Early Auto History  

 

The "horseless carriage" made its debut at Chicago's Columbian Exposition in 1893.

 

1903 - Horatio Nelson Jackson - First American Automobile Trip across the US.

In 1904, W.K. Vanderbilt, Jr, established the "Vanderbilt Cup" to promote the sport of automobile racing. The event was originally run on Long Island over public roads.

 

1905 was a signal year in the development of the automobile, marking the point when the majority of sales shifted from the hobbyist and enthusiast to the average user.

 

Alice Ramsey, first woman to drive coast-to-coast, 1909 - 22 year old housewife.

 

 

A touring car was a popular car body style in the early 20th century, being a larger alternative to the runabout and the roadster. They were open cars, often fitted with convertible tops. Most early touring cars had a tonneau at the rear giving seating for four or more. Engines on early models were either in the front, or in a mid-body position. Touring cars evolved into the modern sedan/saloon body style.

 

Exemplary cars of the period included the following:

1908–1927 Ford Model T - The most widely produced and available car of the era. It used a planetary transmission and had a pedal-based control system.

1910 Mercer Raceabout - Regarded as one of the first sports cars, the Raceabout expressed the exuberance of the driving public, as did the similarly-conceived American Underslung and Hispano-Suiza Alphonso

 

1910–1920 Bugatti Type 13 - A notable racing and touring model with advanced engineering and design.

 

The first automobile to be mass produced in the United States was the 1901, Curved Dash Oldsmobile, built by the American car manufacturer Ransome Eli Olds. In 1899, with a growing experience of gasoline engines, Olds moved to Detroit to start the Olds Motor Works, and produce low-priced cars. He produced 425 "Curved Dash Olds" in 1901, and was America's leading auto manufacturer from 1901 to 1904.

 

Henry Ford (1863-1947) invented an improved assembly line and installed the first conveyor belt-based assembly line in his car factory in Ford's Highland Park, Michigan plant, around 1913-14. The assembly line reduced production costs for cars by reducing assembly time. Ford's famous Model T was assembled in ninety-three minutes. Ford made his first car, called the "Quadricycle," in June, 1896. However, success came after he formed the Ford Motor Company in 1903. This was the third car manufacturing company formed to produce the cars he designed. He introduced the Model T in 1908 and it was a success. After installing the  moving assembly lines in his factory in 1913, Ford became the world's biggest car manufacturer.

 

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