Can you imagine life today without our cars? While cars haven’t been around forever, it sure does feel like they have. Getting from A to B has never been easier, thanks to the fact that most of us have multiple cars in our household, allowing us to get anywhere we need to be in a rush. Today we’re going to test your knowledge of some of the world’s most famous cars and manufacturers and take you back in time to learn more about the history of cars.
The development of the first car started in the 17th century when steam-powered vehicles were first invented. This led to the steam-powered automobiles being created, which were capable of transporting humans. The first one was built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot back in 1769, and by the start of the 19th century, this development had progressed even further. Inventors started to try out new ideas, which included an electric motor and the de Rivas engine. Samuel Brown was reported to test the first industrially applied internal combustion engine, which took place in 1826.
By the mid-19th century, the development and production of these vehicles began to slow down, delaying them from being released into the world. There was some controversy surrounding large vehicles, but engines continued to develop to create the basis of what regular cars use today. Gasoline was used instead of fuel, and by 1887, production vehicles started to appear, as Carl Benz created a gasoline or petrol-powered vehicle and then made a few copies of them.
The Ford Model T, which was built by the Ford Motor Company, marked the start of the modern automobile production that we know today in 1908. It was the first car that would be mass-produced with a moving assembly line. This is how cars are often made to this day, and it paved the way for Ford and other brands around the world to mass-produce vehicles and begin filling up our roads. While cars were often thought of as a luxury, in our world today, most of us now see them as a necessity in order to go about our daily tasks and make it to our jobs each day.
Towards the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century, we began to see more electric car options. Electricity became the preferred method for propulsion at this time and offered ease and comfort for drivers and passengers alike. However, electric propulsion then reduced in popularity, as companies such as Ford Motor Company were able to reduce the cost of gasoline vehicles, to make them more affordable for the general public. Vehicles with electric propulsion were removed from the mass market in the 1930s. In 1997, we saw the first production battery electronic cars from Nissan and Toyota, which used NiMH and Li-ion batteries instead of relying on the heavier lead acid of the past.
While cars are something that almost all of us rely on, at this point in time, many of us are concerned about the impact of climate change on our world. Gasoline cars are known for having a huge impact on the environment, and with the higher gasoline prices and battery technology improvements, consumers and manufacturers are looking for different answers for the future. Electric cars have once again returned to the market, and it’s not uncommon to find charging points in most cities and towns. In the future, we can only expect interest in these vehicles to increase, especially as some countries are putting into place rules regarding their use. We also see self-driving cars on the roads nowadays, using some of the most advanced technology in the world to offer a safe and easy driving experience for anyone.
Cars have come on so much in the past one hundred years, and we can only imagine what our roads will look like in the future. Today, we’re going to test your knowledge of automobiles of the past and present. We have twenty different questions prepared for you, which will help you to see how well you know the most famous manufacturers and vehicles on our roads today. Good luck, and let’s see how well you score on our trivia quiz today!