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The first steam-powered vehicle was designed by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot and constructed by M. Brezin in 1769 and could attain speeds of up to 6 km/hour. (History of the automobile, 2014)
Image: (Hasluck Paul Nooncree, 1769) -
The fardier a vapeur of Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot allegedly crashed into a wall in 1771. (Wikipedia "Traffic collision", 2014)
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François Isaac de Rivaz designed the first car powered by an internal combustion engine running on fuel gas (hydrogen and oxygen). (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
Image: (Francois de rivaz, 2010) -
In 1815, a professor at Prague Polytechnic, Josef Bozek, built an oil-fired steam car. (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
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The world first seat belt was invented by English engineer George Cayley in the early 19th century. (Wikipedia "Seat belt", 2014)
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The battery electric car owes its beginnings to Ányos Jedlik, one of the inventors of the electric motor, and Gaston Planté, who invented the lead-acid battery in 1859. (History of the automobile, 2014)
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The world’s first road traffic death involving a motor vehicle is alleged to have occurred on 31 August 1869. Irish scientist Mary Ward died when she fell out of her cousins' steam car and was run over by it. (Wikipedia "Traffic collision", 2014)
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The year 1886 is regarded the year of birth of the modern automobile - with the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, by German inventor Karl Benz. (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
Image: (Saforrest, 2005) -
The Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888 by German inventor Andreas Flocken is regarded as the first real electric car of the world. (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
Imag: (Franz Haag, 2011) -
The first motor car in Central Europe was produced by Czech company Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau (later renamed to Tatra) in 1897, the Präsident automobil. (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
Image: (KapitanT Präsident, 2006) -
By 1900, mass production of automobiles had begun in France and the United States. (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
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Dutch designer Jacobus Spijker built the first four-wheel drive racing car. It never competed and it would be 1965 and the Jensen FF before four-wheel drive was used on a production car. (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
Image: (RX-Guru, 2006) -
The 1908 New York to Paris Race was the first circumnavigation of the world by automobile. German, French, Italian and American teams began in New York City February 12, 1908 with three of the competitors ultimately reaching Paris. The US built Thomas Flyer with George Schuster (driver) won the race covering 22,000 miles in 169 days. (Wikipedia "history", 2014)
Image: (Hobe / Holger Behr, 2009) -
1908–1927 Ford Model T — the most widely produced and available 4-seater car of the era. It used a planetary transmission, and had a pedal-based control system. Ford T was proclaimed as the most influential car of the 20th century in the international Car of the Century awards. (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
Image: (Longhair, 1915) -
Between 1922 and 1925 the number of US passenger car builders decreased from 175 to 70. H. A. Tarantous, managing editor of MoToR Member Society of Automotive Engineers, in a New York Times article from 1925 gave this explanation: Many manufacturers were unable to "keep pace with the bigger production units" and falling prices, especially for the "lower-priced car, commonly called the coach". (Wikipedia "history", 2014)
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Since World War II automobile design experienced the total revolution changes to ponton style (without a non-compact ledge elements), one of the first representatives of that were the Soviet GAZ-M20 Pobeda (1946), British Standard Vanguard (1947), U.S. Studebaker Champion and Kaiser (1946), as well as the low-production Czech luxury Tatra T600 Tatraplan (1946) and the Italian Cisitalia 220 sports car (1947). (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
Image: (Gwafton, 2010) -
The airbag invention is credited, independently, to the German engineer Walter Linderer and to the North American John Hetrick. Linderer's airbag was based on a compressed air system, either released by bumper contact or by the driver. But compressed air could not blow Linderer's airbag up fast enough for maximum safety, thus it is an impractical system. (Wikipedia "Airbag history", 2014)
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The first modern three point seat belt (the so-called CIR-Griswold restraint) used in most consumer vehicles today was patented in 1955 U.S. Patent 2,710,649 by the Americans Roger W. Griswold and Hugh DeHaven,[8] and developed to its modern form by Swedish inventor Nils Bohlin for Swedish manufacturer Volvo—who introduced it in 1959 as standard equipment. (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
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Throughout the 1950s, engine power and vehicle speeds rose, designs became more integrated and artful, and automobiles were marketed internationally. (Wikipedia "History" 2014)
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In 1964, the Ford Mustang developed a new market segment, the pony car. New models to compete with the Mustang included the Chevrolet Camaro, AMC Javelin, and Plymouth Barracuda. (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
Image: (Vegavairbob, 2005) -
Technology developments included the widespread use of independent suspensions, wider application of fuel injection, and an increasing focus on safety in automotive design. Innovations during the 1960s included NSU's Wankel engine, the gas turbine, and the turbocharger. (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
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The 1970s were turbulent years for automakers and buyers with major events reshaping the industry such as the 1973 oil crisis, stricter automobile emissions control and safety requirements, increasing exports by the Japanese and European automakers, as well as growth in inflation and the stagnant economic conditions in many nations. (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
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In order to lower down the pollution that caused by automobile, many governments are using fiscal policies (such as road tax or the US gas guzzler tax) to influence vehicle purchase decisions.In the United States Congress, federally mandated fuel efficiency standards have been debated regularly, passenger car standards have not risen above the 27.5 miles per US gallon (8.6 L/100 km; 33.0 mpg-imp) standard set in 1985. (Wikipedia, 2014)
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The modern era is normally defined as the 25 years preceding the current year. It has been one of increasing standardisation, platform sharing, and computer-aided design. (Wikipedia "History", 2014)
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Some particular contemporary developments are the proliferation of front- and all-wheel drive, the adoption of the diesel engine, and the ubiquity of fuel injection. Body styles have changed. Three types, the hatchback, sedan, and sport utility vehicle, dominate today's market.The modern era has also seen rapidly rising fuel efficiency and engine output. The automobile emissions concerns have been eased with computerised engine management systems. (History of the automobile, 2014)
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Early hybrid systems are being investigated for trucks and other heavy highway vehicles with some operational trucks and buses starting to come into use. The main obstacles seem to be smaller fleet sizes and the extra costs of a hybrid system are yet compensated for by fuel savings, but with the price of oil set to continue on its upward trend, the tipping point may be reached by the end of 2015. (Wikipedia "Hybrid system", 2014)
