Highlights of motor vehicle history

The idea of a self-propelled vehicle occurs inHomer’s  Iliad. Vulcan, the blacksmith of the gods,in one day made 20 tricycles which ‘self-movedobedient to the beck of the gods’. The landmarks inmore modern motor vehicle history are as follows:1688 Ferdinand Verbiest, missionary in China,made a model steam carriage using thesteam turbine principle.

1740 Jacques de Vaucansen showed a clockworkcarriage in Paris.
1765 Watt developed the steam engine.

1765 Nicholas Joseph Cugnot, a French artilleryofficer, built a steam wagon which carriedfour people at a speed of 2.25 mile/h. Itoverturned in the streets of Paris andCugnot was thrown into prison for endan-gering the populace.
1803 Richard Trevithick built a steam carriageand drove it in Cornwall.

1831 Sir Charles Dance ran a steam coach (builtby Sir Goldsworthy Gurney) on a regularservice from Gloucester to Cheltenham.Sometimes they did four round trips a day,doing 9 miles in 45 minutes. The steamcoaches were driven off the road by thevested interests of the stage coach compa-nies, who increased toll charges and piledheaps of stones in the roads along whichthe steam coaches passed. This, combinedwith the problems of boilers bursting andmechanical breakdowns and the advent ofthe railways, contributed to the withdrawalof the steam coaches.

1859 Oil was discovered in USA.

1865 The Locomotive Act of 1865 (the Red FlagAct) was pushed through by the railway andcoach owners. One of the stipulations wasthat at least three people must be employedto conduct the locomotive through thestreets, one of whom had to walk 60 yardsin front carrying a red flag. Speeds wererestricted to 2–4 mile/h. This legislation heldback the development of the motor vehicle inGreat Britain for 31 years, allowing the con-tinental countries to take the lead in this field.

1885 Karl Benz produced his first car. This isrecognized as being the first car with aninternal combustion engine as we know it.

1886 Gottlieb Daimler also produced a car.

1890 Panhard and Levasser began making cars inFrance.

1892 Charles and Frank Duryea built the firstAmerican petrol-driven car, although steamcars had been in use long before this.
1895 First motor race in Paris.First Automobile Club formed in Paris.

1896 The repeal of the Red Flag Act. This iscommemorated by the London to Brightonveteran car run. The speed limit was raised to12 mile/h and remained at that until 1903,when the 20 mile/h limit in built-up areaswas introduced. There was much persecutionof motorists by police at this time, which ledto the formation of the RAC and the AA.

1897 The RAC was formed, largely through theefforts of F. R. Simms, who also foundedthe SMMT in 1902.

1899 Jenatzy set world speed record of 66 mile/h.

1900 Steering wheel replaces tiller.Frederick Lanchester produced his first car,a 10 hp model. He had built an experimentalphaeton in 1895.

1901 Front-mounted engine.Mercedes car produced.

1902 Running board.Serpollet did a speed of 74 km/h in a steamcar.

1903 Pressed steel frames.First windshield.The Motor Car Act resulted in considerablepersecution of the motorist for speeding,number plates and lights, so much so thatthe motoring organizations paid cyclists tofind police speed traps.

1904 Folding windshield.Closed saloon-type body.A petrol car reached 100 mile/h and, in thesame year, a Stanley steam car achieved a speed of 127 mile/h. Stanley steam carsused paraffin in a multitube boiler and had achassis made from hickory.Rolls-Royce exhibited their first car in Paris.The motoring press were impressed with itsreliability.Veteran cars are cars up to and includingthis year.