Inventors of Cars – Cars in the present era can be said to be a mode of transportation or vehicle that is very useful and very safe and comfortable to explore the land. Just now, cars have experienced very rapid development with very diverse choices and with various facilities that are very abundant. From cars for all-terrain or off-road, to casual cars such as sedans, coupes, sport utility vehicles (SUV) and even multi-purpose vehicles (MPV).
This land vehicle itself has proven to be very helpful for humans in moving. Humans in today’s era can travel to various places with their families without worrying about being exposed to heat from the sun or rain. As part of land transportation, cars are now the main choice for almost everyone for travel.
A. Inventor of Engine Powered Cars
The era of the car that we use today was first started by a man from Germany named Karl Friedrich Benz or better known as Karl Benz. In 1886, Karl Benz was the genius behind the creation of the gasoline-powered car.
Karl Benz himself got inspiration about a car from his experience of often using a bicycle dipper when traveling. Because he was often tired from pedaling a bicycle dipper, that anxiety was what eventually led to the birth of a car that moved using an engine.
Karl Benz thought how to make the dipper bike run without having to pedal. This is the background for the modern era, with a design that is almost similar to a three-wheeled bicycle.
Karl Benz himself was born in Germany on November 25, 1844 and died at the age of 84 on April 4, 1929. Karl Benz was already interested in science at the age of 9. That’s what made him finally go to college in the field of mechanics. As a mechanical science student, Karl Benz began his engineering career by developing skills through his many inventions.
Karl Benz began to invent cars starting in 1878, when he succeeded in creating the first car named after him, namely the Benz Patent Motorwagen. This first car made by Karl Benz was not equipped with gears or gears, so it was often difficult to control during trials and in the end it often crashed into the parapet. It also makes the public afraid to try the car.
In the same era, the inventors of gasoline-powered cars other than Karl Benz, namely Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach from Stuttgart, Germany, also developed a car project that was almost the same as the Karl Benz car project. They were only outdone by Benz, who was the first to complete the project and obtain a patent for the invention of the engine-powered car in 1879.
After the Karl Benz era, several new car geniuses emerged, such as George B Selden. George B Selden was the person who succeeded in inventing a car that used a two-stroke engine in 1895. It didn’t take long, a few years later, various types of cars appeared to compete for market interest, such as steam-powered cars, gasoline-powered cars, to electric-powered cars. .
The three types of car competition finally emerged as a gasoline-powered car as the winner. People prefer to use gasoline-powered cars because of the convenience and comfort. That’s what brought Karl Benz as the inventor of gasoline-powered cars to continue to develop the cars he created. The mechanical engineer from the University of Karlsruhe has never stopped creating and developing cars.
Even after the failure of the first trial conducted in public, Karl Benz continued to improve all the deficiencies of the car engine he created. Until one day his wife, Bertha Benz, secretly tried to drive a newly repaired Benz Patent Motorwagen. Thanks to the car driven by Bertha Benz, Karl Benz finally started the starting point of his car’s success so that it can be known by almost all people in the world today.
The failure of the car did not make Karl Benz give up, in fact the failure spurred Karl Benz to find the first car that was in demand on the market. Karl Benz is one of the figures who co-founded Benz & Co. The Karl Benz company eventually teamed up with the Daimler company and then changed its name to the brand we often hear, namely Mercedes Benz.
B. History of Steam Powered Cars
If the inventor of the car powered by the first gasoline engine is Karl Benz. On the other hand, Nicolas Joseph Cugnot is the figure behind the birth of a three-wheeled car that has a fairly large shape and uses a steam engine as its propulsion. A French scientist invented the first steam-powered car in 1769.
Cugnot’s three-wheeled car was originally used to meet the military’s need to lift cannons. The need for the military indirectly inspired other scientists named William Murdock and James Watt. They both agreed to create a better steam-powered car that could be used by humans in 1784.
Not long ago, in 1830, another scientist named Richard Trevenick created a steam-powered car that could travel at speeds of 20 km/hour. In this invention, Richard Trevenick has developed a steam-engined car with additions such as a steering wheel, brakes, multi-speed transmission, to increase speed.
Furthermore, until the end of the 19th century many cars with steam power continued to be created and received a good response from the public.
Then, in the mid-19th century, the change to steam-powered cars occurred very quickly. Joseph E. Lenoir, a mechanical engineer from France is the main actor in the creation of vehicles with other fuels. In 1860, Joseph E. Lenoir managed to create a fuel mixture consisting of coal and gas and air.
So, in the next few years, Karl Benz succeeded in inventing a gasoline-powered car. Followed by the invention of the Hybrid car from Ferdinand Porsche who invented the Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid as the world’s first hybrid car. Then, the development of the car industry is growing rapidly in almost all over the world, and people prefer cars with engine power or gasoline as the main choice.
C. The type of car that was produced for the first time in the world
More than 100 centuries of automobile history have been engraved, starting from the first gasoline-powered car in 1886 to cars of various types today. Even in the automotive world, the type of car has a huge influence. Therefore, the following are several types of cars that were first produced in the world under various brands and made before 1900, including:
1. Mercedes-Benz (1886)
In accordance with the name of its founder who is also the inventor of the first engine-powered car, the Mercedes Benz car brand is taken from the name Karl Benz. At the beginning of its creation, Mercedes Benz was named the Benz Patent Motorwagen. However, the Benz Patent Motorwagen failed in public trials until it was finally perfected until now. Currently, Mercedes Benz is also one of the most popular car brands in the world.
Karl Benz built the car he created starting in 1885, until then he officially received a patent right in January 1886. At the beginning of its production, Mercedes Benz was only equipped with 3 wheels carrying a 954 cc single cylinder engine capable of producing 0.75 bhp. .
2. Peugeot (1891)
The Peugeot brand was first known in 1842 as a manufacturer of salt and pepper mills. However, after 40 years, Peugeot has finally turned to producing bicycles.
After 9 years of focusing on producing bicycles, in 1891, Peugeot began building its first engine-powered car equipped with four wheels. The first Peugeot car was loaded with a rear-mounted V-twin engine to drive the rear wheels via a chain. So, after a year, the number of Peugeot car production continued to grow rapidly until it touched the production figure of 500 cars in 1900.
3. Ford (1896)
In 1896, Henry Ford conducted an experiment to create his first car. Henry Ford has finally succeeded in giving birth to a car unit called the Ford Quadricycle. Furthermore, after going through many trials, Henry Ford finally founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903.
Henry Ford was not the first automobile inventor, but Henry Ford was a person who had an important role to play in creating a car industry that could reach many people. Today, the Ford car brand is one of the most popular and coolest cars in the world. However, in Indonesia this car can only be owned by certain groups.
4. Renault (1898)
In 1899, a triumvirate of car engine enthusiasts, namely Louis, Marcel, and Ferdinand Renault, founded a car company called Société Renault Freres. Société Renault Frères itself had built a prototype 1CV voiturette back in 1989. The company had also managed to reach a speed of 32 kilometers per hour.
5. Fiat (1899)
In 1899, a car company called Fiat or an abbreviation of Fabbrica Italiana in Automobili Torino. This Italian car company first opened its factory to the public in 1900. Fiat issued its first car using a twin-flat engine that had a power of 679 cc and was capable of producing up to 4 hp of power. In the past few years, Fiat cars have been upgraded to and managed to get a powerful 837 cc engine.
6. Opel (1899)
Adam Opel founded a sewing machine production company in 1862. Several years ago, Adam Opel diversified his sewing machine company into bicycles in 1886.
In 1895, Adam Opel died and the business was continued by his family. Luckily, Adam Opel’s family succeeded in creating and introducing the first car from the Opel company in 1899. This Opel-made car had an engine with a capacity of 1545 cc and could generate power of 3.5 hp. This engine with a single cylinder can be selected by buyers with two editions, from the two-seat or four-seat edition.
7. Buick (1899)
Buick is a company that was founded in 1899. Buick was originally classified as a company that made America’s oldest car which is still operating today. The company was originally named Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company. However, after 1904, the company changed its name to the Buick Motor Company. Buick itself began to mass-produce cars right then and there. The first car produced by Buick was the Model B, which was equipped with a 2605 cc twin-flat engine that produced up to 16 hp of power.
D. The Five Oldest Cars In The World Of All Time
The world’s oldest car is not a machine-powered car, the world’s oldest car is a car that uses steam power. However, cars with gasoline are growing rapidly from time to time. Engine cars proved to be more accepted by society and superior to steam-powered cars.
So, here are the 5 most memorable types of cars of all time, including:
1. Cugnot Fardier
This car with the name Cugnot Fardier is the first ‘self-propelled’ vehicle that is actually used for humans. The brand name itself comes from the name of the inventor, Nicolas Joseph Cugnot.
Prior to the presence of the Cugnot Fardier car, a man named Ferdinand Verbiest created a steam-powered car in 1672. However, the car by Ferdinand Verbiest had small dimensions and design, making it difficult to build and develop, let alone drive.
Luckily this problem can be overcome by Cugnot. Cugnot managed to build the previously problematic vehicle into a full-size model designed six years ago using three wheels plus steel rims. However, Cugnot’s car also had a drawback, where the car had to stop every 10 to 12 minutes to regenerate the vapor pressure on the vehicle.
Cugnot’s car managed to reach a top speed of only about 1.6 km per hour. However, as part of a historic car, Cugnot’s car is now one of the collections owned by the Musee des Arts et Metiers museum in Paris, France.
2. Hancock Omnibus
The next steam-powered car is the work of Walter Hancock. This British man was actually a successful inventor in the military world, and Hancock was also the inventor of the most successful human-capable vehicle of that era. This is because the Hancock Omnibus has succeeded in becoming the first steam-powered vehicle to be successfully traded in the world.
3. Greenville Steam Carriage
In 1875 was the era when the majority of cars were produced by hand. However, Robert Neville Greenville is not the case, he instead designed a steam-powered vehicle that has a shape similar to a train locomotive. The car, known as the Greenville Steam Carriage, can only be ridden by seven people, one of the seven people will be in charge of ‘feeding’ the steam engine to keep it going.
4.La Marquise
La Marquise was created by three citizens of French origin. Right in 1884, the three people namely De Dion, Bouton, and Trépardoux succeeded in creating a car that was given the same name as De Dion’s mother, La Marquise.
1887 saw the introduction of the La Marquise as the world’s first racing car for an exhibition. Furthermore, one year later, La Marquise which has a speed of about 18 mph or can only go 28.9 km/hour was able to beat Bouton, a three-wheeled vehicle.
La Marquise uses fuel in the form of coal, wood, and scrap paper. To run it takes about 30 to 40 minutes to turn on the steam. That’s what makes La Marquise manage to reach a top speed of up to 38 mph, or about 61 km per hour.
As the world’s first racing car, the La Marquise was given the racing number “0” as a token of appreciation at the 1996 London to Brighton Veterans Car Run.
5. Benz Patent Motorwagen
History has recorded that the Benz Patent Motorwagen is the world’s first gasoline engine powered car. Invented in 1885 and received a patent right in 1886. This car by Karl Benz was designed using a centrifugal engine and had a capacity of 954 cc.
This first gasoline engine car initially also used fuel to the engine through evaporation. However, Karl Benz managed to add a carburetor in later models. Until 1887, Karl Benz innovated by adding leather brake shoes.
Car Types
Until now there are several types of cars sold in the market. The following are the types of cars that can be used as a reference.
1. Multi-Purpose Vehicles (MPV)
Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) type car is a type of car that has a modern design and the muzzle of this type of car is quite long. Usually this type of car is a minivan and can carry a lot of stuff. Even though there is a lot of stuff that can be carried, the passengers will feel comfortable because the trunk of this type of car is quite large.
2. Hatchbacks
Hatchback type car is a car that has a trunk that is integrated with the passenger, so the size of the trunk is not too big. Therefore, this type of car is usually devoted to carrying passengers as well as transporting goods.
3. Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)
A Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) type car is a type of passenger or cargo car that is usually used in various fields, from on road to off road . In general, the trunk of this type of car is quite large, so you don’t need to worry when carrying goods as well as carrying passengers.
4. Sedans
A sedan type car is a type of car that has an attractive and minimalist design, so many people like this type of car. The body of this type of car tends to be short and elongated. Due to its minimalist size, this car can only be boarded by five people.
5. Convertibles
Convertible type car is a type of car where the size is small and the roof can be opened and closed. Usually, convertible type cars have two types, namely hard top and soft top.
6. Station Wagons
The Station Wagon type car is a type of car that at first glance is almost the same as a sedan. Even though it looks almost the same, the roof of this type of car extends to the rear. Therefore, usually the luggage in this type of car will be integrated into the passenger cabin.