The journey to create the first car in the world was painstaking and prolonged. Contrary to many important inventions in the history of mankind, the idea to create the world’s the first car can not be attributed to a single person.
The first car in the world was developed in the 18th century by French inventor Nicola-Joseph much earlier than Carl Benz who is known as the father of modern automobiles and also known as the creator of the first practical car in the world.
The most essential part of the car is the engine. The engine was first created as an air engine. The air engine is considered to have been developed by a 17th-century German physicist, Otto von Guericke. Guericke developed an air pump and was also probably the first to make metal pistons. He also invented cylinders, and connecting rods, the basic components of the reciprocating engine.
The Mosaic Of Innovations That Created The Engine Of The World’s First Car
This invention was the bedrock for the development of the first car in the world. Steam propulsion is a part of innovation by Ferdinand Verbiest in the 16th century. In 1678 Belgian Jesuit missionary to China made a model steam carriage. Its base is on a principle that uses the modern turbine.
The 17th century was also important for the development of the first car in the world. A Dutch inventor, Christiaan Huygens, developed an engine that worked by air pressure. Its production is by the explosion of a powder charge.
Denis Papin of France developed a model engine on the basis of the vacuum principle, using the condensation of steam to generate the vacuum. An air engine was patented in England in 1799, and a grid of compressor stations was proposed to service vehicles in England. An air-powered vehicle is said to have been produced at the beginning of the 19th century.
There were many other inventors and engine designers who were also working hard to create the world’s first successful car. Among them, Hayden Wischett designed the car powered by the de Rivaz engine. He developed it in 1803. Samuel Brown invented the first industrially applied internal combustion engine in 1823. Siegfried Marcus developed a combustion engine-powered pushcart in 1870. Marcus further enhanced his work and created a two-cycle combustion engine.
Marcus also invented many parts which were very useful for the first car in the world. These components include the carburetor and clutch. And these components are the integral parts of modern cars.
Patenting The First Car In The World
The historic moment was when Carl Benz created the most practical world’s first car. On January 29, 1886, Carl Benz requested the patent for his “vehicle powered by a gas engine”. The patent number 37435 is the birth certificate of the first automobile in the world. In July 1886 the German newspapers reported on the first public outing of the three-wheeled Benz Patent Motor Car model no. 1. This was the beginning that shaped the world transport system in a new direction.
Benz was not able to fall back on existing groundwork. Not any proper solution for the steering of a four-wheeled vehicle is alive up until then. For the time being, he concentrated on the development of a three-wheeled vehicle. The “Velocipede” which started in 1886 can be considered as the world’s first automobile, despite being limited to three wheels.
The Popularity Of Cars At The Beginning
There was not much popularity of the car in the beginning. The Carl Benz three-wheeled first car in the world didn’t take the popularity and he couldn’t commercialize the world’s first car. A very limited number of cars were purchased. The idea of the Benz couldn’t materialize.
The turning point in the world’s first car came when Bertha Benz, the wife, and co-founder of the World’s most practical and desirable car came out for a long journey on their manufactured and invented car. She also took his children along with her journey as it was the time of the vacation for his children. In August 1888, Bertha Benz traveled from Mannheim to Pforzheim with her two sons in the Patent Motor Car built by her husband Carl Benz. After a few days, she returned to Mannheim.
This First Long-distance Trip In The History Of The Automobile
This first long-distance trip in the history of the automobile was most important for the automobile industry to flourish and for the Benz Patent Motor car. Almost all the journey was smooth and enjoyable by Bertha. It all ran with smoothness. There were only a few minor technical issues in the car on their route. Benz’s wife Bertha remove all technical problems. She was also an outstanding technician.
An original Model 3 Patent Motor Car, similar in design and construction, still exists today. It’s the world’s oldest remaining Benz automobile. It is from 1888.
Carl Benz achieved another important technical breakthrough in 1893. He made the solution of steering and invented double-pivot steering. This one gave a solution to the problem of steering four-wheeled vehicles. In 1894, Carl Benz developed and commercialized the Benz Velo. It became a big commercial success. After that, he developed an engine-powered bus and truck.
Besides Carl Benz, other persons who have made valuable and significant contributions to the development of the first car in the world are Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm, and Henry Ford. All are the most prominent inventors and car designers of the early times of automobile history.
Daimler Car
In the same year, just 100 kilometers away Daimler also presented his motor car, considered the world’s first four-wheeled car. This car is a light coach! It is a modified and more sophisticated version of the “grandfather clock” that was integrated. He also knew other areas of application of his engines at the beginning of their development of it. In 1886 Daimler already was thinking of motorizing boats, rail vehicles, and aircraft.
Since the early days of automobiles, motorsport was the most significant means of popularising the innovations and was means to show the performance and capabilities of the newly developed automobiles
So Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) laid the foundations for many more accomplishments. They developing a racing car. It was commissioned by Emil Jellinek. The name is after Jellinek’s daughter Mercedes.
In late March 1901 the newly developed model, the Mercedes 35 hp, passed the acid test by scoring a sensational success during the Nice racing week.
The sporting adventures had also paid off financially for the success of DMG. DMG spent more and more on development. They research to modernize the engines and structures of cars and other automobiles.
Afterward, workaday versions of racing cars and high-performance automobiles provided the backbone of the business.
These versions of the automobiles were crucial for the testing of the newly developed auto-cars. Moreover, they also generated a lot of revenue to enhance and innovate ways to generate more sophisticated designs and develop advanced automobiles.
The First Ford Car
Henry Ford, another important name in the development of the first automobile of the world. Henry Ford developed his first experimental car in his workshop behind his home in the city of Detroit in 1896. After the Establishment of the Ford Motor Company, the first Ford car was assembled at the Mack Avenue manufacturing plant in July 1903. After five years, in 1908, the highly demanded and valuable Model T of Ford motors was introduced.
Finally, the high demand for this model gave the way for innovative manufacturing models. So Ford developed a new mass production method. All that in order to meet the demand for the cars ordered by the hundreds of thousands of people. In 1911 Ford established the industry’s first assembly plant in the United States in the city of Kansas, Missouri.
Henry Ford established the first overseas production unit in Manchester, England. In 1913, another major development of the manufacturing method, Ford introduced the world’s first moving assembly line for cars. This method highly improved productivity and decreased accidents in the plant. Furthermore, in 1914, to enhance labor productivity, he presented the $5 daily wage for an eight-hour day (by replacing $2.34 for a nine-hour a day).
The Creators Of The First Three Cars And Their Importance
The cars we are using today are much much different in shape and size. So the major principle is the same as that of the first car in the world. Carl Benz doesn’t materialize these cars and automobiles. He develops a perfect practical car in the world. His three-wheeled car was the starting point.
Afterward, there were rapid innovations and contributions which led to the development of the four wheels cars within the time of a few years.
Today, we are traveling in high-tech cars. Thanks to all those inventors who made efforts and contributed to achieving this sort of technology.
These technologies that we are using today in automobile industries are not possible without the inventions of those people. The importance of any of the innovators can not be denied. They all achieve some goals in the development of the first car in the world. We will never forget the persons who are deserving the glory! So first is Carl Benz, the second is Daimler and the third is Henry Ford.
