The History of the Automobile

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The automobile is an invention that has had a tremendous impact on society. The Stanley Steamer-the most successful steam car was invented in Newton Massachusetts in 1897 by Francis and Freelan Stanley. It wasn’t produced until 1924. The steam car was not a very popular device as it didn’t travel well on long distance trips it was too hard to start and there was a hazard from the open fire. Early on the electric car was the most popular type of automobile. The electric car owes its invention to William Morrison. People liked the electric car more for it was simple to operate, was very quiet and didn’t have any exhaust. Unfortunately for modern society, the electric cars lot its popularity due to the fact that it couldn’t go faster tha 20 miles per hour and the battery had to be charged every 50 miles. The gas powered engine-invented in 1879, by George B. Selden of Rochester, New York- however did not have these restrictions.

The first gasoline powered vehicle was not built until the 1860's, and gasoline automobiles were not commercially produced until the late 1890s. Selden did not receive his patent for the internal combustion engine until 1895, and it was this patent that had a profound revolutionary effect on the up and coming automobile industry.

Charles and J. Frank Duryea were the most notable of the pioneers of the gasoline automobile. The Duryea Motor Company produced the first gas powered car in 1893 - 1894. In 1896, they produced thirteen identical cars, the beginning of mass automobile production in the United States. Only one of these cars remains today, in the Smithsonian institution. Autos in Europe were touted as being superior to the American car. A slightly different model of the Duryea won a road race in En...

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2) Burness, Tad, The Auto Album, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983.

3) Crabb, Richard, Birth of a Giant, New York: Chilton Book Company, 1969

4) Hill, Frank The Automobile How it Came, Grew, and Has Changed Our Lives, New York: Dodd, Mead and co., 1967.

5) Hendry, P.G. Vintage and Veteran Cars, New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc,1974

6) Ludvigsen, Karl & Wise, David The Encyclopedia of the American Automobile Secaucus,, NJ: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1977.

7) Pettifer, Julian & Turner, Nigel Automania, Great Britain: Little, Brown & Company, 1984.

8) Sedgewick, James Early Cars London: Octopus Publishing, 1962.

9) The World Book Encyclopedia, Chicago: World Book, Inc., 1997

10)"Ford History - The Early Years." Ford History. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2015.

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