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Austin A40 Devon

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109-531: The A40 Devon (and similar 2-door A40 Dorset ) are automobiles that were marketed by Austin from 1947 to 1952 – the first post- war saloons to be produced by Austin – featuring a mix of old and new technologies. They were previewed by the UK press at the Paris Motor Show on 22 October 1947, who expressed immediate disappointment at the car's conservative appearance. More than 450,000 were built before

218-525: A Flemish member of a Jesuit mission in China around 1672. It was a 65-centimetre-long (26 in) scale-model toy for the Kangxi Emperor that was unable to carry a driver or a passenger. It is not known with certainty if Verbiest's model was successfully built or run. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot is widely credited with building the first full-scale, self-propelled mechanical vehicle in about 1769; he created

327-409: A horseless carriage . Based on his experience with, and fondness for, bicycles, he used similar technology when he created an automobile . It featured wire wheels (unlike carriages' wooden ones) with a four-stroke engine of his own design between the rear wheels, with a very advanced coil ignition and evaporative cooling rather than a radiator. Power was transmitted by means of two roller chains to

436-569: A patent for the motorcar in 1886, the same year he first publicly drove the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. His company Benz & Cie. , based in Mannheim , was the world's first automobile plant and largest of its day. In 1926, it merged with Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft to form Daimler-Benz , which produces the Mercedes-Benz among other brands. Benz is widely regarded as "the father of

545-407: A Fiat vehicle. Toyota , Nissan , Suzuki , Mazda , and Honda began as companies producing non-automotive products before the war, switching to car production during the 1950s. Kiichiro Toyoda's decision to take Toyoda Loom Works into automobile manufacturing would create what would eventually become Toyota Motor Corporation , the largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Subaru , meanwhile,

654-494: A bicycle repair shop in Mannheim owned by Max Rose and Friedrich Wilhelm Eßlinger. In 1883, the three founded a new company producing industrial machines: Benz & Companie Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik , usually referred to as Benz & Cie. Quickly growing to twenty-five employees, it soon began to produce static gas engines as well. The success of the company gave Benz the opportunity to indulge in his old passion of designing

763-437: A combination of the use of feet and hands, and occasionally by voice on 21st-century cars. These controls include a steering wheel , pedals for operating the brakes and controlling the car's speed (and, in a manual transmission car, a clutch pedal), a shift lever or stick for changing gears, and a number of buttons and dials for turning on lights, ventilation, and other functions. Modern cars' controls are now standardised, such as

872-461: A director of Benz & Cie. During a birthday celebration for him in his home town of Karlsruhe on 25 November 1914, the seventy-year-old Benz was awarded an honorary doctorate by his alma mater, the Karlsruhe University , thereby becoming—Dr. Ing. h. c.  Benz. Almost from the very beginning of the production of automobiles, participation in sports car racing became

981-475: A long-established wagon and coach manufacturer, started to build cars in 1897 and commenced sales of electric vehicles in 1902 and petrol vehicles in 1904. In Britain, there had been several attempts to build steam cars with varying degrees of success, with Thomas Rickett even attempting a production run in 1860. Santler from Malvern is recognised by the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain as having made

1090-453: A major method to gain publicity for manufacturers. At first, the production models were raced and the Benz Velo participated in the first automobile race: Paris to Rouen 1894 . Later, investment in developing racecars for motorsports produced returns through sales generated by the association of the name of the automobile with the winners. Unique race vehicles were built at the time such as

1199-421: A mechanical engineering company. He then moved to Mannheim to work as a draftsman and designer in a scales factory. In 1868 he went to Pforzheim to work for the bridge building company Gebrüder Benckiser Eisenwerke und Maschinenfabrik . Finally, he went to Vienna for a short period to work at an iron construction company. In 1871, at the age of twenty-seven, Benz joined August Ritter, in launching

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1308-656: A new model DMG car was produced and the model was named Mercedes after the Maybach engine, which generated 35 hp. Maybach quit DMG shortly thereafter and opened a business of his own. Rights to the Daimler brand name were sold to other manufacturers. In 1890, Émile Levassor and Armand Peugeot of France began producing vehicles with Daimler engines, and so laid the foundation of the automotive industry in France . In 1891, Auguste Doriot and his Peugeot colleague Louis Rigoulot completed

1417-423: A quarter of world oil production as of 2019 . Both petrol and diesel cars pollute more than electric cars. Cars and vans caused 8% of direct carbon dioxide emissions in 2021. As of 2021 , due to greenhouse gases emitted during battery production, electric cars must be driven tens of thousands of kilometres before their lifecycle carbon emissions are less than fossil fuel cars; however this varies considerably and

1526-419: A result, Ford's cars came off the line in 15-minute intervals, much faster than previous methods, increasing productivity eightfold, while using less manpower (from 12.5 manhours to 1 hour 33 minutes). It was so successful, paint became a bottleneck. Only Japan black would dry fast enough, forcing the company to drop the variety of colours available before 1913, until fast-drying Duco lacquer

1635-467: 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 (steam) engines is detailed as part of the history of the car but often treated separately from the development of true cars. A variety of steam-powered road vehicles were used during the first part of the 19th century, including steam cars , steam buses , phaetons , and steam rollers . In

1744-526: A steam-powered tricycle. He also constructed two steam tractors for the French Army, one of which is preserved in the French National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts . His inventions were limited by problems with water supply and maintaining steam pressure. In 1801, Richard Trevithick built and demonstrated his Puffing Devil road locomotive, believed by many to be the first demonstration of

1853-561: A three-wheeled car powered by electricity at the International Exposition of Electricity . Although several other German engineers (including Gottlieb Daimler , Wilhelm Maybach , and Siegfried Marcus ) were working on cars at about the same time, the year 1886 is regarded as the birth year of the modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use—when the German Carl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen ; he

1962-635: A two-seater able to carry a half-ton load. A van and pickup truck were also produced. The Devon was the first post-war-designed Austin to be assembled in New Zealand. It was produced from CKD kits at the Austin Distributors Federation assembly plant in Petone. Some examples are still on the road. (there is an A40 Devon operating and registered in Hamilton as of 2019). A prototype A40 Dorset Tourer

2071-415: A variety of diseases. Carl Benz Carl (or Karl ) Friedrich Benz ( German: [kaʁl ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈbɛnts] ; born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant ; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929) was a German engine designer and automotive engineer . His Benz Patent-Motorwagen from 1885 is considered the first practical modern automobile and first car put into series production. He received

2180-673: A way to head off on unchaperoned dates, plus they had a private space to snuggle up close at the end of the night." Similarly the costs to society of car use may include; maintaining roads , land use , air pollution , noise pollution , road congestion , public health , health care, and of disposing of the vehicle at the end of its life; and can be balanced against the value of the benefits to society that car use generates. Societal benefits may include: economy benefits, such as job and wealth creation, of car production and maintenance, transportation provision, society wellbeing derived from leisure and travel opportunities, and revenue generation from

2289-470: Is a motor vehicle with wheels . Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads , seat one to eight people, have four wheels , and mainly transport people over cargo . There are around one billion cars in use worldwide. The French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built the first steam-powered road vehicle in 1769, while the Swiss inventor François Isaac de Rivaz designed and constructed

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2398-476: Is called " Fordism " and was copied by most major industries. The efficiency gains from the assembly line also coincided with the economic rise of the US. The assembly line forced workers to work at a certain pace with very repetitive motions which led to more output per worker while other countries were using less productive methods. In the automotive industry, its success was dominating, and quickly spread worldwide seeing

2507-448: Is expected to improve in future due to lower carbon electricity , and longer lasting batteries produced in larger factories. Many governments use fiscal policies, such as road tax , to discourage the purchase and use of more polluting cars; and many cities are doing the same with low-emission zones . Fuel taxes may act as an incentive for the production of more efficient, hence less polluting, car designs (e.g., hybrid vehicles ) and

2616-414: Is generally acknowledged as the inventor of the car. 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 first Motorwagen was built in 1885 in Mannheim , Germany. He was awarded the patent for its invention as of his application on 29 January 1886 (under

2725-468: Is resource intensive, and many manufacturers now report on the environmental performance of their factories, including energy usage, waste and water consumption . Manufacturing each kWh of battery emits a similar amount of carbon as burning through one full tank of petrol. The growth in popularity of the car allowed cities to sprawl , therefore encouraging more travel by car, resulting in inactivity and obesity , which in turn can lead to increased risk of

2834-460: Is still used by Porsche , Subaru , and some high performance engines used in racing cars . In motorcycles, the most famous boxer engine is found in BMW Motorrad , though the boxer engine design was used in many other models, including Victoria , Harley-Davidson XA, Zündapp , Wooler , Douglas Dragonfly , Ratier , Universal, IMZ-Ural , Dnepr , Gnome et Rhône , Chang Jiang , Marusho , and

2943-621: Is that cars can use lighter batteries. Most cars are designed to carry multiple occupants, often with four or five seats. Cars with five seats typically seat two passengers in the front and three in the rear. Full-size cars and large sport utility vehicles can often carry six, seven, or more occupants depending on the arrangement of the seats. On the other hand, sports cars are most often designed with only two seats. Utility vehicles like pickup trucks , combine seating with extra cargo or utility functionality. The differing needs for passenger capacity and their luggage or cargo space has resulted in

3052-826: Is the replacement of physical knobs and switches by secondary controls with touchscreen controls such as BMW 's iDrive and Ford 's MyFord Touch . Another change is that while early cars' pedals were physically linked to the brake mechanism and throttle, in the early 2020s, cars have increasingly replaced these physical linkages with electronic controls. Cars are typically equipped with interior lighting which can be toggled manually or be set to light up automatically with doors open, an entertainment system which originated from car radios , sideways windows which can be lowered or raised electrically (manually on earlier cars), and one or multiple auxiliary power outlets for supplying portable appliances such as mobile phones , portable fridges, power inverters , and electrical air pumps from

3161-464: Is the usual formal term in British English . "Autocar", a variant likewise attested from 1895 and literally meaning " self-propelled car", is now considered archaic. " Horseless carriage " is attested from 1895. "Automobile", a classical compound derived from Ancient Greek autós ( αὐτός ) "self" and Latin mobilis "movable", entered English from French and was first adopted by

3270-464: The Mercedes-35hp of 1902. The engine was built to the specifications of Emil Jellinek under a contract for him to purchase thirty-six vehicles with the engine, and for him to become a dealer of the special series. Jellinek stipulated the new engine be named Daimler- Mercedes (for his daughter). Maybach would quit DMG in 1907, but he designed the model and all of the important changes. After testing,

3379-574: The Automobile Club of Great Britain in 1897. It fell out of favour in Britain and is now used chiefly in North America , where the abbreviated form "auto" commonly appears as an adjective in compound formations like " auto industry " and " auto mechanic ". In 1649, Hans Hautsch of Nuremberg built a clockwork-driven carriage. The first steam-powered vehicle was designed by Ferdinand Verbiest ,

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3488-462: The Board of Management . Ganß worked in the commercialization department, which is somewhat similar to marketing in contemporary corporations. The new directors recommended that Benz should create a less expensive automobile suitable for mass production . From 1893 to 1900 Benz sold the four wheel, two seat Victoria , a two-passenger automobile with a 2.2 kW (3.0 hp) engine, which could reach

3597-602: The Daimler-Benz company, baptizing all of its automobiles as Mercedes-Benz , honoring the most important model of the DMG automobiles, the 1902 Mercedes 35 hp , along with the Benz name. The name of Mercedes 35 hp had been chosen for ten-year-old Mercédès Jellinek , the daughter of Emil Jellinek who had set the specifications for the new model. Between 1900 and 1909 he was a member of DMG's board of management, however had resigned long before

3706-631: The Great Depression , by 1940, only 17 of those were left. In Europe, much the same would happen. Morris set up its production line at Cowley in 1924, and soon outsold Ford, while beginning in 1923 to follow Ford's practice of vertical integration , buying Hotchkiss' British subsidiary (engines), Wrigley (gearboxes), and Osberton (radiators), for instance, as well as competitors, such as Wolseley : in 1925, Morris had 41 per cent of total British car production. Most British small-car assemblers, from Abbey to Xtra , had gone under. Citroën did

3815-590: The Honda Gold Wing . Although Gottlieb Daimler died in March 1900—and there is no evidence that Benz and Daimler knew each other nor that they knew about each other's early achievements—eventually, competition with Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) in Stuttgart began to challenge the leadership of Benz & Cie. In October 1900, the main designer of DMG, Wilhelm Maybach , built the engine that would later be used in

3924-645: The Portsmouth Block Mills , England, in 1802. The assembly line style of mass production and interchangeable parts had been pioneered in the US by Thomas Blanchard in 1821, at the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts . This concept was greatly expanded by Henry Ford , beginning in 1913 with the world's first moving assembly line for cars at the Highland Park Ford Plant . As

4033-511: The Wankel engine has had more than very limited success. All in all, it is estimated that over 100,000 patents created the modern automobile and motorcycle. Large-scale, production-line manufacturing of affordable cars was started by Ransom Olds in 1901 at his Oldsmobile factory in Lansing, Michigan , and based upon stationary assembly line techniques pioneered by Marc Isambard Brunel at

4142-466: The joint-stock company Gasmotoren Fabrik Mannheim in 1882. After all the necessary incorporation agreements, Benz was unhappy because he was left with merely five percent of the shares and a modest position as director. Worst of all, his ideas weren't considered when designing new products, so he withdrew from that corporation just one year later, in 1883. [REDACTED] (mechanically operated inlet valves) Benz's lifelong hobby brought him to

4251-483: The speed regulation system, the ignition using sparks with battery , the spark plug , the carburetor , the clutch , the gear shift , and the water radiator . Problems arose again when the banks at Mannheim demanded that the Benz's enterprise be incorporated due to the high production costs it maintained. They were forced to improvise an association with photographer Emil Bühler and his brother (a cheese merchant), to get additional bank support. The company became

4360-440: The tax opportunities. The ability of humans to move flexibly from place to place has far-reaching implications for the nature of societies. Cars are a major cause of urban air pollution , with all types of cars producing dust from brakes, tyres, and road wear , although these may be limited by vehicle emission standards . While there are different ways to power cars, most rely on petrol or diesel , and they consume almost

4469-681: The 1.8% annual average reduction between 2010 and 2015. Given slow progress to date, the IEA estimates fuel consumption will have to decrease by 4.3% per year on average from 2019 to 2030. The increase in sales of SUVs is bad for fuel economy. Many cities in Europe have banned older fossil fuel cars and all fossil fuel vehicles will be banned in Amsterdam from 2030. Many Chinese cities limit licensing of fossil fuel cars, and many countries plan to stop selling them between 2025 and 2050. The manufacture of vehicles

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4578-487: The 1950s, Chevrolet shared bonnet, doors, roof, and windows with Pontiac ; by the 1990s, corporate powertrains and shared platforms (with interchangeable brakes , suspension, and other parts) were common. Even so, only major makers could afford high costs, and even companies with decades of production, such as Apperson , Cole , Dorris , Haynes , or Premier, could not manage: of some two hundred American car makers in existence in 1920, only 43 survived in 1930, and with

4687-808: The 20th and 21st centuries because there are more cars; the 1980s oil glut even fuelled the sales of low-economy vehicles in OECD countries. The BRIC countries are adding to this consumption. As of 2023 few production cars use wheel hub motors . In almost all hybrid (even mild hybrid ) and pure electric cars regenerative braking recovers and returns to a battery some energy which would otherwise be wasted by friction brakes getting hot. Although all cars must have friction brakes (front disc brakes and either disc or drum rear brakes ) for emergency stops, regenerative braking improves efficiency, particularly in city driving. Cars are equipped with controls used for driving, passenger comfort, and safety, normally operated by

4796-530: The Benz Velo. The early Velo had a 1L 1.5-metric-horsepower (1.5 hp; 1.1 kW) engine, and later a 3-metric-horsepower (3 hp; 2 kW) engine. giving a top speed of 19 km/h (12 mph). The Velo participated in the world's first automobile race, the 1894 Paris to Rouen , where Émile Roger finished 14th, after covering the 126 km (78 mi) in 10 hours 01-minute at an average speed of 12.7 km/h (7.9 mph). In 1895, Benz designed

4905-505: The Benz car to his line of products. Because France was more open to the early cars, initially more were built and sold in France through Roger than Benz sold in Germany. In August 1888, Bertha Benz , the wife and business partner of Carl Benz, undertook the first road trip by car, to prove the road-worthiness of her husband's invention. In 1896, Benz designed and patented the first internal-combustion flat engine , called boxermotor . During

5014-587: The Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop in Mannheim , later renamed Factory for Machines for Sheet-metal Working. The enterprise's first year went very badly. Ritter turned out to be unreliable, and the business's tools were impounded. The difficulty was overcome when Benz's fiancée, Bertha Ringer , bought out Ritter's share in the company, using her dowry . On 20 July 1872, Benz and Bertha Ringer married. They had five children: Eugen (1873), Richard (1874), Clara (1877), Thilde (1882), and Ellen (1890). Despite

5123-586: The Motorwagen was a Parisian bicycle manufacturer Emile Roger , who had already been building Benz engines under license from Benz for several years. Roger added the Benz automobiles (many built in France) to the line he carried in Paris and initially most were sold there. The early 1888 version of the Motorwagen had only two gears and could not climb hills unaided. This limitation was rectified after Bertha Benz drove one of

5232-594: The US's first pedestrian car casualties in 1899 in New York City. There are now standard tests for safety in new cars, such as the Euro and US NCAP tests, and insurance-industry-backed tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). However, not all such tests consider the safety of people outside the car, such as drivers of other cars, pedestrians and cyclists. The costs of car usage, which may include

5341-640: The US, where they replaced horse-drawn carriages . In Europe and other parts of the world, demand for automobiles did not increase until after World War II . In the 21st century, car usage is still increasing rapidly, especially in China, India, and other newly industrialised countries . Cars have controls for driving , parking , passenger comfort, and a variety of lamps . Over the decades, additional features and controls have been added to vehicles, making them progressively more complex. These include rear-reversing cameras , air conditioning , navigation systems , and in-car entertainment . Most cars in use in

5450-569: The United Kingdom, sentiment against them led to the Locomotive Acts of 1865. In 1807, Nicéphore Niépce and his brother Claude created what was probably the world's first internal combustion engine (which they called a Pyréolophore ), but installed it in a boat on the river Saone in France. Coincidentally, in 1807, the Swiss inventor François Isaac de Rivaz designed his own " de Rivaz internal combustion engine ", and used it to develop

5559-629: The United States. His patent was challenged by Henry Ford and others, and overturned in 1911. In 1893, the first running, petrol-driven American car was built and road-tested by the Duryea brothers of Springfield, Massachusetts . The first public run of the Duryea Motor Wagon took place on 21 September 1893, on Taylor Street in Metro Center Springfield. Studebaker , subsidiary of

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5668-412: 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 cheaper model. They also were powered with four-stroke engines of his own design. Emile Roger of France, already producing Benz engines under license, now added

5777-456: The availability of a large variety of body styles to meet individual consumer requirements that include, among others, the sedan/saloon , hatchback , station wagon/estate , coupe , and minivan . Traffic collisions are the largest cause of injury-related deaths worldwide. Mary Ward became one of the first documented car fatalities in 1869 in Parsonstown , Ireland, and Henry Bliss one of

5886-552: The brand name Daimler . It was a horse-drawn stagecoach built by another manufacturer, which 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

5995-455: The business misfortunes, Benz led in the development of new engines in the early factory he and his wife owned. To get more revenue, in 1878 he began to work on new patents. First, he concentrated on creating a reliable petrol two-stroke engine . Benz finished his two-stroke engine on 31 December 1879, and was granted a patent for it on 28 June 1880. While designing what would become the production standard for his two-stroke engine, Benz patented

6104-579: The car on 3 July 1886 in Mannheim at a top speed of 16 km/h (10 mph). The next year Benz created the Motorwagen Model 2, which had several modifications, and in 1889, the definitive Model 3 with wooden wheels was introduced, showing at the Paris Expo the same year. Benz began to sell the vehicle (advertising it as " Benz Patent-Motorwagen ") in the late summer of 1888, making it the first commercially available automobile in history. The second customer of

6213-455: The car visible to other users, so that the vehicle can be used at night; in some jurisdictions, daytime running lights ; red brake lights to indicate when the brakes are applied; amber turn signal lights to indicate the turn intentions of the driver; white-coloured reverse lights to illuminate the area behind the car (and indicate that the driver will be or is reversing); and on some vehicles, additional lights (e.g., side marker lights) to increase

6322-508: The car", as well as the "father of the automobile industry". Carl Benz was born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant on 25 November 1844 in Mühlburg , now a borough of Karlsruhe , Baden-Württemberg, which is part of modern Germany. His parents were Josephine Vaillant and a locomotive driver, Johann Georg Benz, whom she married a few months later. According to German law, the child acquired the name "Benz" by legal marriage of his parents. When he

6431-432: The company in 1904 as the designer of passenger vehicles. That year, sales of Benz & Cie. reached 3,480 automobiles, and the company remained the leading manufacturer of automobiles. Along with continuing as a director of Benz & Cie., Benz founded another company, C. Benz Söhne , (with his son Eugen and closely held within the family), a privately held company for manufacturing automobiles. The brand name used

6540-443: The cost of: acquiring the vehicle, repairs and auto maintenance , fuel, depreciation , driving time, parking fees , taxes, and insurance, are weighed against the cost of the alternatives, and the value of the benefits—perceived and real—of vehicle usage. The benefits may include on-demand transportation, mobility, independence, and convenience, and emergency power . During the 1920s, cars had another benefit: "[c]ouples finally had

6649-577: The development of alternative fuels . High fuel taxes or cultural change may provide a strong incentive for consumers to purchase lighter, smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, or to not drive . The lifetime of a car built in the 2020s is expected to be about 16 years, or about 2 millionkm (1.2 millionmiles) if driven a lot. According to the International Energy Agency the average rated fuel consumption of new light-duty vehicles fell by only 0.9% between 2017 and 2019, far smaller than

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6758-744: The driver from a crash perspective, but more dangerous for other vehicles and road users. The weight of a car influences fuel consumption and performance, with more weight resulting in increased fuel consumption and decreased performance. The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV , a typical city car , weighs about 700 kilograms (1,500 lb). Heavier cars include SUVs and extended-length SUVs like the Suburban . Cars have also become wider. Some places tax heavier cars more: as well as improving pedestrian safety this can encourage manufacturers to use materials such as recycled aluminium instead of steel. It has been suggested that one benefit of subsidising charging infrastructure

6867-567: The early 2020s are propelled by an internal combustion engine , fueled by the combustion of fossil fuels . Electric cars , which were invented early in the history of the car , became commercially available in the 2000s and are predicted to cost less to buy than petrol-driven cars before 2025. The transition from fossil fuel-powered cars to electric cars features prominently in most climate change mitigation scenarios , such as Project Drawdown 's 100 actionable solutions for climate change. There are costs and benefits to car use . The costs to

6976-412: The end of that year there were more than 16 million electric cars on the world's roads. Despite rapid growth, less than two per cent of cars on the world's roads were fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars by the end of 2021. Cars for racing or speed records have sometimes employed jet or rocket engines, but these are impractical for common use. Oil consumption has increased rapidly in

7085-736: The first mid-engine and aerodynamically designed, Tropfenwagen , a "teardrop" body introduced at the 1923 European Grand Prix at Monza . In the last production year of the Benz Sons company, 1923, three hundred and fifty units were built. During the following year, 1924, Benz built two additional 8/25 hp units of the automobile manufactured by this company, tailored for his personal use, which he never sold; they are still preserved. The German economic crisis worsened. In 1923 Benz & Cie. produced only 1,382 units in Mannheim, and DMG made only 1,020 in Stuttgart. The average cost of an automobile

7194-477: The first initial of Benz's first name, "Carl". In 1909, the Blitzen Benz was built in Mannheim by Benz & Cie. The bird-beaked vehicle had a 21.5-liter (1312ci), 150 kW (200 hp) engine, and on 9 November 1909 in the hands of Victor Hémery of France, the land speed racer at Brooklands , set a record of 226.91 km/h (141.00 mph), said to be "faster than any plane, train, or automobile" at

7303-539: The first internal combustion-powered automobile in 1808. The modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use—was invented in 1886, when the German inventor Carl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen . Commercial cars became widely available during the 20th century. The 1901 Oldsmobile Curved Dash and the 1908 Ford Model T , both American cars, are widely considered the first mass-produced and mass-affordable cars, respectively. Cars were rapidly adopted in

7412-555: The first petrol-driven car in the country in 1894, followed by Frederick William Lanchester in 1895, but these were both one-offs. The first production vehicles in Great Britain came from the Daimler Company , a company founded by Harry J. Lawson in 1896, after purchasing the right to use the name of the engines. Lawson's company made its first car in 1897, and they bore the name Daimler. In 1892, German engineer Rudolf Diesel

7521-654: The first truck with an internal combustion engine in history. Benz also built the first motor buses in history in 1895, for the Netphener bus company. In 1896, Benz was granted a patent for his design of the first flat engine . It had horizontally opposed pistons , a design in which the corresponding pistons reach top dead centre simultaneously, thus balancing each other with respect to momentum . Many flat engines, particularly those with four or fewer cylinders, are arranged as "boxer engines", boxermotor in German, and also are known as "horizontally opposed engines". This design

7630-451: The first was delivered to Jellinek on 22 December 1900. Jellinek continued to make suggestions for changes to the model and obtained good results racing the automobile in the next few years, encouraging DMG to engage in commercial production of automobiles, which they did in 1902. Benz countered with Parsifal , introduced in 1903 with a vertical twin engine that achieved a top speed of 60 km/h (37 mph). Then, without consulting Benz,

7739-425: The founding of Ford France and Ford Britain in 1911, Ford Denmark 1923, Ford Germany 1925; in 1921, Citroën was the first native European manufacturer to adopt the production method. Soon, companies had to have assembly lines, or risk going broke; by 1930, 250 companies which did not, had disappeared. Development of automotive technology was rapid, due in part to the hundreds of small manufacturers competing to gain

7848-454: The front and mechanically at the rear. Later cars had column operated gear change and full hydraulic braking. A sliding sunroof and heater were extra cost options on the UK market. The Devon was the 4-door version and was more successful than the 2-door Dorset, which was dropped in 1949 after only 15,939 were made. The "Countryman" estate was produced through 1956. Equipped as a six-seater, its folding rear seat enabled it to be converted into

7957-513: The idea of different makes of cars produced by one company, called the General Motors Companion Make Program , so that buyers could "move up" as their fortunes improved. Reflecting the rapid pace of change, makes shared parts with one another so larger production volume resulted in lower costs for each price range. For example, in the 1930s, LaSalles , sold by Cadillac , used cheaper mechanical parts made by Oldsmobile ; in

8066-403: The individual include acquiring the vehicle, interest payments (if the car is financed), repairs and maintenance , fuel, depreciation , driving time, parking fees, taxes, and insurance . The costs to society include maintaining roads, land-use , road congestion , air pollution , noise pollution , public health , and disposing of the vehicle at the end of its life . Traffic collisions are

8175-642: The instruction of Ferdinand Redtenbacher . Benz had originally focused his studies on locksmithing , but he eventually followed his father's steps toward locomotive engineering. On 30 September 1860, at age 15, he passed the entrance exam for mechanical engineering for the Karlsruhe polytechnical school, which he subsequently attended. Benz graduated on 9 July 1864, aged 19. Following his formal education, Benz had seven years of professional training in several companies, but did not fit well in any of them. The training started in Karlsruhe with two years of varied jobs in

8284-476: The largest cause of injury-related deaths worldwide. Personal benefits include on-demand transportation, mobility, independence, and convenience. Societal benefits include economic benefits, such as job and wealth creation from the automotive industry , transportation provision, societal well-being from leisure and travel opportunities, and the generation of revenue from taxation. People's ability to move flexibly from place to place has far-reaching implications for

8393-627: The last years of the 19th century, Benz was the largest car company in the world with 572 units produced in 1899 and, because of its size, Benz & Cie., became a joint-stock company . The first motor car in central Europe and one of the first factory-made cars in the world, was produced by Czech company Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau (later renamed to Tatra ) in 1897, the Präsident automobil. Daimler and Maybach founded Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) in Cannstatt in 1890, and sold their first car in 1892 under

8502-580: The location for the accelerator and brake, but this was not always the case. Controls are evolving in response to new technologies, for example, the electric car and the integration of mobile communications. Some of the original controls are no longer required. For example, all cars once had controls for the choke valve, clutch, ignition timing , and a crank instead of an electric starter . However, new controls have also been added to vehicles, making them more complex. These include air conditioning , navigation systems , and in-car entertainment . Another trend

8611-422: The longest trip by a petrol-driven vehicle when their self-designed and built Daimler powered Peugeot Type 3 completed 2,100 kilometres (1,300 mi) from Valentigney to Paris and Brest and back again. They were attached to the first Paris–Brest–Paris bicycle race, but finished six days after the winning cyclist, Charles Terront . The first design for an American car with a petrol internal combustion engine

8720-632: The manner now referred to as live marketing. Today, the event is celebrated every two years in Germany with an antique automobile rally. In 2008, the Bertha Benz Memorial Route was officially approved as a route of the industrial heritage of mankind, because it follows Bertha Benz's tracks of the world's first long-distance journey by automobile in 1888. The public can now follow the 194 km (121 mi) of signposted route from Mannheim via Heidelberg to Pforzheim ( Black Forest ) and back. The return trip – which didn't go through Heidelberg –

8829-531: The market. In Japan, car production was very limited before World War II. Only a handful of companies were producing vehicles in limited numbers, and these were small, three-wheeled for commercial uses, like Daihatsu , or were the result of partnering with European companies, like Isuzu building the Wolseley A-9 in 1922. Mitsubishi was also partnered with Fiat and built the Mitsubishi Model A based on

8938-416: The merger. Benz was a member of the new Daimler-Benz board of management for the remainder of his life. A new logo was created in 1926, consisting of a three pointed star (representing Daimler's motto : "engines for land, air, and water" ) surrounded by traditional laurels from the Benz logo, and the brand of all of its automobiles was labeled Mercedes-Benz . Model names would follow the brand name in

9047-555: The model's replacement in 1952 by the Austin A40 Somerset . Both the Devon and Dorset were body-on-frame designs with modern bodies and a 1.2 L straight-4 OHV engine producing 40 bhp (30 kW) at 4200 rpm. They featured front coil sprung independent suspension but retained a rigid axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. The Girling brakes with 9 in (229 mm) drums were operated hydraulically at

9156-426: The nature of societies . The English word car is believed to originate from Latin carrus / carrum "wheeled vehicle" or (via Old North French ) Middle English carre "two-wheeled cart", both of which in turn derive from Gaulish karros " chariot ". It originally referred to any wheeled horse-drawn vehicle , such as a cart , carriage , or wagon . "Motor car", attested from 1895,

9265-404: The on-board electrical system. More costly upper-class and luxury cars are equipped with features earlier such as massage seats and collision avoidance systems . Dedicated automotive fuses and circuit breakers prevent damage from electrical overload . Cars are typically fitted with multiple types of lights. These include headlights , which are used to illuminate the way ahead and make

9374-457: The open body, and the A40 Sports also employed a twin- SU carburettor version of the 1.2 L engine producing 46 bhp (34 kW), rather than 42 bhp (31 kW). During production, A40 Sports bodies were built by Jensen and transported to Austin's Longbridge plant for final assembly, with approximately 4,011 examples manufactured. Automobile A car , or an automobile ,

9483-584: The other directors hired some French designers. France was a country with an extensive automobile industry based on Maybach's creations. Because of this action, after difficult discussions, Benz announced his retirement from design management on 24 January 1903, although he remained as director on the Board of Management through its merger with DMG in 1926 and, remained on the board of the new Daimler-Benz corporation until his death in 1929. Benz's sons Eugen and Richard left Benz & Cie. in 1903, but Richard returned to

9592-408: The rear axle. Benz finished his creation in 1885 and named it " Benz Patent-Motorwagen ". The Motorwagen was patented on 29 January 1886 as DRP-37435: "automobile fueled by gas". The 1885 version was difficult to control, leading to a collision with a wall during a public demonstration. The first successful tests on public roads were carried out in the early summer of 1886. Benz first publicly drove

9701-468: The same in France, coming to cars in 1919; between them and other cheap cars in reply such as Renault 's 10CV and Peugeot 's 5CV , they produced 550,000 cars in 1925, and Mors , Hurtu , and others could not compete. Germany's first mass-manufactured car, the Opel 4PS Laubfrosch (Tree Frog), came off the line at Rüsselsheim in 1924, soon making Opel the top car builder in Germany, with 37.5 per cent of

9810-405: 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 named Daimler-Mercedes that was placed in a specially ordered model built to specifications set by Emil 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,

9919-496: The time, a record that was not exceeded for ten years by any other vehicle. It was transported to several countries, including the United States, to establish multiple records of this achievement. Carl Benz, Bertha Benz, and their son, Eugen, moved 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of Mannheim to live in nearby Ladenburg , and solely with their own capital, founded the private company, C. Benz Sons (German: Benz Söhne ) in 1906, producing automobiles and gas engines. The latter type

10028-464: The top speed of 18 km/h (11 mph) and had a pivotal front axle operated by a roller-chained tiller for steering . The model was successful with 85 units sold in 1893, and was produced in a four-seated version with face-to-face seat benches called the "Vis-à-Vis". From 1894 to 1902, Benz produced over 1,200 of what some consider the first mass-produced car, the Velocipede , later known as

10137-547: The vehicles a great distance and suggested to her husband the addition of a third gear for climbing hills. In the course of this trip she also invented brake pads. The world's first long distance automobile trip was undertaken by Bertha Benz using a Model 3. On the morning of 5 August 1888 Bertha – supposedly without the knowledge of her husband – took the vehicle on a 104 km (65 mi) trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim to visit her mother, taking her sons Eugen and Richard with her. In addition to having to locate pharmacies along

10246-530: The visibility of the car. Interior lights on the ceiling of the car are usually fitted for the driver and passengers. Some vehicles also have a boot light and, more rarely, an engine compartment light. During the late 20th and early 21st century, cars increased in weight due to batteries, modern steel safety cages, anti-lock brakes, airbags, and "more-powerful—if more efficient—engines" and, as of 2019 , typically weigh between 1 and 3 tonnes (1.1 and 3.3 short tons; 0.98 and 2.95 long tons). Heavier cars are safer for

10355-511: The way to refuel, she repaired various technical and mechanical problems. One of these included the invention of brake lining ; after some longer downhill slopes she ordered a shoemaker to nail leather onto the brake blocks. Bertha Benz and sons finally arrived at nightfall, announcing the achievement to Karl by telegram . It had been her intention to demonstrate the feasibility of using the Benz Motorwagen for travel and to generate publicity in

10464-472: The world's attention. Key developments included electric ignition and the electric self-starter (both by Charles Kettering , for the Cadillac Motor Company in 1910–1911), independent suspension , and four-wheel brakes. Since the 1920s, nearly all cars have been mass-produced to meet market needs, so marketing plans often have heavily influenced car design. It was Alfred P. Sloan who established

10573-639: The world's first vehicle to be powered by such an engine. The Niépces' Pyréolophore was fuelled by a mixture of Lycopodium powder (dried spores of the Lycopodium plant), finely crushed coal dust and resin that were mixed with oil, whereas de Rivaz used a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen . Neither design was successful, as was the case with others, such as Samuel Brown , Samuel Morey , and Etienne Lenoir , who each built vehicles (usually adapted carriages or carts) powered by internal combustion engines. In November 1881, French inventor Gustave Trouvé demonstrated

10682-418: Was 25 million marks because of rapid inflation. Negotiations between the two companies resumed and in 1924 they signed an "Agreement of Mutual Interest" valid until the year 2000. Both enterprises standardized design, production, purchasing, sales, and advertising—marketing their automobile models jointly—although keeping their respective brands. On 28 June 1926, Benz & Cie. and DMG finally merged as

10791-404: Was added. Benz & Cie. had grown in the interim from 50 employees in 1889 to 430 in 1899. During the last years of the nineteenth century, Benz was the largest automobile company in the world with 572 units produced in 1899. Because of its size, in 1899, Benz & Cie. became a joint-stock company with the arrival of Friedrich von Fischer and Julius Ganß, who came aboard as members of

10900-512: Was along a different, slightly shorter route, as shown on the maps of the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Benz's Model 3 made its wide-scale debut to the world in the 1889 World's Fair in Paris; about twenty-five Motorwagens were built between 1886 and 1893. The great demand for static internal combustion engines forced Benz to enlarge the factory in Mannheim, and in 1886 a new building located on Waldhofstrasse (operating until 1908)

11009-543: Was attributed to the fact that it offered a lot of car for the money. As one in a series of collaborations between Austin and Jensen Motors of West Bromwich , the A40 Sports originated when Austin's chairman Leonard Lord , upon seeing the Jensen Interceptor , requested that Jensen develop a body that could use the Austin A40 Devon mechanicals. The centre section of the chassis was boxed to provide rigidity for

11118-654: Was built at Longbridge in 1948. Although it was never put into production in England, various versions of the A40 Tourer were made in Australia beginning in September 1948. A car tested by The Motor magazine in 1948 had a top speed of 70 mph (110 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 37.2 seconds. A fuel consumption of 34.1 miles per imperial gallon (8.3 L/100 km; 28.4 mpg ‑US )

11227-407: Was developed in 1926. This is the source of Ford's apocryphal remark, "any color as long as it's black". In 1914, an assembly line worker could buy a Model T with four months' pay. Ford's complex safety procedures—especially assigning each worker to a specific location instead of allowing them to roam about—dramatically reduced the rate of injury. The combination of high wages and high efficiency

11336-1319: Was formed from a conglomerate of six companies who banded together as Fuji Heavy Industries , as a result of having been broken up under keiretsu legislation. Most cars in use in the early 2020s run on petrol burnt in an internal combustion engine (ICE). The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers says that, in countries that mandate low sulphur motor spirit, petrol-fuelled cars built to late 2010s standards (such as Euro-6) emit very little local air pollution. Some cities ban older petrol-driven cars and some countries plan to ban sales in future. However, some environmental groups say this phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles must be brought forwards to limit climate change. Production of petrol-fuelled cars peaked in 2017. Other hydrocarbon fossil fuels also burnt by deflagration (rather than detonation ) in ICE cars include diesel , autogas , and CNG . Removal of fossil fuel subsidies , concerns about oil dependence , tightening environmental laws and restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions are propelling work on alternative power systems for cars. This includes hybrid vehicles , plug-in electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles . Out of all cars sold in 2021, nine per cent were electric, and by

11445-414: Was granted a patent for a "New Rational Combustion Engine". In 1897, he built the first diesel engine . Steam-, electric-, and petrol-driven vehicles competed for a few decades, with petrol internal combustion engines achieving dominance in the 1910s. Although various pistonless rotary engine designs have attempted to compete with the conventional piston and crankshaft design, only Mazda 's version of

11554-427: Was made in 1877 by George Selden of Rochester, New York . Selden applied for a patent for a car in 1879, but the patent application expired because the vehicle was never built. After a delay of 16 years and a series of attachments to his application, on 5 November 1895, Selden was granted a US patent ( U.S. patent 549,160 ) for a two-stroke car engine, which hindered, more than encouraged , development of cars in

11663-417: Was recorded. The test car, which had the optional sliding roof, cost £505 including taxes. Commentators also commended the "excellent (floor lever controlled four speed) gear change" (on the early models) with smooth clutch action. The brakes, however, needed "fairly firm pedal pressure ... for maximum results". The car sold well, boosting Austin's standing in the sales charts in the process. Its success

11772-595: Was replaced by petrol engines because of lack of demand. This company never issued stocks publicly, building its own line of automobiles independently from Benz & Cie., which was located in Mannheim. The Benz Sons automobiles were of good quality and became popular in London as taxis . In 1912, Benz liquidated all of his shares in Benz Sons and left the family-held company in Ladenburg to Eugen and Richard, but he remained as

11881-428: Was two years old, his father died of pneumonia , and his name was changed to Karl Friedrich Benz in remembrance of his father. Despite living in near poverty, his mother strove to give him a good education. Benz attended the local school in Karlsruhe and was a prodigious student. In 1853, at the age of nine, he started at the scientifically oriented Lyceum . Next he studied at Karlsruhe's polytechnical school under

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