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Little Known Facts and Trivia
About the Automobile Business
 

Chronological evolution

 
1782 James Watt builds the first engine crank.
1792 The first U.S. toll roads opened in PA and CT.
1860 Jean Lenoir invents the spark plug.
1887 The Benz became the first car offered for sale.
1896 The Duryea became the first production motor vehicle in the U.S.
1897 The first auto insurance policy is purchased in Westfield, MA.
1900 The first Guide Michelin published mostly containing a list of gas stations in France.
1901 The first Grand Prix race was won with an average speed of 46 mph.
1901 The first American car manufactured in any quantity, the "Curved Dash" Olds is offered for $650.
1913 More than one million cars registered in the U.S.
1914 The Chevrolet bow-tie emblem first appears.
1914 The first electric traffic light was installed in Cleveland.
1923 Powered windshield wipers became standard equipment on many cars.
1923 A radio was first offered as an accessory.
1939 Buick introduces turn signals as standard equipment.
1946 The first power windows were introduced.
1948 Harley Earl introduces the tail fin on the Cadillac. Fins don't go away for over a decade.
1953 Chevrolet introduces its Harley Earl-designed Corvette.
1954 Padded dashboards introduced for safety.
1956 Electric door locks introduced on several luxury models.
1958 The first remote adjusted side view mirror.
1958 Ford introduces the first electric trunk release.
1958 Chrysler introduces the day-night rearview mirror.
1960 All-weather antifreeze plus coolant introduced.
1963 Seat belts first offered as standard equipment.
1965 Rear seat belts became standard on most cars.
1974 National 55 mph speed limit enacted after oil shortages.
1984 Chrysler introduces the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth voyager minivans.
1972 Cars traveled along LA freeways at an average speed of 60 mph. In 1982 the average was only 17 mph! 
1974 The average American family spent 33 percent of their yearly income for a new car. In 1995 the average was 50 percent.
1995 the Big Three sold a whopping 97,000 cars in Japan.
 

Big Names in the Automotive History

 
Buick, David A plumbing inventor and manufacturer built his first car in 1900.
Cadillac, Antoine Founded the City of Detroit in the 17th century.
Chevrolet, Louis A Swiss race car driver and engineer built his first car in 1911 with financing by William Durant.
Chrysler, Walter A locomotive mechanic who got into the automobile business in 1912 and publicly displayed his own first car at the 1924 NY Auto Show and selling an amazing 32,000 car in his first year.
Cord, E.L. As General Manager of Auburn Auto Company he produced some of the most advanced (front-wheel drive, supercharged V8's) and beautiful cars ever under his own name.  Unfortunately, they were expensive and came along during the start of the Depression.
Daimler, Gottlieb Can be considered as the founder of the automobile industry when he formed Daimler Motor Company in 1890.
Dodge, John & Horace Their first car came off the assembly line in 1914.  Both brothers died within less than a year of each other during the influenza epidemic in 1920.
Durant, William A businessman, finance man, and salesman who was a self-made millionaire before ever joining the auto business. He was called on by the owners of the failing Buick Motor Company to help. He soon bought Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Cadillac and formed General Motors.  He almost bought Ford, but didn't come up with enough cash to suit Henry.   Durant always kept himself stretched thin with his money in stocks and other businesses. He lost everything in the Depression.
Duryea, Charles & Frank Built the first successful American automobile and the first to offer a production model for sale to the public.
Earl, Harley Designed the La Salle in 1927, the beginning of a trend towards lower and wider cars. As head of GM's styling department he invented the tail fin and designed the Corvette.
Ferrari, Enzo A mechanic, race car driver then race car team owner. His cars dominated racing for many years after WWII.
Firestone, Harvey His tires went on the first mass-produced Fords.
Ford, Henry In creating the assembly line for automobiles he also created jobs for thousands and affordable cars for millions.   What Henry did for automobiles spilled over into other consumer good.
Gale, Tom A Chrysler designer largely responsible for the current crop of Chrysler's design of cab-forward and curved styling on everything from the minivan to the Viper. 
Goodrich, BF The company  started in 1896 has many firsts: First synthetic rubber tire, first tubeless tire, first American-made radial tire, the first space saver spare and the first "run flat" tire.
Goodyear, Charles Accidentally discovered the rubber vulcanizing process. He patented the process, but couldn't come up with any practical uses for it and died penniless in 1860.   The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was named after him.
Honda, Soichiro After WWII with $3,300 he started making motorcycles.
Iacocca, Lee Responsible for the Mustang in the early 1960's and bailing out Chrysler in early 1980's.
Jellinek, Emile In 1900, while a Daimler Motor Works board member,  Jellinek convinced Gottlieb Daimler to build a race car and name it after Emile's daughter, Mercedes.
Murphy, Edward Founded the Pontiac Buggy Company in Pontiac, MI in 1893. At the turn of the century he decided to switch to making "those noisy, smelly, unreliable automobiles."
Olds, Ransom His highly successful "Curved Dash" runabout put Michigan on the map as a source of motor vehicles.  He soon left his namesake company. Later he produced the first gasoline lawn mower.
Porsche, Ferdinand A design engineer who never created a car carrying his name. That was left to his son, Ferry, to accomplish.
Royce, Frederick & Rolls, Charles Engineer Royce and car dealer Rolls introduced their first car in 1904.
Sloan, Alfred Led GM to become the world's largest corporation.  Responsible for the idea of yearly styling changes.
Tucker, Preston After WWII Tucker designed, built and promoted an innovative car with features, power, and aerodynamic design never before seen and at a very good price.  His company folded after building 51 cars.`
 

Famous People Killed in Car Accidents

  • Marc Bolan, guitarist & vocalist for rock band T.Rex.
  • Harry Chapin, singer
  • James Dean, actor
  • Di, Princess
  • Sam Kinison, comedian
  • Ernie Kovacs, comedian
  • Desmond Llewelyn, "Q" in the James Bond movies
  • Jayne Mansfield, actress
  • Bill Martin, baseball manager
  • Margaret Mitchell, author
  • Tom Mix, actor
  • George Patton, general
  • John D Rockefeller III, rich guy

 

Some Movies About Cars

 
 
American Graffiti Directed by George Lucas. Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, MacKenzie Phillips, Charles Martin Smith, Suzanne Somers, Harrison Ford, Wolfman Jack
Back to the Future Stars a DeLorean
Blues Brothers They destroy dozens of '70s sedans. Good for them.
Bullit Contains the most famous car chase scene in the movies. Stars Steve MacQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Robert Duvall
Cadillac Man Robin Williams as a sleazy car salesman.
Cannonball Run Based on an actual race across the country. Stars Burt Reynolds, Farrah Fawcett, Roger Moore, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Fonda
Car Wash Comedy based at an L.A. car wash
Christine From a Stephen King novel about a possessed car
Days of Thunder Top Gun meets stock cars
Death Race 2000 Futuristic tale where drivers score points by running over people.
Detour One of those cross-country trips where the star picks up strangers along the way.
Dirty Mary Crazy Larry It's got Peter Fonda and fast driving
Driven Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds (can't have a car movie without Burt), CART, crashes and women.
Duel An early Spielberg film where Dennis Weaver is attacked by unmanned tractor-trailer rigs.
Fast and the Furious Turbochargers, gangs, crime, undercover cop, romance, special effects.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off Matthew Broderick borrows a Ferrari
Gone in 60 Seconds A 40 minute chase scene that destroys 90 vehicles (in the original movie).
Grand Prix Lots of track footage
Greased Lightning Story of the first black racing champ, starring Richard Pryor
The Great Race Long story about a 1908 NY to Paris race
Heart Like a Wheel The story of drag racer Shirley Muldowney.
The Last American Hero Story of moonshiner turned stock car racer Junior Johnson
Le Mans Good race footage
Mad Max (and Road Warrior) Mel Gibson in futuristic hot rods driving around looking for gas.
Race for Life Good racing scenes
The Racers European racing footage
Roger & Me Michael Moore makes auto execs look bad.
Smokey and the Bandit Burt Reynolds, a black TransAm, a dumb Southern cop, a girl, beer and CB radios.  
Thelma & Louise A buddy-highway movie
Thunder Road Robert Mitchum in a moonshine vs. Feds story
Tucker, a Man and His Dream Nostalgic look at idealist Preston Tucker
Used Cars More sleazy used car salesmen
Vanishing Point Denver to S.F. in 15 hours in a muscle car. Will he make it?
White Lightning (and sequel Gator) Burt Reynolds, moonshine and chase scenes.
Winning Paul Newman does his own driving in trying to win at Indy.
 

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This page last updated 02/13/02