| Who invented the car is a simple enough question, but | | | | assembly line in Detroit and became the largest |
| the answer is far more complicated as there was no | | | | manufacturer of cars. By 1913 however, Henry Ford |
| 'eureka' moment, but rather a gradual evolution of | | | | had developed an assembly plant in Highland Park, |
| automobile milestones. | | | | Michigan that included a conveyor belt which drastically |
| Dependent upon how liberally you apply the definition | | | | reduced production times; a Model T took 93 minutes |
| of automobile, which literally means 'self-moving', | | | | to build from start to finish, and as a result his company |
| designs for such a vehicle can be traced to as far | | | | became the world's largest manufacturer. By 1927 |
| back to the 15th Century and drawings made by a | | | | over 15million Model T's had been built at the plant. |
| true visionary - Leonardo Da Vinci. However, when it | | | | Once Ford's assembly techniques were exported |
| comes to a working self-propelled car, then | | | | throughout the world the car soon became the most |
| Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot may well claim the title of | | | | popular method of transport. During the late 20th |
| original inventor. In 1769 he produced a fully functional | | | | century cars became widely affordable and the most |
| road vehicle, or military tractor, built specifically for the | | | | convenient way to travel. However, its popularity also |
| French Army which recorded a top speed of 2.5 | | | | led to a necessary introduction of various laws to |
| M.P.H. and was powered by steam. | | | | protect both drivers and pedestrians, and the inevitable |
| But, the car as we know it, propelled by an internal | | | | introduction of taxes to help swell the chancellor's |
| combustion petrol engine, was first successfully | | | | coffers. Major UK motoring legislation milestones |
| road-tested and patented by Karl Freidrich Benz in | | | | include: |
| Germany in 1886. The three-wheel vehicle was | | | | - Driving licences became compulsory in Jan 1904 |
| propelled by a four-cycle internal combustion engine | | | | - Petrol first taxed, at 3d per gallon, in 1908 |
| and in the same year another famous name | | | | - Tax discs become compulsory under the Roads and |
| associated with motoring and fellow German, Gottlieb | | | | Finance Act 1920 |
| Wilhelm Daimler, along with his partner Wilhelm | | | | - First automatic traffic lights turned on in |
| Maybach also produced an automobile but complete | | | | Wolverhampton in 1928 |
| with the world's first four-stroke engine. The first Briton | | | | - Car insurance cover legally required for all drivers |
| to build a motor car was a plumber and gas fitter by | | | | under the Road Traffic Act 1930 |
| the name of Fred Bremer, who at the tender age of | | | | - Driving tests become compulsory June 1935 |
| 20 in 1892 started construction of his four-wheeled, | | | | There's no doubt the concept of the automotive has |
| petrol driven car, which he first drove on the open | | | | changed dramatically from it's early days, but still it |
| road two years later. | | | | shows no sign of stopping with manufacturers |
| But it was brothers Frank and Charles Duryea, who | | | | ploughing millions of pounds each year into researching |
| became the first American car manufacturers in 1893 | | | | new models, methods of fuel and passenger safety; all |
| and indeed it was also in the USA that mass | | | | a far cry from it's pipe-dream beginnings on a piece of |
| production became the standard for car manufacture. | | | | paper! |
| In 1901 Ransome Eli Olds introduced the basic | | | | |