Volume III · 11 landmarks

Automobiles

The road vehicle as a system: engine, tire, factory, and safety.

1. 

   1876 (Otto four-stroke)Internal combustion engineA steam engine burns fuel outside the cylinder.

2. 

   1886Benz MotorwagenBenz built a three-wheeled carriage around a single-cylinder gasoline engine and patented it in 1886.

3. 

   1888Pneumatic tireA cushion of air in a rubber tube turns a harsh road into a filter.

4. 

   1908 (car); 1913 (moving line)Ford Model TThe Model T was not the first car.

5. 

   1912Electric starterEarly cars were hand-cranked.

6. 

   1913Moving assembly lineBring the work to the worker.

7. 

   1939 (Hydra-Matic)Automatic transmissionA clutch and a stick ask the driver to be a gearbox.

8. 

   1975 (U.S. auto mandate era)Catalytic converterA honeycomb of ceramic, coated with precious metals, sits in the exhaust and turns carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides into less harmful gases.

9. 

   1970s–1980sABS and airbagAnti-lock brakes pulse a skidding wheel so steering remains.

10. 

    1991 (Sony commercial cell)Lithium-ion batteryLithium is light and eager to shed an electron.

11. 

    1997 (Prius); 2012 (mass-luxury EV landmark)Hybrid and EV platformsThe 1997 Prius put an electric machine and a petrol engine in one drivetrain so city driving could sip fuel.