The motor car first appeared in Germany in 1885 when Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler, each working independently of the other, produced self-propelled vehicles powered by rear-mounted, petrol-fuelled single-cylinder engines. These were based on the stationary gas engine that used the four-stroke principle.

The replicas of the originals that each engineer produced gave birth to the world’s motor industry, although in 1896, France and not Germany became the world’s largest manufacturer of motor vehicles. In 1891 a French engineer, Emile Levassor, transferred the engine of the Panhard et Levassor car from its established rear location to the front of the vehicle, from where it drove the rear wheels via a clutch and in-line gearbox. Named Systeme Panhard, it rapidly overtook the original layout in popularity and survives, in essence, on large-capacity cars.

The progressive Gottlieb Daimler soon produced, in 1893, a vertical two-cylinder in-line engine and Benz followed, in 1897, with a horizontally opposed twin in which the cylinders were in the same plane as the crankshaft. Panhard had introduced the in-line four in 1896 and this configuration soon outstripped all other types in popularity, most notably in the Henry Ford Model T, built between 1908 and 1927.

Over 15 million of these Fords were produced and their success helped America to consolidate its position, attained in 1906, as the world’s largest manufacturer of motor cars. The United States dominated the industry until 1980, when it was overtaken by Japan.

Britain had lagged behind France and Germany in introducing the motor car, as its industry was stifled by the presence of the Locomotive Act of 1865. This required self-propelled vehicles to be limited to a speed of 3.2 km/h (2 mph) in towns and 6.2 km/h (4 mph) elsewhere. Originally, motor cars were required to be preceded by a man carrying a red flag but this stipulation was usually set aside following an amendment to the act in 1878.

As early cars were capable of at least 32 km/h (20 mph), Continental imports could not be practically or legally run on Britain’s roads until 1896, when the Locomotive Act was modified. The speed limit was raised to a blanket 19 km/h (12 mph) and increased again, in 1904, to 32 km/h (20 mph).

Britain’s motor industry therefore dates from 1896, although most manufacturers were initially only responsible for their vehicles’ mechanical components. Bodywork, usually of the open type with only rudimentary weather protection in the form of a canvas hood, was the responsibility of coachbuilders, who had hitherto manufactured horse-drawn vehicles.

In 1904 the English Napier company had built the world’s first usable six-cylinder car, although the costly straight-eight engine did not make any impact until after World War I. The more compact V8, in which four in-line cylinders were positioned in a V-shaped configuration, was popularized by the American Cadillac company in 1915. Its Lincoln rival was responsible for the world’s first successful V12-engined car that dates from 1915. However, the V6 unit, pioneered by Lancia, did not arrive until 1950.

Q Saloon Bodies

Most cars were fitted with open, wooden-framed, hand-crafted steel or aluminium bodywork that was mounted on a separate chassis frame. Saloons were more expensive because they used more materials. It was not until 1925 that the American Essex company risked all by offering a closed car that sold for less than a touring vehicle. The gamble paid off and the rest of the motoring world soon followed suit.

Machine-made pressed steel body panels had been used by Dodge in America from 1916; this led to the all-steel saloon and, finally, the unitary body, which dispensed with the chassis and transferred stresses to the hull. Citroën’s advanced front-wheel drive Traction Avant model of 1934 was the first mass-produced car to feature the concept and was followed by General Motors’ German Opel subsidiary in 1935. General Motors was also responsible for introducing silent gear changes to motoring in 1928, and in 1940 an American car, the Oldsmobile, was the first vehicle to have automatic transmission.

Cars used leaf springs inherited from horse-drawn carriages until the 1930s, when independent front suspension was developed. However, its rear equivalent was rarer and usually confined to more expensive vehicles. An exception was provided by Volkswagen AG in Germany. The Beetle was the Volkswagen which was designed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1934 and entered series production in 1945. Featuring all-independent suspension, it was powered by a rear-mounted, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder engine that was cheap to run, and which also defied convention by being air- rather than water-cooled. The Beetle became the most popular car in the history of motoring; it is still in production and a record 21 million have been built.

A German company also produced the economical and efficient diesel engine, invented in 1893 by Rudolf Diesel. Adopted in the 1920s for use in commercial vehicles, in 1935 Mercedes-Benz introduced the 260D as the world’s first diesel-engined car.

R Front-Wheel Drive

In 1937 the French Citroën company briefly offered a diesel option in its front-wheel drive Traction Avant. This model represented the first serious challenge to the orthodox front-engine/rear-drive configuration. Although the mechanics were more sophisticated, the Traction Avant cornered better and could be built with lower body lines because there was no obtrusive transmission tunnel.

While the Citroën’s engine was conventionally positioned, the British Motor Corporation’s front-wheel drive Mini of 1959, designed by its chief engineer Alec Issigonis, had its power unit turned 90° to a transverse-mounted location. This allowed for more passenger accommodation: four adults could be seated in a car only 3 m (10 ft) long.

S Fuel Economy

In Europe Mini-inspired cars became increasingly popular and the Mini itself became a classic. However, the global influence of the Issigonis approach attained its height following the oil price rises in the early 1970s. This resulted in a trend in designing and producing smaller front-wheel drive cars with hatchback bodies, so called because they incorporated a single opening tailgate. (It also marked a decline in production of the vast American “gas-guzzlers”, which had been so popular in the 1950s.) These cars currently dominate the world market.

The soaring price of petrol also revived research, dormant on passenger cars since the 1930s, into more aerodynamically efficient bodywork. This meant that a car’s styling was contoured to assist its passage through the air in order to minimize petrol consumption. This had hitherto been the preserve of sports-car makers.

T Performance and Four-Wheel Drive

Lamborghini GTV 350 The Lamborghini 350 GTV was introduced to the public at the 1963 Turin Motor show. It was made of steel and aluminium panels over a chassis of round tubes. Despite many critics, the car got a lot of attention from the press because of its very modern chassis.Farabolafoto z5e10ex

From the 1970s the performance of such vehicles had also been enhanced by the development of the turbocharger. Driven by otherwise wasted exhaust gases, it is a small, high-revolution pump that forces air into the cylinders at pressure and is invariably used in conjunction with an intercooler. This cools incoming air to make it denser, further increasing engine power.

Performance cars were usually front-engined (and sometimes rear-engined) until the appearance, in 1966, of the Lamborghini Muira, which had a mid-located power unit. This meant a better-balanced car, but at the expense of greater interior noise and loss of rear seating.

Yet a further development in performance was the four-wheel drive with superior road holding. This was a luxury fitment until the arrival, in 1980, of the Audi Quatto, a make that had also introduced, in 1976, the petrol-fuelled five-cylinder engine. Four-wheel drive had already been incorporated in the cross-country Land Rover, its design inspired by the American Jeep. It first appeared in 1948 and paved the way to the better-equipped Range Rover.

U Further Developments

U1 Reducing Car Emissions

Traffic Pollution The world's roads currently accommodate over 500 million motor vehicles. Most concern about traffic pollution has been expressed in relation to busy inner-city areas, where high vehicle flows and large numbers of pedestrians share the same streets. The worst conditions are experienced when there is a combination of dense traffic and hot weather without winds.Wesley Bocxe/Photo Researchers, Inc.

In recent years environmental considerations and growing concern over traffic pollution have had a profound effect on car design. The United States introduced the first regulations on noxious car emissions in 1967; the California Clean Air Act requires that, by 2003, 10 per cent of all new cars sold in that state must have zero exhaust emissions. However, as these restrictions become more rigorous, their effects on the power and efficiency of car engines grow more adverse. Noxious emissions include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and particulates. In 1986 the Japanese Toyota company introduced the more efficient multivalve twin overhead camshaft engine, a unit more usually associated with high-performance models. This concept has now been widely adopted by the world’s motor industries.

All new cars sold in Europe since 1990 have had to be capable of running on unleaded petrol. Lead has been added to petrol since the 1920s to improve engine performance, but was found to be a health hazard when emitted from car exhausts. In Britain unleaded fuels account for 67 per cent of petrol sales.

Similarly, the exhaust systems of all new cars have had to be fitted with catalytic converters since 1993. In its basic two-way form, the catalytic converter uses platinum and palladium to catalyse the carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons that are produced by the engine’s combustion process into carbon dioxide and water.

Manufacturers are currently undertaking research into “lean-burn” engines, which use less petrol and therefore produce a lower level of harmful emissions. The diesel-engined car has grown in popularity but recent evidence shows that the minute specks of soot, called particulates, that it produces are likely to exacerbate conditions such as bronchitis and asthma, mostly in city centres.

U2 Safety

Crash Test Dummy Dummies, such as this one, are used in tests to provide data regarding the movement of passengers in simulated car crashes, thus enabling manufacturers to make improvements in the safety of their vehicles.Paul Almasy/Corbis

Although cars have become faster, current models are safer than many of those manufactured in previous decades. Modern cars incorporate beams at their front and rear, which crumple progressively in order to absorb energy, while having a strong central cell to protect occupants in the event of a crash.

Braking has greatly improved in recent years and most systems feature servo assistance. This harnesses the vacuum produced by the engine to actuate the brakes, so that the driver does not need to apply an excessive amount of pressure to the pedal.

A further refinement is an automatic braking system. This sophisticated anti-locking device operates in conjunction with the vehicle’s engine management unit, and was initially used on expensive cars to prevent skidding.

U3 Electric Cars

Electric Car: The Zoom Among electric cars, the vehicle ZOOM©, a prototype electric car for city use, contains many technological innovations, including a variable wheelbase. Designed and built by MATRA AUTOMOBILE©, ZOOM© received public attention at its introduction in 1992.Matra Automobile

The only vehicle to meet the requirements of the California Clean Air Act is the electric car. This type of car produces no harmful exhaust fumes, and does not absorb power when stationary. In 1996 General Motors became the world’s first major car manufacturer to put a purpose-designed electric car, the EV1, into production

Benz, Karl (1844-1929), German mechanical engineer, born in Karlsruhe. He was a pioneer in the motor industry. In 1878 he developed a two-cycle internal-combustion engine and later a light four-cycle engine. He invented the differential drive and other automotive accessories. In 1885 he built a three-wheeled vehicle with an internal-combustion engine. This vehicle was patented and driven through the streets of Munich in 1886. Benz shared with the German Gottlieb Daimler the credit for building the first car.