The idea for a self-propelled vehicle has been around for a long time. Ever since we invented the wheel and put it on an animal driven carriage, we have tried to find out ways of removing the animal because they were fussy and wanted to form unions.
( some even succeeded in a place called Animal Farm which let to total mayhem).
So people were desperate.
Some of the earliest attempts have been recorded as far back as the 1300s when the
Italians recorded designs for wind driven vehicles. The first was Guido da Vigevano in 1335. It was a windmill type drive to gears and thus to wheels. However most wind driven vehicles were not very successful because the Italians did not have enough beans in their diet so jet propulsion was out of the question.
Later Leonardo da Vinci designed clockwork driven tricycle with tiller steering and a differential mechanism between the rear wheels. However he never got around to building it because he never finished anything he started.
Just ask Mona Lisa where her eyebrows went.
So most of these ideas were never implemented and most people still preferred horse drawn vehicles
Probably because they only used bio fuels and produced free fertilizers. However the animals kept on demanding higher wages and dental so people kept looking for alternatives.
The first vehicle to move under its own power for which there is a record was designed by Nicholas Joseph Cugnot (who was french) in 1770 which weighed 8000 pounds and had a top speed on 2 miles per hour. Its purpose was to haul cannons around town. However he was also one of the first people to be involved in a road accident in a motor driven vehicle when he crashed his car.(He was French.......)
In 1876, Nokolaus Otto patented the Otto cycle engine. Although engines have evolved a lot since then, the basic design is still much the same.
Now that we had a practical means to propel the horseless carriage, the animals could now retire to their farms where they contemplated their new found freedom (unemployment) except for the monkeys who saw an opportunity and wanted to hire themselves out as wrenches.
The path was now clear for the automobile revolution!!
In the early 1900s anyone with a monkey wrench, elbow grease and a workshop was considered to be a potential car manufacturer.
But cars were still very expensive and were more of a rich boy’s toy then an everyday transport system. This was because every car was still individually manufactured by hand.
That was until Henry Ford.
He invented the assembly line, which drastically cut down production costs and invented the dealer franchise system
“Almost half a century before Ray Kroc sold a single McDonald's hamburger, Ford invented the dealer-franchise system to sell and service cars. In the same way that all politics is local, he knew that business had to be local. Ford's "road men" became a familiar part of the American landscape. By 1912 there were 7,000 Ford dealers across the country.” -----The Time Magazine (Time 100-Most influential people of the centaury)
Cars were now available to the common man.
Unfortunately thanks to a man called Murphy who passed a law that ruined everyone's lives the automotive boom was short lived.
The early 19th centaury saw the outbreak of two world wars and major financial crises. Although the automotive industry was adversely affected by the war, it did help in further development of the technology making it more reliable and efficient.
In the early sixties, automobiles once again enjoyed the development boom. Only this time, people wanted cars, which would not only go faster but looked better as well.
The outcome was outrageous designs for cars. The muscle car and the hot rod revolution.
Cars had become symbolic with rock stars and Hollywood. (One of the most infamous examples can be Elvis’ purple caddy).
In the late seventies however, Due to gas shortages, car designs became more efficient and practical. Engines were now using less fuel and producing fewer pollutants.
People wanted quieter and cleaner engines so we started experimenting with alternative engines and by the 1990s, drastically improved the old internal combustion engine
The modern car is a marvel of engineering. The retirement plan for horses still pays its tribute to the humble four-legged environmentally friendly engine by measuring its power in ‘horsepower’. Although horses never got any royalty for the use of their name and intended to sue humans so most manufacturers started using the term Ps
Although we know that cars are here to stay, The future of the current engines is uncertain. Due to the growing environmental (tree hugger) concerns and lack of fuel the internal combustion engine’s time is running out.
Car manufacturers are looking at alternative fuel sources and new type of engines like the hydrogen powered vehicles and cars running of electric motors and fuel cells.
People are considering re hiring the animals as their 'other' products can be used as a source of natural gas.
Research is also being done in the field of hybrid technology i.e. combining internal combustion engines and electric motors to produce hybrid engines.
The quest for alternative engines and improved technology continues. Not because people started listening to the environmentalists (Tree Huggers) but possibly because they are bored and have nothing better to do.
After all, isn't that what makes it our nature to keep improving ourselves?
