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Top 10 Interesting Firsts in Motoring History

So, we all know most of the things about the latest cars. But how many of us know which was the first petrol car or even something as simple as the place where first traffic signs were erected. Cars have become such an important part of our life that it is difficult to imagine a day without our favourite cars. So here we bring to you some of the very interesting 'first timers' in the automobile history.

First Petrol Car

Twenty year old Edouard Delamare-Deboutteville had a thing for all things automotive. In 1883, he built the very first petrol car. The inspiration behind doing so was to come up with a good substitute to horse transport for his father's cotton mill. His father's mechanic, Charles Malandin, also helped him in his endeavours. Together they modified an 8HP stationary gas engine for use with petrol as a fuel and fitted it to a four wheeled hunting-brake.

First Mass-produced Car

Considering the dominance of Germany in the global automotive market, many would assume that Germany would have marched ahead of others by being the first to mass-produce cars. Those who think so are wrong. The first incidence of mass-produced petrol driven motorcars happened in the USA. And the car was the curved-dash Olds. It was the first car ever to be produced in numbers more than 10 per week, which made its first appearance in public in April 1901.

By the end of the year, the total number of cars manufactured was 433 and this number rose to 5,508 per year in the coming three years. The car, at that time, was being sold at $650 - significantly below the price of other cars at the time.

First Car Radio

We all love music in our cars. The first radio was equipped to a passenger door of a Ford Model-T in Chicago in 1922. The mastermind behind that was 18 year old George Frost, president of the Lane High School Radio Club. In November of the same year, the first radio was installed in a Daimler limousine by the Marconi-phone company. The car was displayed at the Olympia Motor Show in London, England.

First Car Theft

The first car theft incidence occurred in Paris, France, in 1896. The car, a Peugeot, belonged to Baron de Zuylen and was stolen by Mechanic from the manufacturers where it was undergoing repairs. Fortunately for Baron de Zuylen, the car was found along with the mechanic at the nearby town of Asnieres.

First Registration Plates

France came up with the first vehicle registration plates on 14th August 1893. The Department of the Seine under the Paris Police Ordinance stated: "Each motor vehicle shall bear on a metal plate and in legible writing the name and address of its owner, also the distinctive number used in the application for authorization. This plate shall be placed at the left-hand side of the vehicle - it shall never be hidden." In a general decree of 30 September, 1901, the rule was made mandatory to include the rest of France.

First Motoring Accident

The first death caused by a motorcar took place on August 17, 1896, at the Crystal Palace, London. Bridget Driscoll of Croydon was run over by the wheel of the offending car and she died because of skull fracture. The driver, Arthur Edsell, was giving a joy ride in a Rogers-Benz on the terrace of the Crystal Palace, when the car accident happened. Driscoll, while crossing the path saw the automobile racing towards her at the speed of 4 mph. Driscoll got frightened by and stood immobile in the way of the oncoming car.

First Traffic Lights

Hmm, we all know about the traffic lights, but how many of us know their history. The first traffic lights were installed on a cast iron pillar at of Bridge Street and New Palace Yard in London, on the 10th of December 1868. The lights consisted of a revolving lantern and a red and green signal. The signs were not too welcomed by the public. It remained the sole one till it was removed on 1872. Traffic lights were re-introduced after 50 years.

First Traffic Signs

The first traffic signs made their appearance in Britain in the December f 1879. Installed by the Bicycle Union, the sign consisted of a wooden post with an enamel iron plate that read, 'To cyclists - this hill is dangerous". The first signs that were specifically made for motor car drivers made their appearance in 1901 in Gloucester, England.

First Parking Meter

Carlton Magee, the editor of a leading Oklahoma City Newspaper, designed the first parking meter while chairing a committee set up in 1933 to inquire into possible methods of imposing stringent parking rules in the town. Magee founded the Dual Parking Meter Company, called so because it served dual purposes of parking control and revenue generation for the state. The first meters came in to service on July 16, 1935.

First Bulk-Storage Petrol Filling Station

The year 1905 witnessed the first bulk-storage petrol filling station, operated by the Automobile Gasoline Co. in ST Louis, which was owned by the Harry Grenner and Clem Lessing. The fuel was dispensed through a garden hose connected to a gravity-feed tank. Standard Oil of California, in 1907, was the first station to bring forecourt and projecting canopy, the form mostly in use today.

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