9781422285145

Introduction

The obsession with creating a vehicle that was not reliant on the use of animals, capable of transporting people and goods, began in earnest in the second half of the 18 th century. Those early pioneers utilized the latest development of steam-powered engines to provide the energy to move their inventions; some even began experimenting with electric vehicles – perhaps somewhat ironic considering the pressure manufacturers have been facing in recent years to develop affordable, sustainable, zero emissions vehicles to alleviate the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. But the birth of the first practical internal combustion- engined automobile was credited to Karl Benz, who began production in 1888 in Mannheim, Germany. Fellow countrymen Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach soon swelled the ranks the following year, with the first vehicle that was purposely designed to be an automobile from the outset rather than a horse-drawn carriage that had been equipped with an engine. This had all taken place in Europe, but the United States was not far behind and would soon grow to become the largest automobile-manufacturing nation in the world. This was partly driven by the size of the country and the population but also the innovators who lived there. In the late 19 th century, a network of canals and railroads was already expanding, but the biggest change to the country – and indeed the world – would be the development of roads. Drivers of the earliest automobiles were hindered and

 ABOVE:  Gottlieb Daimler, left, (1834-1900) and Karl Benz, right, (1844-1929) developed early automobiles in Germany.  OPPOSITE:  A highway under construction in the United States.  BELOW:  A road in Montauk, Long Island, New York, 1910.

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