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190 car history facts, all checked

Every fact on this site in one place, each linked to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the National Motor Museum, GOV.UK or another expert source. Our build checks each one against the source text; see the sources page.

Jump to: Steam, electric and early ideas | The petrol pioneers | Ford and mass production | Motoring in Britain | Around the world | Speed and racing

Steam, electric and early ideas

  1. 1 Unlike many big inventions, the idea of the car can’t be credited to any one person. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  2. 2 Leonardo da Vinci thought about a self-propelled vehicle in the 15th century. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  3. 3 Two-masted wind carriages were running in the Netherlands in 1600. One was said to reach 20 miles per hour carrying 28 passengers. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  4. 4 In about 1748 the inventor Jacques de Vaucanson showed a carriage driven by a big clockwork engine in Paris. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  5. 5 In the 1820s, kite-powered carriages ran between Bristol and London when the wind was right. National Motor Museum: Birth of Motoring
  6. 6 In 1807 Isaac de Rivas built a gas-powered vehicle in Paris that ran on hydrogen. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  7. 7 Most historians agree that Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot of France built the first true automobile: a huge, heavy, steam-powered tricycle. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  8. 8 Cugnot’s 1769 machine was said to run for 20 minutes at 2.25 miles per hour (3.6 km/h), carrying four people. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  9. 9 Cugnot was a French military engineer, and his steam tractors were built to haul artillery: the first in 1769, the second in 1770. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot
  10. 10 Cugnot’s second vehicle survives in Paris, at the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot
  11. 11 Its engine was the first to use high-pressure steam expansively without condensation. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot
  12. 12 Steam buses were running in Paris by about 1800. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  13. 13 James Watt’s foreman, William Murdock, ran a model steam carriage on the roads of Cornwall in 1784. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  14. 14 Sir Goldsworthy Gurney was the first commercially successful builder of steam carriages. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  15. 15 Between 27 February and 22 June 1831, steam coaches on the Gloucester to Cheltenham route covered 4,000 miles and carried some 3,000 passengers. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  16. 16 The 1830s were the best years for steam coaches in Britain, but by 1840 it was clear they had little future. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  17. 17 Horse-coach owners fought back: a steam carriage could be charged £5 at a tollgate that cost a horse coach three pence. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  18. 18 In 1906 a Stanley steam car set the world speed record at 127.66 miles per hour (205.45 km/h). Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  19. 19 The Stanley design, sold as the Locomobile, was the first commercially successful American-made car. About 1,000 were built in 1900. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  20. 20 At the start of the 20th century, 40% of American cars ran on steam, 38% on electricity and only 22% on petrol. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  21. 21 The first car to go faster than 100 km/h (60 mph) was an electric one: Camille Jenatzy’s La Jamais Contente, in 1899. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  22. 22 Gaston Planté invented the storage battery in 1859–60, and Camille Faure improved it in 1881. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  23. 23 Probably the first electric vehicle, a tricycle, ran in Paris in 1881. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  24. 24 The first American battery car, built by William Morrison in Des Moines, Iowa, around 1890, could keep up 14 miles per hour. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  25. 25 By 1912 some 20 companies made electric cars, and 33,842 were registered in the United States. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  26. 26 The electric self-starter did much to end the electric car, because it got rid of the hand crank on petrol cars. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  27. 27 Early electric cars were slow (15–20 mph) and had a short range of 30–40 miles. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  28. 28 Electric milk floats went on delivering in British towns for the rest of the 20th century. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  29. 29 By 1910 most makers of steam cars had switched to petrol, though the Stanley brothers kept building steamers until the early 1920s. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry

The petrol pioneers

  1. 30 Étienne Lenoir in France and Siegfried Marcus in Austria built petrol-type vehicles in 1862 and 1864–65, before Benz and Daimler, but neither kept going. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  2. 31 The four-stroke principle used in most car engines was discovered by the French engineer Alphonse Beau de Rochas in 1862. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  3. 32 The four-stroke cycle is often called the Otto cycle, after Nikolaus Otto, who designed an engine on that principle in 1876. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  4. 33 Siegfried Marcus built four of the world’s earliest petrol cars. His first, in 1864, had no clutch, so the back wheels had to be lifted off the ground to start it. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Siegfried Marcus
  5. 34 Marcus’s second car is kept in Vienna’s Technical Museum and is probably the oldest petrol car still in existence. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Siegfried Marcus
  6. 35 Marcus himself later called the car “a senseless waste of time and effort”. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  7. 36 Karl Benz designed and, in 1885, built the world’s first practical car powered by an internal-combustion engine. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Karl Benz
  8. 37 Benz’s three-wheeled Motorwagen first ran early in 1885, and its design was patented on 29 January 1886. It is now kept in Munich. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Karl Benz
  9. 38 On its first run the Motorwagen made four laps of a cinder track beside Benz’s small factory, stalling only twice before a broken chain stopped it. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  10. 39 Karl Benz was born in Karlsruhe in 1844 and studied at Karlsruhe Polytechnic. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Karl Benz
  11. 40 Benz made his first sale in 1888, to a Parisian called Émile Roger. By then about 50 workers were building his three-wheeler. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  12. 41 Benz & Cie. finished its first four-wheeled car in 1893. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Karl Benz
  13. 42 In August 1888 Bertha Benz drove the Motorwagen from Mannheim to Pforzheim with her sons Eugen and Richard: the first long-distance drive in a car. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Karl Benz
  14. 43 Britannica’s article on Bertha Benz says the trip took about 13 hours over about 60 miles (96.6 km) of unpaved roads. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Bertha Benz
  15. 44 Britannica’s Karl Benz article puts Bertha’s drive at some 66 miles (106 km). Encyclopaedia Britannica: Karl Benz
  16. 45 She set off without telling Karl, leaving a note on the dining table to say they were visiting her mother in Pforzheim. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Bertha Benz
  17. 46 On the way she cleared a blocked fuel pipe with her hat pin and used her garter to fix the ignition. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Bertha Benz
  18. 47 She bought fuel, a cleaning agent called ligroin, from a pharmacy in Wiesloch, which many people call the world’s first filling station. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Bertha Benz
  19. 48 When the brake blocks wore out, a cobbler fitted them with leather strips, inventing brake pads. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Bertha Benz
  20. 49 After pushing the car up hills, Bertha suggested a third, lower gear. Karl added it to all his later models. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Bertha Benz
  21. 50 Her road still exists as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route, and she joined the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2016. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Bertha Benz
  22. 51 Bertha had her dowry paid early so she could buy out Karl’s unreliable business partner. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Bertha Benz
  23. 52 In 1872 Gottlieb Daimler became technical director at the firm of Nikolaus Otto, inventor of the four-stroke engine. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Gottlieb Daimler
  24. 53 In 1882 Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach left Otto’s firm and set up their own engine workshop. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Gottlieb Daimler
  25. 54 Their engine was the first high-speed internal-combustion engine, designed to run at 900 revolutions per minute. Benz’s first engine ran at only 250. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  26. 55 Daimler and Maybach fitted an engine to a wooden bicycle, which first ran on 10 November 1885. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  27. 56 Britannica says Daimler’s 1885 motor bicycle was perhaps the first motorcycle in the world. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Gottlieb Daimler
  28. 57 In 1886 Daimler drove a four-wheeled carriage, first built for horses, with a one-cylinder engine. In 1887 he powered a boat. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Gottlieb Daimler
  29. 58 Daimler’s 1889 car was built from the start as a car, with a light tubular frame, the engine at the back, belt-driven wheels and four speeds. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Gottlieb Daimler
  30. 59 Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft was founded at Cannstatt in 1890, and in 1899 it built the first Mercedes car. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Gottlieb Daimler
  31. 60 Wilhelm Maybach was chief designer of the first Mercedes cars, in 1900–01. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Wilhelm Maybach
  32. 61 Maybach’s carburettor design was widely used from 1893. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Wilhelm Maybach
  33. 62 From 1909 Maybach and his son Karl built aircraft engines, including engines for Zeppelin airships. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Wilhelm Maybach
  34. 63 Oddly, Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler never met. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  35. 64 The Benz and Daimler firms merged in 1926 to form Daimler-Benz, maker of Mercedes-Benz cars. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Karl Benz
  36. 65 The merger only came after both founders had died: their bitter rivalry over who invented the petrol car made it unthinkable before. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  37. 66 Daimler’s French licensees, René Panhard and Émile Levassor, made designs in 1891–94 that were true cars rather than carriages with engines added. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  38. 67 Renault, Fiat and De Dion Bouton were among the famous makers that joined the motor industry in the 1890s. National Motor Museum: Birth of Motoring
  39. 68 The motor industry grew from the petrol engine, developed in the 1860s and 1870s mainly in France and Germany. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry
  40. 69 Many early carmakers began making something else: Opel and Morris made bicycles, and Buick made plumbing, including the first enamelled cast-iron bath. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry
  41. 70 One American carmaker, Pierce, started out making birdcages. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry

Ford and mass production

  1. 71 Henry Ford was one of eight children, born on the family farm near Dearborn, Michigan. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Henry Ford
  2. 72 At 16 Henry Ford walked to Detroit to find work in its machine shops. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Henry Ford
  3. 73 Ford finished his first car, the Quadricycle, in 1896: a buggy frame on four bicycle wheels. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Henry Ford
  4. 74 The Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford and 11 other investors. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Ford Motor Company
  5. 75 The first Ford car, the original Model A, was put together at the Mack Avenue plant in July 1903. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Ford Motor Company
  6. 76 “I will build a motor car for the great multitude,” Ford said when he announced the Model T in October 1908. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Henry Ford
  7. 77 The Model T was built from 1908 until 1927. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Model T
  8. 78 More than 15 million Model Ts were built. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Model T
  9. 79 Model Ts were also put together at a Ford plant in Manchester, England. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Model T
  10. 80 Assembly-line production cut the price of the Model T touring car from $850 in 1908 to under $300 in 1925. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Model T
  11. 81 At times the Model T made up as much as 40% of all cars sold in the United States. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Model T
  12. 82 People nicknamed the Model T the “Tin Lizzie” or the “flivver”. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Model T
  13. 83 From 1913 to 1925 the Model T came in only one colour: black. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Model T
  14. 84 Its four-cylinder engine made 20 horsepower and gave a top speed of 40–45 mph. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Model T
  15. 85 The Model T had two forward gears and one reverse, worked by three foot pedals and a lever. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Model T
  16. 86 Fuel reached the engine only by gravity, so a Model T often had to climb a steep hill backwards. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Model T
  17. 87 Ford introduced the world’s first moving assembly line for cars in 1913. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Ford Motor Company
  18. 88 The moving assembly line was first tried out on magnetos, a part of the engine’s ignition. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry
  19. 89 At Highland Park, a complete chassis came off the line every 93 minutes, against the 728 minutes it used to take. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Henry Ford
  20. 90 Mass production eventually let Ford turn out a Model T every 24 seconds. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Henry Ford
  21. 91 In 1914 Ford began paying eligible workers $5 a day, against an industry average of $2.34, and cut the working day from nine hours to eight. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Henry Ford
  22. 92 By mid-1914 there were more than 500,000 Model Ts on the world’s roads. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Ford Motor Company
  23. 93 By 1926 Ford was making half of all the motor vehicles in the world. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry
  24. 94 Ford fought the Selden patent, which claimed to cover every petrol car. He lost in 1909, appealed and won in 1911. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Henry Ford
  25. 95 In 1908 at the Royal Automobile Club in London, three Cadillacs were taken apart, their parts mixed, and the cars rebuilt and driven 500 miles without trouble. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry
  26. 96 Ransom E. Olds made the first big bid for the mass market with the curved-dash Oldsmobile of 1901. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry
  27. 97 General Motors was founded in 1908 by William C. Durant, a carriage maker from Flint, Michigan. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry
  28. 98 By 1929 the “Big Three”, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, supplied three-quarters of the American market. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry
  29. 99 Ford introduced the V-8 engine in 1932. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry
  30. 100 The Ford Mustang arrived in 1964 and soon became an American icon. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Ford Motor Company

Motoring in Britain

  1. 101 Britain’s Locomotives on Highways Act of 1865 cut speeds to 2 mph in towns and 4 mph in the country. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  2. 102 It was nicknamed the Red Flag Act because a crew of three had to go with each vehicle, one walking in front with a red flag. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  3. 103 The flag-carrier had to walk about 60 yards ahead. National Motor Museum: London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
  4. 104 An 1878 Act cut the distance to 20 yards and dropped the need to carry a red flag. National Motor Museum: London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
  5. 105 The Act wasn’t repealed until 1896, and by then it had held back road transport in the British Isles for decades. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  6. 106 By the end of 1895 there were probably only 14 or 15 motor cars in Britain. National Motor Museum: London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
  7. 107 The Hon. Evelyn Ellis is now generally accepted as the first motorist on a British road, after he imported a Panhard et Levassor in June 1895. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  8. 108 Britain’s 14 or 15 cars of 1895 had grown to about 700–800 by 1900. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  9. 109 Britain passed one million private cars in 1930, and ten million in 1967. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  10. 110 Frederick William Bremer, a plumber and gas fitter, built the first British four-wheeled petrol car. It first ran on a public road in December 1894. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  11. 111 In 1895 John Henry Knight of Farnham built the first purpose-built petrol three-wheeler to run on British roads. It is on show at the National Motor Museum. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  12. 112 Frederick Lanchester’s first four-wheeled petrol car was tested on the road in early 1896. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  13. 113 The Light Locomotives on Highways Act of 1896 raised the limit to 14 mph and ended the need for someone to walk in front. National Motor Museum: London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
  14. 114 To celebrate, Harry J. Lawson organised the “Emancipation Run” from London to Brighton on 14 November 1896, the day the Act became law. National Motor Museum: London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
  15. 115 Some 58 entries were received, but only about 33 are thought to have started. National Motor Museum: London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
  16. 116 Most of the electric cars in the 1896 run finished the trip to Brighton by train. National Motor Museum: London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
  17. 117 The run was revived in 1927, and apart from the war years and petrol rationing it has been held every year since. National Motor Museum: London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
  18. 118 Only cars built before 1 January 1905 can take part in the Veteran Car Run. National Motor Museum: London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
  19. 119 The 1996 centenary run had the most cars ever: 680. Royal Automobile Club: History of the Veteran Car Run
  20. 120 The 1953 film Genevieve was about the run, and the car Genevieve still takes part every year. Royal Automobile Club: History of the Veteran Car Run
  21. 121 The Motor Car Act of 14 August 1903, in force from 1 January 1904, brought in driving licences, registration numbers and a 20 mph speed limit. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  22. 122 France brought in the first driving licences under a Paris police order of 14 August 1893. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  23. 123 Britain’s driving test was made compulsory on 1 June 1935. GOV.UK: 80th anniversary of the driving test
  24. 124 The first British driving test pass certificate went to Mr R.E.L. Beere of Kensington on 16 March 1935. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  25. 125 The test started on a voluntary basis on 13 March 1935. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  26. 126 The Highway Code was first published as a booklet in April 1931. It cost one penny. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  27. 127 The first driving lessons in Britain were offered in June 1900 by the Motor Carriage Supply Company of London. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  28. 128 Keeping left became the law on all roads in Great Britain and Ireland in 1835. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  29. 129 Sweden drove on the left until 1967, then switched to the right. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  30. 130 The first petrol taxis appeared in London in 1903. National Motor Museum: Commercial Vehicles
  31. 131 By 1905 there were 20 motor buses running in London. National Motor Museum: Commercial Vehicles
  32. 132 In the Edwardian era most makers built only the chassis. A coachbuilder then added a body to the customer’s own design. National Motor Museum: Edwardian Elegance
  33. 133 Body names like coupé, landaulette and phaeton came straight from horse-drawn carriages. National Motor Museum: Edwardian Elegance
  34. 134 The Austin 7 of 1922 was a landmark in British motoring. National Motor Museum: The Family Market
  35. 135 Morgan began building three-wheelers in 1910 and still makes cars, with a waiting list of customers. National Motor Museum: Small Cars, Small Firms
  36. 136 William Morris, later Lord Nuffield, set out to copy Ford as early as 1912, but Morris Motors didn’t install a moving assembly line until 1934. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry
  37. 137 Britain taxed cars on horsepower worked out from the cylinder bore, which pushed makers towards small engines with narrow cylinders. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry
  38. 138 British motor vehicle production, counting cars and commercial vehicles, rose from 73,000 in 1922 to 239,000 in 1929, while the number of makers fell from 90 to 41. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  39. 139 Ford has built cars in Britain since 1911, and Vauxhall was bought by General Motors in 1925. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  40. 140 Morris and Austin merged in 1952 to form the British Motor Corporation. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  41. 141 Leyland and the British Motor Corporation joined in 1968 as British Leyland. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  42. 142 The Mini, designed by Alec Issigonis, was launched on 26 August 1959, with a transverse engine and front-wheel drive, a first for small cars. British Motor Museum: Mini Madness
  43. 143 More than five million Minis were made. British Motor Museum: Mini Madness
  44. 144 At first the Mini was sold as the Morris Mini-Minor and the Austin Seven. It became simply “Mini”, with its own badge, in 1969. British Motor Museum: Archive News, Anniversaries
  45. 145 Britain’s first motorway, the 8¼-mile Preston By-pass, was opened by Prime Minister Harold Macmillan on 5 December 1958. It is now part of the M6. UK Motorway Archive: Statistics
  46. 146 The first 67 miles of the M1 opened in November 1959. It was built in only 19 months and had Britain’s first motorway service station, at Watford Gap. UK Motorway Archive: Statistics
  47. 147 The world’s first traffic signals were put up outside the Houses of Parliament on 10 December 1868, using railway-style semaphore arms and gas lamps. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  48. 148 Britain’s first three-colour traffic lights, worked by hand, were used in Piccadilly, London, in 1926. Automatic ones followed in Wolverhampton in November 1927. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  49. 149 Percy Shaw of Halifax patented the Cats Eye road stud in 1934. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  50. 150 Britain’s first parking meters appeared in Grosvenor Square, London, on 10 July 1958. The world’s first was in Oklahoma City in July 1935. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  51. 151 Roadside petrol pumps first appeared in St Louis, USA, in 1905, and in Britain in 1913. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  52. 152 In 1920 the Automobile Association opened Britain’s first roadside petrol station, at Aldermaston in Berkshire. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  53. 153 Britain’s first self-service petrol pump opened in November 1961 at Southwark Bridge, London. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  54. 154 The word “petrol” wasn’t used until 1896, when Carless, Capel & Leonard of Hackney Wick patented it. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  55. 155 Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, was the first person in Britain convicted of speeding, on 28 January 1896. He was doing about 8 mph in a 2 mph town limit. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  56. 156 He was fined one shilling, and the policeman who caught him was riding a bicycle. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  57. 157 The photographer Gladstone Adams had the idea for windscreen wipers on a drive home to Newcastle in 1908, and patented his design in 1911. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  58. 158 Britain’s first motor museum opened in Oxford Street, London, on 31 May 1912, with more than forty cars built before 1903. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs
  59. 159 Wheel clamps were first used on London’s streets in May 1983. National Motor Museum: motoring FAQs

Around the world

  1. 160 The car began in Europe, but the United States led the world industry for the first half of the 20th century, thanks to mass production. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry
  2. 161 In 1925 Citroën made 40% of all French cars. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  3. 162 Ferdinand Porsche and his son Ferry drew up the first design of the Volkswagen in 1934. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Ferdinand Porsche
  4. 163 The first Porsche sports car came out in 1950. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Ferdinand Porsche
  5. 164 The Volkswagen broke the usual pattern, with an air-cooled four-cylinder engine at the back. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  6. 165 Rebuilt after the Second World War, the Volkswagen works at Wolfsburg was making half of West Germany’s motor vehicles in a little over ten years. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  7. 166 Fiat, founded in 1899, came to dominate Italian car production, though it had no mass market until the 1950s. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  8. 167 Before the Second World War, Italian makers were known for finely engineered sports and racing cars. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  9. 168 From almost nothing in 1950, Japan took 30 years to become the world’s leading car producer. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  10. 169 By the 1980s Japanese carmakers were models for others, especially for their “just-in-time” delivery of parts. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  11. 170 In the early 21st century China became the leading maker of cars. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  12. 171 In the 35 years after the Second World War, world motor vehicle output grew almost tenfold. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  13. 172 South Korea’s car industry grew from a small one into a big world player in 20 years from the 1970s. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  14. 173 During the Second World War, American carmakers built 2,600,000 military trucks and 660,000 jeeps. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe
  15. 174 American cars of the 1950s were big, powerful and showy, with lots of chrome and huge tail fins. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Automotive industry, growth in Europe

Speed and racing

  1. 175 For a World Land Speed Record, a car must run through a measured mile and back within an hour. The record is the average of the two runs. National Motor Museum: Record Breakers
  2. 176 The first land speed record was set in 1898 by Chasseloup-Laubat in a Jeantaud electric car, at 39.24 mph. National Motor Museum: Record Breakers
  3. 177 Record attempts moved to long beaches and salt flats, such as Pendine Sands in Wales, Daytona Beach in Florida and the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. National Motor Museum: Record Breakers
  4. 178 The 350hp Sunbeam, first raced at Brooklands in 1920, took Kenelm Lee Guinness to a world record of 129.171 mph two years later. National Motor Museum: Record Breakers
  5. 179 Malcolm Campbell set records of 146.16 mph in 1924 and 150.766 mph in 1925 at Pendine Sands. National Motor Museum: Record Breakers
  6. 180 In 1927 Henry Segrave’s 1000hp Sunbeam became the first car to officially go faster than 200 mph, at Daytona Beach. National Motor Museum: Record Breakers
  7. 181 In 1929 Segrave set a record of 231.362 mph at Daytona in the Golden Arrow. National Motor Museum: Record Breakers
  8. 182 In 1964 Donald Campbell drove the jet-powered Bluebird past 400 mph at Lake Eyre in South Australia. National Motor Museum: Record Breakers
  9. 183 In 1970 Gary Gabelich drove the rocket-powered Blue Flame to 622.407 mph. National Motor Museum: Record Breakers
  10. 184 In 1983 Richard Noble’s Thrust 2 won the record back for Britain at 633.468 mph. National Motor Museum: Record Breakers
  11. 185 In 1997 Andy Green drove Thrust SCC through the sound barrier at 763.035 mph. National Motor Museum: Record Breakers
  12. 186 Several famous record cars, including the 1920 and 1927 Sunbeams, the 1929 Golden Arrow and the 1960 Bluebird, are at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu. National Motor Museum: Record Breakers
  13. 187 In 1898 an electric car of Jenatzy’s easily won a French hill-climb held to test steam, electric and petrol power. Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of the automobile
  14. 188 Racing on British public roads was forbidden, so in February 1904 Sir Julian Orde of the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland went to the Isle of Man, which passed the Highways (Light Locomotive) Act 1904. Isle of Man TT Races: History
  15. 189 The Act allowed the 52.15-mile “Highlands” course on the Isle of Man for the 1905 Gordon Bennett car trial. Isle of Man TT Races: History
  16. 190 The first Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT) race was held in 1907. Isle of Man TT Races: History