HISTORY

Steam-powered self propelled vehicles were devised in the late 18th century. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot successfully demonstrated such a vehicle as early as 1769. Cugnot's invention initially saw little application in his native France, and the center of innovation passed to Great Britain, where Richard Trevitick was running a steam-carriage in 1801. Such vehicles were in vogue for a time, and over the next decades such innovations as hand brakes, multi-speed transmissions, and improved speed and steering were developed. Some were commercially successful in providing mass transit, until a backlash against these large speedy vehicles resulted in passing laws that self-propelled vehicles on public roads in the United Kingdom must be preceded by a man on foot waving a red flag and blowing a horn. This effectively killed road auto development in the UK for most of the rest of the 19th century, as inventors and engineers shifted their efforts to improvements in railway locomotives. The red flag law was not repealed until 1896.
The first automobile patent in the United States was granted to Oliver Evans in 1789; in 1804 Evans demonstrated his first successful self-propelled vehicle, which not only was the first automobile in the USA but was also the first amphibious vehicle, as his steam-powered vehicle was able to travel on wheels on land and via a paddle wheel in the water.
It is generally claimed that the first automobiles with gasoline powered internal combustion engines were completed almost simultaneously in 1886 by German inventors working independently: Carl Benz on 3 July 1886 in Mannheim, resp. Gottieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Stuttgart (also inventors of the first motor bike) and Austrain inventor Siegfried Marcus in Vienna. The first four wheel petrol-driven automobiles built in Britain came in Birmingham in 1895 by Fredrick William Lanchester who also patented the disc brake.

Mass production of automobiles began just before 1900 in France and the United States. The first company to form exclusively to build automobiles was Panhard et Levassor in France. Formed in 1889, they were quickly followed by Peugot two years later. In the United States, the Duryea brothers founded an automobile company in 1893, but it was Oldsmobile who dominated this era of automobile production there. Their large scale production line was running in 1902. Within a year, Cadillac (formed from the Henry Ford Company), Winton, and Ford were producing cars in the thousands.
Within a few years, dizzying assortments of technologies were being produced by hundreds of producers all over the Western world. Steam, electricity, and gasoline-powered autos competed for decades, with gasoline internal combustion engines achieving dominance in the 1910s. Dual- and even quad-engine cars were designed, and engine displacement ranged to more than a dozen liters. Many modern advances, including gas/electric hybrids, multi-valve engines, overhead camshafts, and four wheel drive, were attempted and discarded at this time.
Innovation was rapid and rampant, with no clear standards for basic vehicle architectures, body styles, construction materials, or controls. Many veteran cars use a tiller rather than a wheel for steering, for example, and most operated at a single speed. Chain drive was dominant over the modern driveshaft, and closed bodies were extremely rare.
On November 5, 1895, George B. Selden was granted a United States patent for a two-stroke automobile engine (U.S. Patent 549160). This patent did more to hinder than encourage development of autos in the USA. Selden licensed his patent to most major American auto makers, collecting a fee on every car they produced.
Throughout the veteran car era, however, automobiles were seen as more of a novelty than a genuinely useful device. Breakdowns were frequent, and quick innovation meant that a year-old car was nearly worthless. Major breakthroughs in proving the car came with the historic long-distance drive of Berta Benz in 1888 and Horatio Nelson Jackson's successful trans-continental drive in America in 1903.

Named for the widespread use of brass in the United States, the Brass or Edwardian era lasted from roughly 1905 through the beginning of World War I in 1914. 1905 was a signal year in the development of the automobile, marking the point when the majority of sales shifted from the hobbyist and enthusiast to the average user.
Within the decade and a half that make up the Brass or Edwardian era, the various experimental designs and alternate power systems would be marginalized. Although the modern touring car had been invented earlier, it was not until Panhard et Lavassor's Systeme Panhard was widely licensed and adopted that recognizable and standardized automobiles were created. This system specified front-engined, rear wheel drive internal combustion cars with a sliding gear transmission. Traditional coach-style vehicles were rapidly abandoned, and buckboard runabouts lost favor with the introduction of tonneaus and other less-expensive touring bodies.
Throughout this era, development of automotive technology was rapid, due in part to a huge number (hundreds) of small manufacturers all competing to gain 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. Leaf springs were widely used for suspension, though many other systems were still in use, with angle steel taking over from armored wood as the frame material of choice. Transmissions and throttle controls were widely adopted, allowing a variety of cruising speeds, though vehicles generally still had discrete speed settings rather than the infinitely variable system familiar in cars of later eras.
Exemplary cars of the period included the following:

• 1908–1927 Ford Model T - The most widely produced and available car of the era. It used a planetary transmission and had a pedal-based control system that would be confusing to modern drivers.
• 1910–1920 Bugatti Type 13 - A notable racing and touring model with advanced engineering and design. Similar models were the Types 15, 17, 22, and 23.

The vintage era lasted from the end of World War I (1919) through the stock market crash at the end of 1929. During this period, the front-engined car came to dominate, with closed bodies and standardized controls the norm. Development of the internal combustion engine continued at a rapid pace, with multi-valve and overhead cam engines produced at the high end, and V8, V12, and even V16 engines conceived for the ultra-rich.
Exemplary vintage vehicles:

• 1922–1939 Austin 7 — The Austin Seven was one of the most widely-copied vehicles ever, efectively initiating the British motor industry as well as serving as a template for cars around the world, from BMW to Nissan.
• 1924–1929 Bugatti Type 35 — The Type 35 was one of the most successful racing cars of all time, with over 1,000 victories in five years.
• 1927–1931 Ford Model A — After keeping the brass era Model T in production for too long, Ford broke from the past by restarting its model series with the 1927 Model A. More than 4 million were produced, making it the best-selling model of the era.
• 1930 Cadillac V-16 — Developed at the height of the vintage era, the V16-powered Cadillac would join Bugatti's Royale as the most legendary ultra-luxury cars of the era.

The pre-war part of the classic era began with the Great Depression in 1930 and ended with the recovery after World War II, commonly placed at 1948.
By the 1930s, most of the technology used in automobiles had been invented, although it was often re-invented again at a later date and credited to someone else. For example, front-wheel drive was re-introduced by Andre Citroën with the launch of the Traction Avant in 1934, though it appeared several years earlier in road cars made by Alvis and Cord, and in racing cars by Miller (and may have appeared as early as 1897). After 1930, the number of auto manufacturers declined sharply as the industry consolidated and matured.
Exemplary pre-war automobiles:

• 1934–1940 Bugatti Type 57 — A high-tech and refined automobile for the remaining rich of the time, the Type 57SC has become the singular classic car.
• 1934–1956 Citroën Traction Avant — The first mass-produced front wheel drive car, built with monocoque techniques, was a technology masterpiece.
• 1936–1955 MG T series — This sports car for the masses came to represent the European motoring experience, especially for American soldiers fighting in the war.
• 1938–2003 Volkswagen Beetle — Perhaps the most-famous automobile of all time, it was a pre-war design that lasted through the modern era.

Automobile design finally emerged from the shadow of World War II in 1949, the year that saw the introduction of high-compression V8 engines and modern bodies from General Motors' Oldsmobile and Cadillac brands. The unibody/strut-suspended 1951 Ford Consul joined the 1948 Morris Minor and 1949 Rover P4 in waking up the automobile market in the United Kingdom. In Italy, Enzo Ferrari was
1985 Mini
beginning his 250 series just as Lancia introduced their revolutionary V6-powered Aurelia.
Throughout the 1950s, engine power and vehicle speeds rose, designs became more integrated and artful, and cars spread across the world. Alec Issigonis' Mini and Fiat's 500 mini cars swept Europe, while the similar keicar class put Japan on wheels for the first time. The legendary VW Beetle survived Hitler's Germany to shake up the small car market in the Americas. Ultra luxury, exemplified in America by the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, reappeared after a long absence, and GT cars, like the Ferrari Americas, swept across Europe.
The market changed somewhat in the 1960s, as Detroit began to worry about foreign competition, the European makers adopted ever higher technology, and Japan appeared as a serious car-producing nation. General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford tried radical small cars, like the GM A-bodies, but had little success. Captive imports and badge engineering swept through the U.S. and U.K. as conglomerates like the British Motor Corporation consolidated the market. Eventually, this trend reached Italy as niche makers like Maserati, Ferrari, and Lancia were acquired by larger companies. By the end of the decade, the automobile manufacturing world was much smaller.
In America, performace was the hot sell of the 1960s, with pony cars and muscle cars propping up the domestic industry. But everything changed in the 1970s as the 1973 oil crisis, automobile emissions control rules, Japanese and European imports, and stangnant innovation wreaked havoc on the American industry. Throughout the decade, small imported cars outperformed large American ones, and the domestic auto industry began to fail. Small performance cars from BMW, Toyota, and Nissan took the place of big-engined cars from America and Italy.
On the technology front, the biggest developments of the era were the widespread use of independent suspensions, wider application of fuel injection, and an increasing focus on safety in the design of automobiles. The hottest technologies of the 1960s were NSU's Wankel engine, the gas turbine, and the turbocharger. Of these, only the last, pioneered by General Motors but popularized by BMW and Saab, was to see widespread use. Little Mazda had much success with their "Rotary" engines, but was critically affected by its reputation as a polluting gas-guzzler. Other Wankel licensees, including Mercedes-Benz and General Motors, never put their designs into production. Rover and Chrysler both produced experimental turbine cars to no effect.
Exemplary post-war cars:

• 1948–1971 Morris Minor – A popular and typical post-war car exported around the world.
• 1949–1969 Oldsmobile 88 — This model introduced the high-compression mass-produced V8 engine to the masses, ushering in the power wars that led to the muscle car era.
• 1959–2000 Mini — This quintissential small car lasted for four decades and became one of the most famous cars of all time.
• 1961–1975 Jaguar E-type — The E-type saved Jaguar on the track and in the showroom and set the standard for design and innovation in the 1960s.
• 1962–1977 BMC ADO16 — This front wheel drive car dominated sales in the United Kingdom, but excessive badge engineering doomed the brands of the British Motor Corporation.
• 1962–1964 Ferrari 250 GTO — The first supercar, the GTO was dominant in auto racing in the early 1960s.
• 1964–1973 Ford Mustang — The pony car that became one of the best-selling and most-collected cars of the era.
• 1964–1974 Pontiac GTO — The architypal muscle car went from being an option package to a high-performance model and back in just 10 years.
• 1975–1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five — One of the largest cars ever made, with the largest, least-efficient engine in modern times, exemplified the American automobile industry's problems in the 1970s.

The modern era is normally defined as the 25 years preceding the current year. However, there are some technical and design aspects that differentiate modern cars from antiques. Without considering the future of the car, the modern era has been one of increasing standardization, platform sharing, and computer-aided design.
Some particularly notable advances in modern times are the wide spread of front wheel drive and all wheel drive, the adoption of the V6 engine configuration, and the ubiquity of fuel injection. While all of these advances were first attempted in earlier eras, they so dominate the market today that it is easy to overlook their signifigance. Nearly all modern passenger cars are front wheel drive unibody designs with transversely-mounted engines, but this design was considered radical just 20 years earlier.

Body styles have changed as well in the modern era. Three types, the hatchback, minivan, and sport utility vehicle, dominate today's market yet are relatively recent concepts. All originally emphasized practicality but have mutated into today's high-powered luxury crossover SUV and sports wagon. The rise of pickup trucks in the United States and SUVs worldwide has changed the face of motoring, with these "trucks" coming to command more than half of the world automobile market.
The modern era has also seen rapidly rising fuel efficiency and engine output. Once the automobile emissions concerns of 1970s were conquered with computerized engine management systems, power began to rise rapidly. In the 1980s, a powerful sports car might have produced 200 hp (150 kW)—just 20 years later, average passenger cars have engines that powerful, and some performance models offer three times as much power.
Exemplary modern cars:

• 1974–present VW Golf — The exemplary modern compact car, with a square hatchback body, transverse straight-4 engine, and room for five passengers.
• 1977–present Honda Accord sedan — This Japanese sedan became the most popular car in the United States in the 1990s, pushing the Ford Taurus aside, and setting the stage for today's upscale Asian sedans.
• 1983–present Chrysler minivans — The two-box minivan design nearly pushed the station wagon out of the market and presaged today's crossover SUVs.
• 1986–2006 Ford Taurus — This large front wheel drive sedan with modern CAD-assisted design dominated the American market in the late 1980s.
• 1993–present Jeep Grand Cherokee — The architypal upscale SUV with all wheel drive, V8 power, and a luxurious interior at a price reachable for the masse