Progression of Technology in Cars

Tyler Stogner
and
Brian Henderson

The First Car - 1672

Invented by Ferdinand Verbiest
Steam powered
Did not have enough power to carry a person
Was built as a toy for a Chinese
Emperor

Fig 1. Steam Powered Car (Revolutions:

20 Radical Innovations in Vehicular Technology)

Four Stroke Gas Engine - 1876

Invented by Nikolaus Otto
A stroke is the full length a piston travels in the cylinder
The four strokes are:
Intake, Compression, Power, and Exhaust

Fig 2. First Four Stroke Gas

engine (Otto Engine)

First Gas Powered Car - 1886

Called the Motorwagen

Invented by Karl Benz

Fig 3. Gas Powered Car ("Benz Patent Motor

Car, the First Automobile)

It was considered to be the first production vehicle because several of them were
made

Four Stroke Diesel - 1890s

Invented by Rudolf Diesel
Similar to the four stroke gas engine
Runs on diesel fuel instead of gasoline
Does not have spark plugs like a gas engine
Fig 4. Four Stroke Diesel ("Engineering Student's
Mind.")

Drum Brakes - 1902

Invented by Louis Renault
brakes work by using a cam and forcing apart two hinged shoes
The drum brake has been improved over the
years but the principle remains the same

Fig 5. Drum Brakes ("Automotive Engineer." )

Disc Brakes - 1902

Invented by Frederick William Lanchester
Works by the brake pad pressed against
the rotor to slow the car down
More popular than drum brakes

Fig 6. Disc Brake Diagram ("Evolution of

Braking - Petrol Smell." Petrol Smell RSS. N.p., 27
Oct. 2012. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.)

Electric Start - 1911

Charles Kettering introduced electric start
Before cars had to be started by hand
Introduced on Cadillacs in 1912
By the 20s a starter came on just about every car
Fig 7. Electric Starter
"Electric Starter Motor (China
Manufacturer) - Internal-Combustion
Engine - Machinery Products DIYTrade China Manufacturers
Suppliers." DIYTrade.com. Web. 2 Dec.

Power Steering - 1926/1951

Francis Davis invented power steering

It made steering easier

Fig 8. Power Steering Diagram ("Car Talk

Service Advice: Power-Steering Fluid." Car Talk. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.)

It uses hydraulic pressure to enable the wheels to turn with less effort from the
driver

Front Suspension System - 1931

Introduced by Mercedes-Benz
Smoother and better handling
Front wheels not connected by a single axle
Minimizes shock transfer from wheel to wheel

Fig 9. First Independent Front

Suspension ("Safety Milestones."
Safety Milestones MercedesBenz. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.)

Automobile Air Conditioning - 1939

The Packard Motor Car Company was the first
to put air conditioning into cars
The main A/C system first took up about half of
a normal cars trunk space
There was no thermostat or setting, it was either
on or off
It cost 274 dollars to put in (about 4,700 dollars
today)

Fig 10. A/C in trunk ("Automobile Air

Conditioning.")

Seatbelt - 1959
Invented by Nils Bohlin who was a former Saab aviation engineer
First used in Volvo Amazon and Volvo PV544
Used in the U.S. in 1963

Fig 11. Seat Belt on a Teddy Bear

"In the Future, Your Seatbelt Could Be Tailored
to Your Body."

Electronic Fuel Injection - 1957

The first EFI system was called the
Electrojector
It was offered by American Motors
Corporation
The Rambler Rebel was the first car
with the option of EFI

Fig 12. Electronic Fuel Injection ("The

Granddaddy of EFI.")

Airbags - 1970s
Vehicle safety device made of flexible
fabric
Invented by Walter Linderer and John
W. Hetrick
Were introduced to cars in the U.S. in
the 1970s
In 1974 GM made its Air Cushion
Restraint System available as a
regular option in all Cadillacs

Fig 13. Deployed AirBag (The Car

Connection.)

Anti-locking Brakes - 1985

Invented by Gabriel Voisin
promotes directional stability and allows
steering while maximizing braking
maintain some steering ability and avoid
skidding while braking

Fig 14. Braking with ABS vs without

ABS (Anti-lock Brake System (ABS)."
Toyota Global Site. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.)

Failed Innovations
Along with all the successful innovations over the years, there have also been
many failures.
Ideas fail for many reasons, such as cost or even just bad ideas
Most fail because they are impractical or unnecessary

Fifth Wheel Parking

Designed to make parallel parking
easier
Uses hydraulics to lower a wheel
The car can pivot 360 degrees

Fig 15. Fifth wheel parking ("1951 Cadillac Amazing "Spare

Tire" Parking System | Rides | CoolPile.com." CoolPilecom. N.p., 25
Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.)

In-Car Toilet
Seems like a pretty decent idea right?
Caught in traffic and cant pull over?
Fig 16. Chinese In-Car Toilet
("Curiosities: Car Toilet." Curiosities: Car Toilet.
N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.)

NO
Sanitary problems
Just plain nasty
Fig 17. In-Car Toilet ("Toilet
Car Seat." Toilet Car Seat. N.p., n.
d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.)

Tesla Motors
CEO is Elon Musk
Founded in 2003
Want to prove that electric motors can be better
than gasoline motors

Figure 18. Tesla logo

Tesla Motors Logo Wallpaper,
Tesla Motors History.

Tesla Roadster
Launched in 2008
0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds
245 miles on one charge
Lithium ion battery

Figure 19. Tesla Roadster ("BRABUS Tesla

Roadster:." Autoevolution. 22 Nov. 2010. Web.
11 Nov. 2015.)

Tesla Model S
Launched in 2012
First electric sedan
0 to 60 in five seconds
265 miles per charge
Figure 20. Tesla Model S
(Tesla Model S Sedan Concept: $49,900 SevenSeater Electric To Hit Streets In 2011.")

Googles Self Driving Car

Uses a software called Google Chauffeur
Lidar - remote sensing technology
Generates a 3D map of its environment
Made legal to test in California, Michigan,
Florida and Nevada in 2014

Fig 21. Googles Self Driving Car

("Google Self-Driving Car Project." Google SelfDriving Car Project. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.)

Flying car
Being designed by a company called
Terrafugia and Aeromobil
Terrafugia has designed two different models
the TF-X and the Transition
Aeromobil has designed a model called the
Aeromobil s.r.o.

Fig 22. Flying Car

"Terrafugia." Welcome. Web. 30 Nov.
2015.

Flying Car Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ijanxOxzz4

Work Cited
"10 Failed Car Inventions We Need to Revive Right now." RSS 20. N.p., 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.

"About Tesla." About Tesla. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

"Automobile - Timeline - Greatest Engineering Achievements of the Twentieth Century." Automobile - Timeline - Greatest Engineering
Achievements of the Twentieth Century. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
"Automotive Engineer." Milestones -. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
"Benz Patent Motor Car, the First Automobile (1885 1886) | Daimler Company Tradition Special Topics." Benz Patent Motor Car, the
First Automobile (1885 1886) | Daimler Company Tradition Special Topics. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
"Car Talk Service Advice: Power-Steering Fluid." Car Talk. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
"Engineering Student's Mind." How Does a 4 Stroke Diesel Engine Works? ~. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.

Work Cited
"Google Self-Driving Car Project." Google Self-Driving Car Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
"Motorvista: Airbag History." Motorvista: Airbag History. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
"Otto Engine." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.