12 plus 1 cars that changed the world

Can a four-wheeler change the world? Can it affect the the way we live; Okay, for the petrolhead, any αυτοκίνητο μπορεί να του αλλάξει τη ζωή, λειτουργώντας ως… antidepressant. And to anyone as well, annihilating the distances, evolving into a useful tool.

In our case, however, we do not consider this. We are considering these wonderful discoveries and innovations, that changed the course of history, that were the main axis for to evolve the world us to what it is today. And, in what will become tomorrow, to a point.

Today, the TopSpeed.gr Read more 12+1 αυτοκίνητα που άλλαξαν, αλλάζουν, ή θα αλλάξουν τον κόσμο…

1. The first car: the Daimler Benz Patent Motorwagen.

The 1886, Daimler and Benz joined forces to create what would essentially be the first car on the planet (officially, at least). With engine internal combustiona rudimentary steering wheel, throttle and brake, that's it. the ancestor, the precursor of all cars. Think about it. Shocking of the thing, to get a sense of the magnitude of their work: To learn, or to see better, about for the first time in your life, a carriage that it doesn't drag or she's not attracted to anything! A vehicle that takes you wherever you want. For the people of the time, it was something unbelievable, unthinkable, as well as scary. Perhaps more απ’ ότι θα ήταν σήμερα η τηλεμεταφορά. OK, with its 984 cc engine and three wheels it didn't have horsepower greater than 1 (yes, a) horse, but it was a good start.

2.The first mass-produced car: the Ford Model T.

Ο Henry Ford, a restless American, had had the idea in his mind for many years, ever since he had succeeded in getting his first engine that he made, in sink of the house his. Until the 1908, who managed to create the first production line. The first model of his automobile industry, the Model T, it was essentially the first car in wide production. And the first car to come out of a factory that mass produced cars exclusively.

Two very nice reports, about the day Ford changed the world and when Ford built his first motor in a sink, here and here

3.Το πρώτο αυτοκίνητο “του λαού”: VW Beetle.

Ο scarab, the beetle, the Herby. Hitler, during the war, ordered Hitler to Ferdinand Porsche create a car simple to use and build, modern, cheap and tough. The purpose was to be used in combat operations at the front, but also to be produced for civilian transport. Hence the name Volks-wagen, i.e. the people's car. “Ζει” μέχρι σήμερα, σε διάφορες παραλλαγές. Η επόμενη γενιά του, δεν ήταν τόσο πετυχημένη, αφού, πλην του σχήματος, δεν είχε τίποτε το επαναστατικό επάνω της.  

See here την quite ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία του σκαραβαίου και της ζωής του Porsche, που θα σε βάλει σε σκέψεις…

4. Το πρώτο “τζιπ”: Jeep Willys.

This tough, very simple, full of corners car, changed its course World War II. He allowed Americans to move quickly from the roughest, muddiest, snowy paths. Over the years and in time of peace, this war machine hardened further, instead of being civilized, in order to become the conqueror of the most inaccessible parts of nature. To such an extent that he became the creator of a whole class αυτοκίνητων (της δημοφιλέστερης, σήμερα, στον κόσμο) που παλιότερα αποκαλούσαμε “cicadas” και σήμερα έχουν εξελιχθεί σε SUV. Το Jeep, είναι η αιτία  της ιδέας ότι με το αυτοκίνητο πρέπει να μπορείς to go everywhere.

5. The car that (re)made convertibles fashionable: the Mazda MX-5. The plan and the idea of MX-5 ήταν πολύ παλιότερο απ’ ότι ξέρουμε. Είχε όμως απορριφθεί από κάποια rusty brains of Mazda and was tucked away in the drawers of Hiroshima archive, since no one was interested in a φτηνό “ανοιχτό” αυτοκίνητο με μαλακή οροφή. Until the day it came back and went into production. The idea was simple: A cheap, lightweight, compact, nimble and - above all - fun to drive car, with a very youthful design and soft top. The Mazda became instantly Fashion to the new money on Wall Street and spread around the world. It sold so much that it went into the book of Guinness World Record, while forcing other automakers to reintroduce soft-top convertibles and lower their costs. For us, in sunny Greece, αυτό είναι ευτυχία. Ευτυχία, βέβαια, είναι και το ίδιο το ΜΧ-5. Με τη “Recipe” να παραμένει αναλλοίωτη σε όλες τις γενιές του, το ΜΧ-5 είναι η απόδειξη ότι ένα αυτοκίνητο είναι capable of making you smile, without spending a shitload of money.

6. The first hybrid: Toyota Prius.

The first generation Prius was so ugly it could make you cry. With sobs.

As much a favorite as hateful, the Prius is the first mass-produced passenger car to use the hybrid technology. Όταν πρωτοπαρουσιάστηκε, όλοι το κοίταζαν με… μισό μάτι, ωστόσο σήμερα, any self-respecting manufacturer, has in its range, at least one model of such technology. The Prius, used the now-famous energy recovery technology through braking to charge the lithium batteries that power the electric motor, which it uses at low speeds, achieving amazing economy fuel. Toyota had already had a lot ofimitate the hybrid technology producing the Coaster Hybrid EV, a minivan for the Asian market, and the Coaster Hybrid EV, ahave gone the extra mile with the Prius.

7. The first turbo: Oldsmobile Cutlass Turbo Jetfire.

The distant 1962, η general engines has decided to launch a truly different model from the rest. It was the Oldsmobile Cutlass Turbo Jetfire, which had an aluminium V8 215 cu (i.e. 3.52 litres) which had an attached TURBOCHARGER. That was the first passenger car production car with turbo, a technology that was envisioned by Benz and had used the Renault (on aircraft).

The Oldsmobile turbo engine

The entry level car of Oldsmobile, with the Garrett supercharger, yield 215 hp and 408 NM of torque, made the sprint at 100 at 9.2 seconds and had final 176 g.p.h. The Jetfire was way ahead of its time (as it turned out) because of its engine performance, but also very wronged, by the manufacturer himself.

Without the hyperbole, the American cannot. This label was there from the car's manufacture.

The special press of the time, the “έκραξε” μιας και, παρότι ήταν μακράν το γρηγορότερο της “οικογένειας” και παρουσίαζε την innovation of the turbo, wore the same (very) soft posts με τα πιο αδύναμα “αδελφάκια” του, το four-speed gearbox was very slow and, although it was considerably more expensive, it did not have basic things στον εξοπλισμό του, όπως για παράδειγμα… counter (but it had a barometer -with no readings- and an econometrician!). There were also some reliability problems and Jetfire became commercial failure. Η καινοτομία του, όμως, ακολουθήθηκε από δεκάδες άλλους κατασκευαστές, Αμερικανούς και μη, για να γίνει σήμερα σχεδόν… στάνταρ. 

8. The first front-wheel drive cars: the Cugnot, Dion and Christies.

Το ατμοκίνητο αυτοκίνητο του Cugnot ήταν δύσχρηστο, αλλά σκέψου ότι το έφτιαξε το 1771, όταν οι άλλοι ακόμα ούτε το φαντάζονταν…

The (very distant) 1771, ο French inventor  Nicholas Joseph Cugnot was experimenting to find ways to transport cannons and heavy equipment for the French army, when he got the idea to build the three-wheeled fardier a vapeur, or, in Greek, a steam carriage. In the same year, he presented the vehicle, which had a steam engine mounted on the front of the carriage, which transmitted the motion to the a single front wheel, with a strap. This was not only the first front-wheel drive, but in general the first car on the planet, although his little top speed (3 h.a.o.) and the his terrible instability το “σκότωσαν” πριν παραχθεί.

de Dion and Bouton on their creation, 1883. Drive at the front, steering wheels at the rear.

Later, the 1883, ο Count Jules-Albert de Dion and the Georges Bouton, παρουσίασαν το πρώτο τους “car” (έτσι το ονόμασαν).Ήταν ένα four-wheeler that was moving with steam, was sending the forward motion wheels with belts, while the steering wheel turned them back.

Christie with the first front-wheel drive car in wide production. It didn't do so well

The 1905, the American businessman Walter Christie, decided to go against the grain that wanted cars to be strictly rear-wheel drive and presented the pioneering, for the time, front-wheel drive car. The, 60 horsepower Christie, he had the four-cylinder in-line engine mounted in parallel with the front axle to whom he was transmitting the traffic. Christie, he ran his car in races στις ΗΠΑ και την Ευρώπη για να αποδείξει “την superiority of the front drive“, όμως “σκόνταψε” σε μηχανολογικά προβλήματα και ένα crash that almost cost him his life. Η high price of its model (around 65,000 euros today) and the reluctance of the public to see it as truly innovative, deprived it of the success it would have liked, but it had already laid the foundations for the future of (sub-)steering wheel motoring.  

9. The first 4WDs: Porsche/Lohner and Spyker 4WD.

The four-wheel drive Porsche/Lohner in 1900 had an electric motor on each wheel!!!!

Historians do not agree on who is the true inventor of four-wheel drive, since its history is not documented. However, all converge on the fact that the first all-wheel drive vehicle had been designed by Ferdinand Porsche for the Austrian truck manufacturer Jacob Lohner in the 1900. The then just 25 years old Porsche, conceived the idea of putting electric motors on each wheel, that, uh, reminds us of something.

The 1902 Spyker was the world's first 4x4.

The first car with mechanical transmission on 4 wheels, it seems that the Dutch company Jacobus Spyker το 1902. The Spyker had differential and everything we know today about four-wheel drive, unlike the unconventional Porsche/Lohner. 

Mercedes of 1903 with four-wheel drive and four-wheel drive.

A year later, the 1903, η Daimler Benz, the world's first car manufacturer, started to build four-wheel drive cars, by fitting some of them with all wheel steering, i.e. ενεργητική τετραδιεύθυνση…

10.Το πρώτο κεντρομήχανο:  Lamborghini Miura.

Widely recognised as the first centre-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car, the Lamborghini Miura laid the foundations for what we now largely consider to be supercar. Most supercars from Ferrari, McLaren, Pagani, Koenigsegg and everything else you can think of based on the layout first presented by the Lamborghini Miura. Which also happened to be beautiful.

11. Το πρώτο “Mini” αυτοκίνητο: Mini.

During the 1950, fuel prices had begun to rise and the British Motor Corporation (later purchased by Leyland) began to design a small economic car which would be cheap, comfortable and would not consume much gasoline. Γι’ αυτό, προσέλαβε τον Sir Alec Issigonis (Alexander Isigonis, son of Asia Minor refugees who emigrated to England), an engineer who had specialisation in front-wheel drive vehicles Vehicles.

Isigonis is photographed with the first Mini ever built, when the model he created had already sold 2.7 million units and won the Monte Carlo Rally

Ο Greek head of planning of the project, therefore, made extensive use of the engineering classification had led to the ridicule of Walter Christie about 50 years earlier. Only now, he put the engine in another time and stuck at the front all mechanical parts of the car. With the lack of a differential, the floor was straight and thus gaining space for the feet and heads of the passengers.

The key to success was the fact that because the front of the car was fitted with a 848 cc engine, it was not frontal, which means he had good grip. In general, the Mini presented by Isigonis was not fast (he had 116 h.p.h. final), but it was ...very light. Ήταν επίσης οικονομικότατο και πολύ μικρό. Η υπόλοιπη ιστορία, είναι γνωστή…

Bonus. The first electric car and our future: the Tesla Model S.

Τις προηγούμενες δεκαετίες, τα ηλεκτρικά αυτοκίνητα αντιμετωπίζονταν με απαξιωτικά… βλέμματα, λόγω της funny performance them (it was slower than the delay), of short autonomy them and the, often ridiculous styling their. The Tesla Model S, essentially the first all-electric model in wide production, came to change all that. So fast that humiliates supercars in dragstrips, with giant autonomy and practicality and as beautiful as it needs to be, the Model S came to bring the revolution in motoring and force all manufacturers to make on-site turning and admit that the future of the automobile is electricity. 

Tip: Its inventor and owner of Tesla, Elon Musk, it is said that during the development of its first model, it was so Stressed that was asleep in a sleeping bag, in the factory του, ανάμεσα στα υπό κατασκευή αυτοκίνητα…