Automotive Technical Firsts

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=3 height=50 BGCOLOR="#DDDDDD" TEXT="#080000"> <div>  <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#336699" FACE="Accent SF" >Automotive Technical Firsts</FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#336699" FACE="Accent SF" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#006699" FACE="Arial" >                 </FONT></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=21.25% BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#EEEEEE" FACE="Verdana" ><B>autot</B></FONT><A HREF="id159.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="History"><U><B><IMG SRC="0470b0b0.png" border=0 width="11" height="11" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Versatile FordModel T"><U><B><IMG SRC="0480b0b0.png" border=0 width="11" height="11" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>       </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11"><B>   </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="autocluster.com"><U><B><IMG SRC="04a0b0b0.png" border=0 width="11" height="11" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>   </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#EEEEEE" FACE="Verdana" ><B>or c</B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="autocluster.com"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Automotive Technical Firsts"><U><B>Automotive Technical Firsts</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Versatile FordModel T"><U><B>The Versatile Ford Model-T</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Classic Cars News"><U><B>Classic Cars News</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Introduction"><U><B>Best Engineered Car of each decade</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Car of the Century"><U><B>Car of the Century</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.autocluster.com/ushistory/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.autocluster.com/ushistory/ind"><U><B>US Auto History</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="08d3c380.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="56" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I><B>1827</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> A Frenchman, Onésime Pecqueur took out patents for two very remarkable devices. One was a differential gear for driving wheels; the other an axle fitted with two vertical pivots, the wheels pivoting separately on each, and being kept parallel by a connecting rod. No invention has had a greater influence on the construction of motor cars, yet the inventor was unable to follow them up, and half a century elapsed before they came into practical use.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1845</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> An Englishman named Thomson invents the pneumatic tyre. But Thomson, like so many inventors is ahead of his time. There were as yet no bicycles and thus no demand for his invention.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>1854</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Between 1850 and 1870 two Italians Eugene Barsanti and Felice Matteucci were pioneering the building of the first true internal combustion engine. They obtained a British patent for a coal-gas engine.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>1860</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The first practical example of the car as we know it - a vehicle, with working cylinders, powered by coal gas, is built by Jean-Joseph Etienne Lenoir.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>1862</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> This year is an important one in the history of the car, for it is in this year that Alphonse Beau de Rochas describes the operating cycle of the four-stroke internal combustion engine. The engines of Lenoir, Barsanti and Matteucci exploited only the kinetic effects of the explosion of the mixture and used a three stroke cycle - induction, explosion and expansion. Beau de Rochas added the fourth stroke, compression, which represented the key to the effective exploration of the potential of the internal combustion engine.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1868</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The first gas-powered set of traffic lights were installed in Bridge Street, Westminster, London. </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1877</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> John Kemp Starley of<I> The Rover Company</I> is credited with the invention of the differential gear<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1881</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Jeantuad, in France, made fundamental studies on steering geometry, still accepted by engineers of today.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1885</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Karl Benz builds the first practical, petrol burning car<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1887</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Karl Benz invents the sun gear<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1889</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Daimler introduces the first sliding pinion 4-speed gear system.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Maybach invents the carburetor.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1890</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Wilhelm Maybach invents the toothed gear and the sealed cooling system<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> James Starley, an English pioneer cycle designer, invents the differential gear principle. (The date for this is not certain)<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1891</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Panhard et Levassor</I> pioneer the front-engined car gearbox behind the engine, and rear wheel drive. First classic car </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1892</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Wilhelm Maybach develops a float-type jet carburetor<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1893</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Benz utilises Ackerman steering<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Daimler builds the first vehicle with helical springs<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The brothers Frank and Charles Duryea built their first car, which was driven by a single-cylinder, two-stroke, i.c. engine. This was the first American car with electric ignition and spray carburation, both of which were designed by Frank.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1894</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The <I>Vacheron</I> car has the first steering wheel<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Pneumatic tyres: Invented by a Scottish veterinary surgeon, James Dunlop. Dunlop's patent is challenged in the courts by protagonists of Thomson. However Dunlop was saved by the fact that it's tyres were fitted with the endless wire fastening patented by Welch. The first four-wheeled car to run on pneumatic tyres was the <I>Peugeot L'Eclair,</I> which was run by the Michelin brothers in the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris event in 1895. </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1895</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Panhard builds the first closed car.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The Michelin brothers introduce the first pneumatic tyres<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Wilhelm Maybach invents the honeycomb radiator<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1896</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>The Wakefield Lubricator (Castrol)</I> is a mechanical device which forces oil through feed pipes to the axle box in constant regular quantities when the axle box was in motion. The lubricator was so effective that it has been used in steam transportation from its introduction to the present day, where steam is still used in some countries.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The Lanchester brothers of Britain patent propeller-shaft transmission. F.W.Lanchester also was responsible for; forced lubrication, live axle transmission, pre-selector epicyclic gear, worm-drive rear axle, splined shafts, cantilever springing, the utilisation of rubber in the suspension system, the vibration damper for crankshaft torsion and an inter-geared crankshaft arrangement for the smooth running of a multi-cylinder engine.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1897</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Mors</I>, of France, produces the first V4 engine<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Gräf and Stift,</I> of Austria, build the first front-wheel-drive petrol car<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1898</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Renault</I> builds the first propeller shaft driven car: </div> <div> Car heaters operating off the cooling system appear first in the USA, though foot-warmers are to be found on the pre-1900 Daimlers of Germany. </div> <div> Winton was the first to use a steering wheel instead of a tiller in the US. (See1894). He also pioneered front engines in the US. (See 1891), and he developed the first practical storage battery. He is also credited with franchising the first new-car dealer. </div> <div> Percy Riley, of Coventry, pioneers use of the mechanically operated inlet valve<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Daimler builds the first inline 4-cylinder engine<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1899</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Daimler</I> introduces the honeycomb-type radiator with integral water-tank, gate gear change and foot accelerator.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Renault</I> pioneers use of shaft-drive with spring rear axle, using universal joints.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Dietrich-Bollée</I> offers windscreens as optional extras<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1900</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Karl Benz invents the ribbed radiator.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The magneto was simultaneously invented by Frederick Sims, in Britain and Robert Bosh, in Germany.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Renault</I> builds first totally enclosed car the <I>Renault</I> coupé.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1901</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Oldsmobile </I>introduces the speedometer<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> E.P.Hooley, county surveyor of Derbyshire, England, notices a spilt barrel of tar on a road covered with furnace slag from the nearby Denby Iron Works. The result is a dust-free, hard wearing surface. From this springs a new material and company, TarMacadem (Purnell Hooley's patent) Syndicate. It is later abbreviated to a more memorable <I>Tarmac</I>.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1902</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Pirelli </I>were the first to think in terms of a spare wheel with a tyre and rim set<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The first V8 engines appeared in the <I>Adler </I>cars, which ran in the Paris-Vienna race, and the Paris -Madrid event. </div> <div> Brakes on all four wheels: The vast 8.7-litre<I> Spyker</I> racing car, built in Trompenburg near Amsterdam, was a four-wheel drive car with 6-cylinder, inline engine.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Daimler was the first designer to see the necessity for a good power-to-weight ratio to secure a more powerful performance.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Aluminium was first used in a revolutionary new body style known as 'tonneau de grand luxe' designed by Ferdinand Charles, and built by <I>Rothschild et Fils </I>of Paris. The body, which included access to the back seats for the first time, had body panels and wings made of aluminium. Later the same year the Napier 9 hp with an all aluminium body as standard was on the market.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Amédée Bolée patents a system of direct fuel injection<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT>Dr.Frederick Lanchester designs disc brake<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1903</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The earliest example of power steering can be found on the 1903<I> Columbia Motor Truck</I>, built in the US - which was powered by electric motor. Power steering was also fitted to a Pierce Arrow in 1926. </div> <div> <I>Adler</I>, of Germany, patents first swing rear axles, designed by Dr. E. Rumpler<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Maudslay,</I> of Britain, produces first overhead camshaft car engine.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1904 </B></I></div> <div> <I>Conti (Continental Gummiwerke Aktiengesellschaft </I>) produced the world's first treaded car tyre<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Locomobile offers a four-speed gearbox </div> <div> <I>Cadillac</I> offers anti-theft ignition lock as optional extra.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1905</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Antifreeze sold in the US<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> In America, Sylvanus S Bowser invented a workable petrol pump and called it a Filling Station, although the term would not come into common use until the 1920s. In the same year, <I>The Automobile Gasoline Company of St Louis</I> began the first chain of gas stations in the US.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1906</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Brush</I> and <I>Oakland</I> use coil springs and friction shocks </div> <div> France introduces detachable wheel rims<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1907</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> First mass produced vehicle:<I> Model T Ford</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Windscreen wipers: Many people believe that windscreen wipers were invented by Prince Henry of Prussia, which he fitted to a <I>Benz </I>he drove from Hamburg to England in 1911. However, the idea was actually that of Paul Ravigneaux, Editor of <I>La Vie Automobile</I>, and chief engineer of <I>De Dion-Bouton</I>. He devised the windscreen wiper early in 1907 and publicised the design in his magazine in the interest of road safety. Perhaps Prince Henry was one of his readers. The wiper in question was a rubber wiper operated by hand. The first manufactured wipers were the <I>Gabriel</I>, operated by pulling a string. </div> <div> The Ford Model T was the first to have its engine block and crankcase cast as a single unit, the first to have a removable cylinder head for easy access, and the first to make such extensive use of the lightweight but strong alloy known as vanadium steel.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> C<I>hadwick</I>, in the US produces the first supercharged car<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1908</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The first company to produce electric headlights in any quantity was the <I>Polkey Automobile Electric Lighting Syndicate Ltd </I>of Birmingham, England.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Delco</I>, in the US, produces the first coil and distributor ignition system.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1909</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Christie,</I> in the US, mounts four-cylinder engine and gearbox transversely to drive front wheels.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <I>Triplex</I>, in France, sells the first 'shatterproof' safety glass.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>1910</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The <I>Sankey Company of Great Britain</I> markets the first bolt-on wheels.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The first manufacturer to offer closed bodies as standard, is<I> Cadillac</I> of the US, (See 1895).<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The first car with safety glass windows as standard equipment is the <I>Cadillac</I>.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> The first production car to be fitted with four-wheel brakes is the Scottish <I>Argyll.</I> Earlier brake control rods passed through the steering pivot and might lock the steering when brakes were applied.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> Rearview mirror is introduced on the racing car the<I> Marmon Wasp</I> in the US. </div> <div> The first V8 to go into series production was the De Dion Bouton CL, (See 1902).</div> <bR> <div> <B>1911</B></div> <div> Edward Budd develops all steel automobile body.  (Some sources say Oakland and Hupmobile developed the all steel body in 1912)</div> <div> First car telephone used in Los Angeles, US</div> <div> Isotta Fraschini, of Italy, develops the first effective four-wheel brakes</div> <div> Electric self-starting and lighting is introduced by Cadillac, US</div> <bR> <div> <B>1912</B></div> <div> Henry Ford starts the mass production of motor cars.</div> <div> Among the innovations popularised by the Ford Model T was placement of the steering wheel on one side, permitting passengers easy access to and from the cars. </div> <div> As an answer to the hand crank, Kettering in the US, integrated the starter -- adapted from the cash register motor -- into a complete ignition and electrical system, which included a battery recharged by a generator run by the engine and electric headlights to replace acetylene lamps The system was installed on Cadillac's 1912 model, one of those very few cars that was truly an automotive milestone.</div> <div> Peugeot introduces the twin overhead camshaft engine</div> <bR> <div> <B>1913</B></div> <div> Peugeot introduces force feed, dry-sump lubrication</div> <div> The British SU constant-vacuum carburetor with sliding piston is introduced</div> <div> Two types of direction indicators are introduced in the US, both cable-operated.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1914</B></div> <div> The first production car to have all-independent suspension was the 1914 Cornelian, built by the Blood Brothers of Michigan, US. Louis Chevrolet drove a racing version at Indianapolis in 1915.  During the Second World War The Daimler Company of Coventry produced independently sprung scout and armoured cars.</div> <div> Electric traffic lights in the US</div> <bR> <div> <B>1915</B></div> <bR> <div> Cadillac pioneers thermostatic control of the cooling system</div> <bR> <div> <B>1916</B></div> <div> The earliest automated wipers were on the 1916 Willys Knight (US)</div> <div> Packard sells first production car with a V12 engine, the Twin Six.</div> <div> Packard Twin Six (V12) model is first American car to have alloy pistons.  </div> <div> Brake stop lights used in the US</div> <bR> <div> <B>1917</B></div> <div> First push button electric gear selector is fitted to American Premier car</div> <bR> <div> <B>1919</B></div> <div> The Hispano-Suiza H6B of 1919 was the first to have servo-assisted brakes.</div> <div> DMG builds the first supercharged car, 10/30 hp with a Knight engine</div> <bR> <div> <B>1920</B></div> <div> Duessenberg, of US, fits hydraulic, internally expending four-wheel brakes.</div> <div> Torsion bars are used in the suspension of the Leyland Eight.</div> <div> Columbia, of the US, introduces automatic radiator shutters</div> <div> Cadillac introduces safety glass windows as standard equipment </div> <bR> <div> <B>1920-1929</B></div> <div> Double filament headlamp bulbs are introduced in America.</div> <div> DuPont invents Duco spray paint.</div> <div> An effort is made to create new shapes for various major components but these are arrived at individually.  </div> <bR> <div> <B>1921</B></div> <div> Aerodynamics:  Dr Edmund Rumpler started designing cars after WW1 in Germany, using principles he had learned as an aircraft designer.  At the 1921 Berlin Motor Show he introduced his Rumpler Tropfenwagen - or 'teardrop car'. Powered by a rear mounted two-row radial six-cylinder engine, it was considered to be the first truly authentic aerodynamic bodystyle and had a drag coefficient of 0.28.</div> <div> Automatic reversing light devised in America</div> <div> Tetraethyl lead anti-knock compound petrol made in the US</div> <bR> <div> <B>1922</B></div> <div> Unitary construction and independent front suspension pioneered on Lancia Lambda</div> <div> Cadillac introduces automatic choke  </div> <div> Rifenbacker offers four-wheel brakes, although few models came with the option.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1923</B></div> <div> The first electric windscreen wiper was the Berkshire, produced in the US by Trico in 1923, and introduced to the UK by the Houdaille Hydraulic Suspension Company.</div> <div> Germany makes first diesel engine truck</div> <div> Dodge produces the first all steel saloon body</div> <div> Fiat develops an adjustable steering column</div> <bR> <div> <B>1925</B></div> <div> Packard introduces hypoid rear axles.</div> <div> Front and rear bumpers are fitted as standard in the US</div> <div> First use of oil pressure warning light is on an Italian Fiat 509 model</div> <bR> <div> <B>1926</B></div> <div> Vacuum servo-assistance brakes were first used on the 1926 Pierce-Arrow.</div> <div> Car heaters operating off the cooling system appear first in the US, though foot-warmers are to be found on the pre-1900 Daimlers of Germany.</div> <div> The Belgian invented Silentbloc non-lubricated bearing is launched.</div> <div> Lubrication charts for UK manufacturers' vehicles are introduced showing the chassis and engine, and appropriate Castrol lubricant to be used.  It was the first collaboration of this kind between a manufacturer and a lubricant company.</div> <div> The first electric traffic lights in Britain were installed in Piccadilly, London, but they had to be manually operated by a poilceman.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1927</B></div> <div> Philadelphia Storage Battery Co. - Philco launches the first commercial radio for American cars.</div> <div> Studebaker and Oldsmobile use chromium plating.</div> <div> All Rickenbackers have four-wheel brakes. This was the first medium priced American car with four-wheel brakes, Duesenberg had been the first to offer the option, but Duesenbergs were far from meduim-priced.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1928</B></div> <div> Cadillac and LaSalle introduce the synchromesh gearbox</div> <div> The red, amber and green traffic lights were first installed in Britain in Wolverhampton, and Leeds.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1929</B></div> <div> The British Luvax hydraulic shock absorber is announced.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1930</B></div> <div> Vauxhall Cadet is the first European car with synchromesh</div> <bR> <div> <B>1931</B></div> <div> Automatic clutches, worked by engine vacuum, adopted by Standard and Rover, Wolseley and Triumph build small 6-cylinder cars</div> <bR> <div> <B>1932</B></div> <div> Wolseley Hornet has engine mounted over front axle to gain extra body space</div> <div> Illuminated semaphore-type direction indicators come into general use</div> <bR> <div> <B>1933</B></div> <div> General Motors introduces the 'No Draft' ventilation system</div> <bR> <div> <B>1934</B></div> <div> First mass-produced monocoque: Citroën 7CV Traction Avant, which caused a sensation at the Paris Motor Show.  It was, and still is, the modern motor car with torsion-bar suspension, front-wheel drive, hydraulic brakes, wide track and low centre of gravity.  Many modern cars still have to catch up with the specification.  It brought unitary construction to the masses.</div> <div> Chrysler introduces the streamlined Airflow</div> <div> First British car with a factory installed radio - the Hillman Melody Minx.</div> <div> Britain was the first to introduce catseye studs for highways. The inventor was Percy Shaw.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1935</B></div> <div> Interconnected rising independent suspension: Citroën 2 CV prototype.</div> <div> Aluminium wheels: The Bugatti Type 35 was the first to run on aluminium wheels.</div> <div> Fiat 1500 has 6-cylinder engine, backbone chassis, hydraulic brakes, independent front suspension and streamlined body.</div> <div> C. C. Wakefield and Co. introduces the first commercially available engine lubricants with additives to reduce cylinder wear.  New compounds, oleates of tin and aluminium in the oil give  anti-oxidation and anti-corrosion properties.</div> <div> C. C. Wakefield and Co. is the first to introduce detergent to reduce carbon and sludge in the new formula 'Patent Castrol'.</div> <div> Parking meters introduced in the US</div> <bR> <div> <B>1936</B></div> <div> Fiat 500 has engine ahead of front wheels, four synchromesh gears, hydraulic brakes and independent front suspension.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1937</B></div> <div> Studebaker offers windscreen washers</div> <div> Catalytic Cracking Process for petroluem introduced first in the US</div> <bR> <div> <B>1938</B></div> <div> Nash was the first to offer a primitive form of air conditioning, known as 'Weather Eye'.</div> <div> First small car with independent front suspension - Vauxhall 10</div> <div> Germany launches the Volkswagen Beetle in its final form at the Berlin Motor Show.  The Beetle, with its rear engine, unstable swing axle rear suspension and inconvenient layout, had three things going for it - independent suspension, air-cooled engine and reliability.</div> <div> C. C. Wakefield and Co. is the first to introduce viscosity additives for easier starting, especially in colder weather, and better fuel economy.</div> <div> In 1938, Oldsmobile offered Hydra-matic transmission as optional equipment, the first true automatic shift that worked.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1939</B></div> <div> The first British production model with headlamps faired into the wings was the 1939 Series-E Morris Eight.</div> <div> Fully automatic Hydra-Matic transmission is offered on Oldsmobiles.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1940</B></div> <div> Chrysler offers 2-speed wipers</div> <bR> <div> <B>1941</B></div> <div> The first 4 WD car to go into series production was the 3.5-litre six-cylinder GAZ-61 built in the USSR.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1945</B></div> <div> Phillips of Holland produces the double filament bulb for dipping lights.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1946</B></div> <div> The Daimler DE36, built between 1946 and 1953, was the first production car to be fitted with electric windows as standard.</div> <div> First Ferrari with 1½litre V12 Type 125 with 5 speeds</div> <bR> <div> <B>1948</B></div> <div> Morris introduces new Morris Minor with torsion bar independent front suspension.</div> <div> Jaguar launches 120 mph XK120 sports car with 3½ litre, twin overhead camshaft, and 6-cylinder engine.</div> <div> In the USA the Tucker Torpedo has rear engine, advanced safety features, disc brakes and turning headlamps.  Only 50 are made.</div> <div> Triplex makes the curved windscreen.</div> <div> Goodrich produces the first tubeless tyre</div> <div> Warning lights are generally adopted in place of some instruments</div> <bR> <div> <B>1949</B></div> <div> Radial Tyres: The 1949 Michelin X was the first steel cord radial tyre, destined to be fitted on the Citroën Traction Avant.  The first ever textile cord radial tyre was the Pirelli Cinturato.</div> <div> Combined coil spring/damper unit and strut-type telescopic damper introduced on the Triumph Mayflower.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1950</B></div> <div> First gas turbine-engined car was a Rover.  Based on the P4, the JetOne reached speeds of more than 150 mph in 1950.  In the mid-fifties Austin used a 125 bhp gas turbine engine in a Sheerline limousine. </div> <div> The first example of hydraulic power-assisted steering to be offered on a mass production car, as an option, was on the 1951 Chrysler Imperial.  Cadillac was the first manufacturer to offer power steering as standard on its range.</div> <div> Ford, of Britain, adopts MacPherson strut independent front suspension on MK1 Consul, Zephyr and Zodiac models</div> <bR> <div> <B>1951</B></div> <div> Chrysler and Buick introduce power steering</div> <bR> <div> <B>1952</B></div> <div> Disc brakes: Modern-type disc brakes, designed by Dunlop, were fitted to the Jaguar entries in the 1952 Mille Miglia.  They were subsequently used on the C-Type that won the Le Mans in 1953 and were fitted as standard to the Jaguar D-Type and Austin-Healey 100S in 1954.  The Jensen 541 had disc brakes on all four wheels in 1956.</div> <div> General Motors introduces air-conditioning. (See 1938)</div> <div> The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL sports car has vertically opening doors and the engine canted at 45 degrees to lower body.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1954</B></div> <div> The Citroën DS appears on the scene with active self-levelling, rising rate fully independent hydro-pneumatic suspension, self levelling lights, clutchless gear change, removable composite body - fibreglass, aluminium, stainless steel, plastic and steel.  CD factor - approx.33, inboard disc brakes, automatic variable braking between front and rear to compensate for load, zero scrub power steering, positive power braking, energy absorbing crash protection sections.</div> <div> Cadillac uses twin headlamps</div> <div> Buick uses wraparound windscreen.</div> <div> The first petrol-engined private car with fuel injection as standard is the three-litre, gullwing Mercedes-Benz 300 SE.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1956</B></div> <div> Jensen 541 is the first British car with disc brakes on all four wheels.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1957</B></div> <div> Chrysler makes the autopilot (speed control)</div> <div> Felix Wankel runs his first rotary petrol engine</div> <bR> <div> <B>1958</B></div> <div> Daf, of Holland, produces Variomatic automatic transmission, which drives through belts on expanding pulleys.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1959</B></div> <div> BMC produces the Mini with front drive, transverse engine and independent rubber suspension.</div> <div> The Triumph Herald abandons grease points. </div> <bR> <div> <B>1960</B></div> <div> Anti-lock brakes developed by Dunlop and known as Maxaret, the first anti-skid braking system for cars appeared in the 1960 Jensen FF.  (but first done successfully with electronic Bosch ABS system - Mercedes-Benz S-Class)</div> <bR> <div> <B>1961</B></div> <div> Renault R4 has a cooling system sealed for life</div> <bR> <div> <B>1962</B></div> <div> BMC announces the 1100 with hydrolastic suspension.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1963</B></div> <div> Rover and BRM developed the first gas turbine car to run non-stop for 24 hours.  Driven by Graham Hill and Richie Ginther, it averaged 107 mph in the 1963 Le Mans race.</div> <div> Rootes launches Hillman Imp with the first mass produced engine using die-cast aluminium parts.</div> <div> Dunlop demonstrates aquaplaning.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1964</B></div> <div> Rear-engined NSU Spider is the first Wankel-engined car. </div> <div> Ford introduces Aeroflow ventilation for family cars.</div> <div> Cibié, of France, and Phillips, of Holland, jointly develop the iodine vapour bulb.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1965</B></div> <div> Renault 16 combines features of both estate car and saloon.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1967</B></div> <div> Cibié develops the self-levelling headlamp for Citroën.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1968</B></div> <div> Cibié produces headlamps, which turn with the steering on the Citroën DS21.</div> <div> Citroën introduces the Mehari estate car with moulded plastic body.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1969</B></div> <div> Mercedes-Benz builds the C111 prototype with first triple-rotor Wankel engine.</div> <div> The US experiments with airbags.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1970</B></div> <div> Maserati-engined Citroën SM has power steering with servo-assisted self-centring.  The effect diminishes at speed.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1972</B></div> <div> Volvo introduce the seat-belt reminder flashing warning light</div> <div> South African motorists start sitting more comfortably with the South African invention of the Dunlopillo Ring Diaphragm, which replaces seat springs with moulded rubber rings to reduce vibration and bounce. </div> <bR> <div> <B>1975</B></div> <div> Rolls Royce Camargue model is first in world to be fitted with cool head/hot feet air conditioning. </div> <bR> <div> <B>1977</B></div> <div> First five-cylinder-in-line petrol-powered engine fitted by Audi of Germany in their 1977 100 GC5E model.</div> <div> Integrated seat belts: First car with seat belts integrated with seats - Range Rover</div> <bR> <div> <B>1980s</B></div> <div> First car with outboard scrub front suspension - Volkswagen Polo</div> <div> First car with Torsion differential - Lancia Delta HF</div> <div> First mass-production car with counter-rotating balance shafts - Mitsubishi Sigma</div> <div> First car with four-wheel steering - Honda Prelude</div> <bR> <div> <B>1998</B></div> <div> The world's first commercially available device that integrates car audio, computing functions, navigation and wireless communications through hands-free voice activation went on sale in the US. Called the Clarion AutoPC, it is mounted in a car's dashboard and uses the Microsoft Windows CE operating system.</div> <div> Daimler/Chrysler invent the BAS Brake Assist System. They also claim to have  invented the airbag, belt tensioners, and anti-lock brakes.</div> <div> <B>_______________________________________</B></div> <div> <I> Compiled by L Haynes</I></div> <div> <I>Copyright © 2004, Autocluster.com</I></div> <div> <I>No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, facsimile transmission, recording or rekeying, without prior permission in writing from Autocluster Africa. Every effort has been made to offer the most current, correct and clearly expressed information possible. However, errors can occur, and any liability that would or could arise as a result of the contents of this publication is hereby excluded to the fullest extent allowed by law. Professional advice should be sought before action based on any information is taken. </I></div> <div> <I>___________________________________________</I></div> <div> <I> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script>  </I></div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=21.875% BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div>  <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script>  </div> </td> </tr></table></body>