britain and were in regular service from 1820 to 1840. However, the carriages were banned from public roads a little later. This gave rise to Britain's railroad system.

In and around Paris and Bordeaux, steam-driven road tractors built by Charles Deitz were used. These tractors pulled passenger carriages till the year 1850. The years 1860-1880 saw inventions of an array of steam coaches in the USA too. Inventors included Harrison Dyer, Joseph Dixon, Rufus Porter and William T. James. Amedee Bollee Sr. built advanced steam cars from 1873 to 1883.

The La Mancelle was built in 1878. It had a front-mounted engine, shaft drive to the differential, chain drive to the rear wheels, steering wheel on a vertical shaft and driver's seat behind the engine. In this vehicle, the boiler was carried behind the passenger compartment. In 1871, Dr. J. W. Carhart and the J. I. Case Company built a working steam car that won a 200-mile race.