There was no exact moment in the history of the automobile that can be chosen as the official beginning of this great invention. It was more of a process that lasted a lot of years, between the first discoveries of primary components and the assembling of the first real car. The first car that was created was the result of successive approaches and technological adaptations that were gradually developed around a common goal: to travel fast, in a convenient way and, above all, with a minimum of effort for the occupants. Oh, and safety, let’s not forget about safety!
Before one of the real changing moments in the industry – when Karl Benz invented, in 1885, the internal combustion engine four-stroke gasoline, in Germany, and patented the device one year later – a self-locomotion vehicle had already been demonstrated in 1769, for instance, by Nicolas Cugnot, in France.
Yet, despite Karl Benz has the credit for this creation, essential to the modern automobile, a lot of engineers (also in Germany) were researching in the same field of expertise. In the same year, 1886, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach patented the first motorcycle in Stuttgart. The device was built and tested in 1885 and, in 1886, the duo built the first adaptation of the motorcycle into a transport car. Decades later, Henry Ford would change the game, by manufacturing cars through a series manufacture process: this was how the Ford T, manufactured between 1908 and 1927 with sales of more than 16 million units, was born.
But, despite your possible knowledge about the interesting history of the automobile and the fact that it disperses itself through time, there are a lot of fun facts about cars we bet you ignore. For instance, did you know that 80 percent of all cars in Albania are registered as Mercedes-Benz? This is just one of the quirky curiosities we have to show you in our new infographic!