The First Modern Cars

Inspite of the vital role that the gas-driven internal combustion engine played in the evolution of cars, it had one great drawback - the engine had to be connected to a gas supply for re-fuelling. The solution was an engine that ran on liquid fuels, which were available more easily and readily transportable.

The turning point in the development of cars was the introduction of the petrol engine in 1885, which started an entirely new era and actually made the car a practical and safe proposition. The cars produced in this period were more like the cars we see today and thus began the era of the Modern Car.

1885 - Karl Benz

Karl Benz, born in 1844 was a son of an engine driver. Benz studied mechanical engineering, and since his days of education was interested in the internal combustion engine. His early working days at the time was however restricted to the two-stroke engine, since the four-stroke engine was under the Otto patent.

In 1885, by which time the Otto patent was no longer valid, Benz developed a four-stroke internal combustion engine. This he attached to a three-wheeled carriage, and thus was born the first of the modern automobiles.

The car however was not an immediate commercial success, and it was not till seven years and several improved versions later that Benz's car became popular.

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1886 - Gottlieb Daimler

Daimler joined Otto and Langen in 1872, where he worked for a decade. It during this time that he designed the first practical four-stroke engine, which was then patented by Otto and Langen

In 1882, Daimler left Otto and Langen, and was joined by Wilhelm Maybach who was Chief Designer. Together they set up an independent company, where they designed the first petrol engine in 1883. In 1885 he fitted the engine to a bicycle and created the prototype of the present day motorcycle. A year later, in 1886, Daimler fitted one of his engines to a horse-carriage and ran the created the first four-wheeled motor car in history.

1908 - The Model T

The   Model T,  the   first "people's car", was introduced by the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford had no professional engineering education, but had a natural inclination towards mechanics. Earlier, the automobile fell strictly in the purview of the rich, and it was Ford's ambition to build a car for the masses