CAR

Anautomobile,autocar,motor carorcaris a wheeledmotor vehicleused fortransportingpassengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than goods.[3]

The year 1886 is regarded the year of birth of the modern automobile - with theBenz Patent-Motorwagen, by German inventorKarl Benz. Motorized wagons soon replaced animal-draftedcarriages, especially after automobiles became affordable for many people when theFord Model Twas introduced in 1908.

The termmotorcarhas formerly also been used in the context of electrified rail systems to denote a car which functions as a small locomotive but also provides space for passengers and baggage. These locomotive cars were often used on suburban routes by both interurban and intercity railroad systems.[4]

It was estimated in 2010 that the number of automobiles had risen to over 1 billion vehicles, up from the 500 million of 1986.[5]The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially inChina,Indiaand otherNICs.[6]

Etymology

The wordautomobilecomes, via the Frenchautomobilefrom theAncient Greekword a?t?? (auts, "self") and theLatinmobilis("movable"); meaning a vehicle that moves itself. The loanword was first adopted in English byThe New York Timesin 1899.[7]The alternative namecaris believed to originate from the Latin wordcarrusorcarrum("wheeled vehicle"), or theMiddle Englishwordcarre("cart") (fromOld North French), in turn these are said to have originated from theGaulishwordkarros(aGallicChariot).[8][9]

HISTORY

The first working steam-powered vehicle was designed and most likely built byFerdinand Verbiest, aFlemishmember of aJesuit mission in Chinaaround 1672. It was a 65cm-long scale-model toy for the Chinese Emperor, that was unable to carry a driver or a passenger.[10][11][12]It is not known if Verbiest's model was ever built.[11]

Nicolas-Joseph Cugnotis widely credited with building the first full-scale, self-propelled mechanical vehicle or automobile in about 1769; he created a steam-powered tricycle.[13]He also constructed two steam tractors for the French Army, one of which is preserved in theFrench National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts.[14]His inventions were however handicapped by problems with water supply and maintaining steam pressure.[14]In 1801,Richard Trevithickbuilt and demonstrated hisPuffing Devilroad locomotive, believed by many to be the first demonstration of a steam-powered road vehicle. It was unable to maintain sufficient steam pressure for long periods, and was of little practical use.

The development of external combustion engines is detailed as part of thehistory of the automobile, but often treated separately from the development of true automobiles. A variety of steam-powered road vehicles were used during the first part of the 19th century, includingsteam cars,steam buses,phaetons, andsteam rollers. Sentiment against them led to theLocomotive Actsof 1865.

In 1807Nicphore Nipceand his brother Claude probably created the world's firstinternal combustion enginewhich they called aPyrolophore, but they chose to install it in a boat on the riverSaonein France.[15]Coincidentally, in 1807 the Swiss inventorFranois Isaac de Rivazdesigned his own 'de Rivaz internal combustion engine' and used it to develop the world's first vehicle to be powered by such an engine. The Nipces' Pyrolophore was fuelled by a mixture ofLycopodium powder(dried spores of theLycopodiumplant), finely crushed coal dust and resin that were mixed with oil, whereas de Rivaz used a mixture ofhydrogenandoxygen.[15]Neither design was very successful, as was the case with others, such asSamuel Brown,Samuel Morey, andEtienne Lenoirwith hishippomobile, who each produced vehicles (usually adapted carriages or carts) powered by internal combustion engines.[16]

In November 1881, French inventorGustave Trouvdemonstrated a working three-wheeled automobile powered by electricity at theInternational Exposition of Electricity, Paris.[17]

Although several other German engineers (includingGottlieb Daimler,Wilhelm Maybach, andSiegfried Marcus) were working on the problem at about the same time,Karl Benzgenerally is acknowledged as the inventor of the modern automobile.[16]

In 1879, Benz was granted a patent for his first engine, which had been designed in 1878. Many of his other inventions made the use of the internal combustion engine feasible for powering a vehicle. His firstMotorwagenwas built in 1885 inMannheim, Germany. He was awarded the patent for its invention as of his application on 29 January 1886 (under the auspices of his major company,Benz & Cie., which was founded in 1883). Benz began promotion of the vehicle on 3 July 1886, and about 25 Benz vehicles were sold between 1888 and 1893, when his first four-wheeler was introduced along with a model intended for affordability. They also were powered withfour-strokeengines of his own design.Emile Rogerof France, already producing Benz engines under license, now added the Benz automobile to his line of products. Because France was more open to the early automobiles, initially more were built and sold in France through Roger than Benz sold in Germany. In August 1888Bertha Benz, the wife of Karl Benz, undertook the firstroad tripby car, to prove the road-worthiness of her husband's invention.

In 1896, Benz designed and patented the first internal-combustionflat engine, calledboxermotor. During the last years of the nineteenth century, Benz was the largest automobile company in the world with 572 units produced in 1899 and, because of its size, Benz & Cie., became ajoint-stock company.

The first motor car in central Europe and one of the first factory-made cars in the world, was produced byCzechcompany Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau (later renamed toTatra) in 1897, thePrsidentautomobil.

Daimler and Maybach foundedDaimler Motoren Gesellschaft(DMG) inCannstattin 1890, and sold their first automobile in 1892 under the brand name,Daimler. It was a horse-drawn stagecoach built by another manufacturer, that they retrofitted with an engine of their design. By 1895 about 30 vehicles had been built by Daimler and Maybach, either at the Daimler works or in the Hotel Hermann, where they set up shop after disputes with their backers. Benz, Maybach and the Daimler team seem to have been unaware of each other's early work. They never worked together; by the time of the merger of the two companies, Daimler and Maybach were no longer part of DMG.

Daimler died in 1900 and later that year, Maybach designed an engine namedDaimler-Mercedes, that was placed in a specially ordered model built to specifications set byEmil Jellinek. This was a production of a small number of vehicles for Jellinek to race and market in his country. Two years later, in 1902, a new model DMG automobile was produced and the model was named Mercedes after the Maybach engine which generated 35hp. Maybach quit DMG shortly thereafter and opened a business of his own. Rights to theDaimlerbrand name were sold to other manufacturers.

Karl Benz proposed co-operation between DMG and Benz & Cie. when economic conditions began to deteriorate in Germany following theFirst World War, but the directors of DMG refused to consider it initially. Negotiations between the two companies resumed several years later when these conditions worsened and, in 1924 they signed anAgreement of Mutual Interest, valid until the year 2000. Both enterprises standardized design, production, purchasing, and sales and they advertised or marketed their automobile models jointly, although keeping their respective brands. On 28 June 1926, Benz & Cie. and DMG finally merged as theDaimler-Benzcompany, baptizing all of its automobilesMercedes Benz, as a brand honoring the most important model of the DMG automobiles, the Maybach design later referred to as the1902 Mercedes-35hp, along with the Benz name. Karl Benz remained a member of the board of directors of Daimler-Benz until his death in 1929, and at times, his two sons participated in the management of the company as well.

In 1890,mile LevassorandArmand Peugeotof France began producing vehicles with Daimler engines, and so laid the foundation of theautomobile industry in France.

The first design for an American automobile with a gasoline internal combustion engine was made in 1877 byGeorge SeldenofRochester, New York. Selden applied for a patent for an automobile in 1879, but the patent application expired because the vehicle was never built. After a delay of sixteen years and a series of attachments to his application, on 5 November 1895, Selden was granted a United States patent (U.S. Patent 549,160) for atwo-strokeautomobile engine,which hindered, more than encouraged, development of automobiles in the United States. His patent was challenged byHenry Fordand others, and overturned in 1911.

In 1893, the first running, gasoline-poweredAmerican carwas built and road-tested by theDuryea brothersofSpringfield, Massachusetts. The first public run of theDuryea Motor Wagontook place on 21 September 1893, on Taylor Street inMetro CenterSpringfield.[18][19]The Studebaker Automobile Company, subsidiary of a long-established wagon and coach manufacturer, started to build cars in 1897[20]:p.66and commenced sales of electric vehicles in 1902 and gasoline vehicles in 1904.[21]

In Britain, there had been several attempts to build steam cars with varying degrees of success, withThomas Ricketteven attempting a production run in 1860.[22]Santlerfrom Malvern is recognized by the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain as having made the first petrol-powered car in the country in 1894[23]followed byFrederick William Lanchesterin 1895, but these were both one-offs.[23]The first production vehicles in Great Britain came from theDaimler Company, a company founded byHarry J. Lawsonin 1896, after purchasing the right to use the name of the engines. Lawson's company made its first automobiles in 1897, and they bore the nameDaimler.[23]

In 1892, German engineerRudolf Dieselwas granted a patent for a "New Rational Combustion Engine". In 1897, he built the firstDiesel Engine.[16]Steam-, electric-, and gasoline-powered vehicles competed for decades, with gasoline internal combustion engines achieving dominance in the 1910s.

Although variouspistonless rotary enginedesigns have attempted to compete with the conventionalpistonandcrankshaftdesign, onlyMazda's version of theWankel enginehas had more than very limited success.