Fri
Oct
26
The Industry Firsts: Automotive Milestones
The modern car as we know it has a rich history, dating back to the 18th century. The phenomenal start of the very first automobile took place in France in 1769, when French engineer and mechanic Nicolas Joseph Cugnot built a self-propelled military tractor powered by a steam engine. And the rest, so to speak, is history.
For more than two centuries, cars have evolved, new models come one after another, and technologies used for cars have become more advanced. It is also worthy to look at the automotive industry’s past, especially its milestones that continue to influence today’s cars. Here are some of them:
- Onesiphore Pecqueur, who improved Cugnot’s vehicle, invented the first differential gear.
- The first steam-powered vehicle in Great Britain was the one invented by Richard Trevithick in 1801.
- Cars with electrical engines followed the steam engine used in cars. It was Robert Anderson of Scotland who built the first electric carriage, which used batteries that can be recharged by a small electric motor.
- Gasoline came onboard as the power generator for vehicles starting
- The Model T was the first car to sell more than a million cars in 1922. This car held the record for a very long time until it was broken by the Volkswagen Beetle in 1973. First produced in 1938, the Beetle was the first European car to hit more than a million sales.
- The very first number plates in the world were issued in France in 1893.
- Symbols for road signs were first used in January 1, 1965. Round signs signify compulsory instructions, while rectangular signs convey information. Triangle-shaped signs denote hazard warnings.
- In 1980, vehicle production in Japan outnumbered that of the United States. That was the first time it happened. Japan recorded sales of 7.08 million while the United States posted 6.38 million sales in the same year.
Sources: About.com, Cybersteering.com
