The first milestone vehicle was built in Germany in 1889 by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Powered by a 1.5 hp, two-cylinder gasoline engine, it had a four-speed transmission and traveled at 10 mph. Another German, Karl Benz, also built a gasoline-powered car the same year. The gasoline-powered automobile, or motor car, remained largely a curiosity for the rest of the 19th century, with only a handful being manufactured in Europe and the United States.
The first automobile to be produced in quantity was the 1901 Curved Dash Oldsmobile, which was built in the United States by Ransom E. Olds. Modern automobile mass production, and its use of the modern industrial assembly line, is credited to Henry Ford of Detroit, Michigan, who had built his first gasoline-powered car in 1896. Ford began producing his Model T in 1908, and by 1927, when it was discontinued, over 18 million had rolled off the assembly line.
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Hey Josh, I really like cars. I like your blog even more. I learned things about cars that I didn't know. My grandpa's a mechanic and I do learn allot from him, I'm going to stay updated on your blog it's really cool.
ReplyDeleteI must say that I am really surprised. I had no idea that the automobile was created in Germany, especially in the 1800's. Although I knew that Henry Ford was not the inventor of the automobile, and though I was well informed about his production of the Model-T, I always credited him as being the first person to build cars in vast quantities, but this is apparently not the case. I find it quite interesting how the inventors of new technologies are usually forgotten and replaced by the men and women who are able to sell or advertise the product better. This is the case with Henry Ford, or with Marconi and Tesla (radio). I also find it interesting that it took so long for the care to get adopted and widely used by mainstream society.
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