Did You Know

First Speed Sign aimed at motor vehicles was in Connecticut in 1901 - 12mph
First Steering wheel - Karl Benz. It was tiller steer before that.

Now this has a moral somewhere!

The very first person ever to get a speeding ticket was Jacob Gorman. A zealous police officer booked him in his electric car in New York in 1899 doing the wild speed of 12mph under a regulation banning galloping horses. The officer was absolutely correct and clearly vindicated a few months later when Gorman ran over and killed Henry Bliss in the very same car giving Bliss the unenviable record of being the first person killed in a motor car accident.

Lang

Lang that is a amazing story, the last one that is as are all of this stuff

Was taught when doing my lift ticket that tge safest form of transport known to man is a lift or elevator to other parts of the world
Safer than walking even
Dunno how true this but it's what DLI inspector taught us

Paul

Here in Crystal Brook, a century ago, a diligent and well informed police constable booked a local farmer coming into town with his wagon and top team of six horses.
Why?
Apparently only the king (as at that time) had the authority to have a team of white horses! :pinch: :blink:

PDU,

It appears that things are crook in Crystal Brook.

I have only been there twice. The first time, about fifty years ago, I changed down a gear in my EH Holden for the railway level crossing and promptly dropped the rings out of a piston. Second time was about three years ago on an HCVCA run. Level crossing has been replaced by a bridge and is no longer on the main highway.

In which case Morris you weren't really here on the second occasion, you were bypassing the Brook :huh:
AND
If you had been fifty years later on your first time around, and heading south, you could have coasted up to the front of my house. Nothing like a friend to help out in your time of need . . .

Speed Hillclimb
The first speed hillclimb was held in January 1897, over a 3-mile course from Nice to La Turbie, near Monte Carlo, and formed the final stage of the race from Marsielle to Nice. It was won by M Pary driving Andre Michelin’s 15hp De Dion Bouton steam car, which averaged just under 20 mph from an 18hp De Dion Bouton steamer driver by the Comte de Chasseloup-Laubat, and the 6hp petrol-driven Peugeot of Lemaitre, which took more than 20 minutes longer to complete the course than the winning car. The success of Michelin’s car over Chasseloup-Laubat’s similar but more powerful machine was attributed to the fact that the first was using pneumatic tyres, the second running on solid tyres.

Dipstick
The first car with a dipstick to check oil was launched in 1915 – the Morris Cowley. Unlike many automobile inventions this one is still used, unchanged in nearly all cars


The term petrol was not used until 1896 when it was patented by Messrs Carless, Capel & Leonard of Hackney Wick.

Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, had the dubious honour of being the first person in Great Britain to be successfully charged with speeding on 28 January 1896. Travelling at approximately 8mph/12.87kph, he had exceeded the 2mph/3.22kph speed limit. Fined one shilling and costs, Arnold had been caught by a policeman who had given chase on a bicycle.

Note: We see that he was booked for doing FOUR TIMES the speed limit. We have gone backwards and 124 years later there is no car on earth that can replicate this feat.


Reflective Cats Eye road studs were patented by Percy Shaw of Halifax in 1934. A manufacturing company, Reflective Road Studs Ltd, was established in 1935.


FIRST MASS-PRODUCTION FRONT-WHEEL-DRIVE CAR: 1934
The Citroen Traction Avant introduced not only front-wheel-drive to the motoring world but also four-wheel independent suspension.

It too used a monocoque chassis and was very advanced for its time.


FIRST DIESEL CAR: 1936
A number of manufacturers claim this one but in terms of the first successful production model, the 1936 Mercedes-Benz 260D is considered to be the very first diesel-powered car.

We can only imagine the sounds and smells that emanated from this thing back in the day. Mercedes also introduced the first turbodiesel model in 1977, the 300SD.


First crash test dummy

Crash test dummies have helped to make cars vastly safer than they used to be, but there are grim beginnings to this innovation. Researchers in 1930s America wanted to study how much force the human body could withstand, so threw a corpse down a lift shaft. Human bodies are still used in academic crash test studies today.


First use of pneumatic tyres

The Michelin brothers (above) were the first to manufacture a working air-filled tyre, designed to improve comfort and grip over solid alternatives, and their fellow Frenchmen at Peugeot were keen to be the first on the bandwagon. The 1895 Peugeot L’Eclair was the first car to be fitted with them.


First car to break 100mph
The first car to break 100mph was a 90hp Napier owned by a chap called S.E. Edge. In the early 20th century, rich petrolheads would race their cars on Ormond Beach in Florida. Edge’s Napier was driven by a British man named Arthur MacDonald, who managed 104.65mph over the measured mile in 1905.

His record stood for about 15 minutes, however, when a twin-engined Mercedes went faster, although that car was later disqualified. Either way, MacDonald will always be remembered as the first to break 100mph in a car.



First Car with Reverse – 1902 FIAT 8/16 HP

And just to keep you entertained we have our old friend Wikipedia but in conjunction with Guinness Book of Records. A number of these conflict with other sources.

Driver aids
First steering wheel – 1894 Panhard
First speedometer – 1901 Oldsmobile
First windscreen wiper – 1903 Mary Anderson (inventor)
First electromechanical vehicle horn – 1908 Klaxon ("ah-oo-gah")
First tilt-away steering wheel – 1912 Peerless
First standard rear-view mirror – 1912 Marmon[81]
First adjustable steering column – 1913 Lancia Theta
First dash-mounted fuel gauge – 1914 Studebaker
First power windscreen wiper – 1916 Willys-Knight
First turn signals – 1919 Phianna
First electric windscreen wiper – 1922 William M. Folberth (inventor)
First windscreen defogger – 1927 (for the 1928 model year) Studebaker
First horn ringed steering wheel – 1935 (for the 1936 model year) Cord 810
First windscreen washer – 1936 (for the 1937 model year) Studebaker
First rear window defogger – 1947 (for the 1948 model year) Cadillac
First power steering – 1950 (for the 1951 model year) Chrysler Imperial
First cruise control – 1956 (for the 1957 model year) Imperial
First trip computer – 1958 Saab GT750
First adjustable control pedals – 1964 Marcos GT
First tilt/telescope steering wheel – 1964 (for the 1965 model year) Cadillac
First traction control system/anti slip regulation – 1970 (for the 1971 model year) full-size Buick (MaxTrac)
First LED display – 1976 Aston Martin Lagonda instrument cluster
First original-equipment (OEM) Citizens Band radio – 1976 (for the 1977 model year) Lincoln, Cadillac, Buick (except Skyhawk), Oldsmobile (except Omega and Starfire) and Pontiac (except Ventura, Sunbird and Astre)
First electronic trip computer – 1978 (in middle of model year) Cadillac Seville[82]
First navigation system – August 1981 Honda Accord (analog, dealer-installed)[83]
First built-in cup holder – 1983 Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager[84][85]
First Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers – 1984 Nissan 200SX and Silvia
First CRT display – 1984 Buick Riviera computer controlled instrument cluster
First electronic four-wheel steering – 1985 Nissan Skyline HICAS
First heads-up display – 1987 (for the 1988 model year) Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
First drive-by-wire throttle – 1988 BMW 750iL
First mechanical four-wheel steering – 1988 Honda Prelude 4WS
First electrochromic rear-view mirror – 1989 Lexus LS
First digital navigation system – 1990 Acura Legend
First original equipment GPS navigation – 1990 Mazda Eunos Cosmo Type-E CCS[86]
First Backup camera – 1991 Toyota Soarer Limited (Japan Only)
First dynamic stability control system/Electronic Stability Programme/Vehicle Stability Control – 1995 BMW 7 Series (E38)-(DSC III), Mercedes-Benz S 600 Coupé-(ESP),[87] and Toyota Crown Majesta-(VSC)[77]
First adaptive cruise control – 1995 (for 1996 model year) Mitsubishi Diamante (like the later Toyota Celsior system, this LIDAR did not apply brakes, only throttle&shifting)[88]
First telematics assist system – 1996 (for the 1997 model year) Cadillac Seville (OnStar) and Lincoln Continental (Motorola RESCU)
First backup sensors – 1999 Ford Windstar and Ford Explorer/Lincoln Navigator
First night vision – 1999 (for the 2000 model year) Cadillac Deville
First navigation system with voice controls – 2002 Infiniti Q45
First Backup camera in North American market – 2002 Infiniti Q45
First radar Collision avoidance system – 2003 Toyota Harrier-Pre-Collision System PCS[89]
First self parking – 2004 Toyota Prius[90]
First Blind Spot Intervention System – 2005 Volvo S80
First Around View Monitor (AVM) – 2007 Infiniti EX35
First Driver drowsiness detection – 2007 on the Volvo S80-Driver Alert Control[91]
First driver eyelid monitoring system – 2008 on the Toyota Crown-Driver Monitoring System[89][92]
First Synchronized down shift rev-matching system – 2009 Nissan 370Z and Fairlady Z
First active pedestrian avoidance with steering correction – 2013 on Lexus LS (XF40) (Japan only)[93][94]

Another first for Studebaker was "burst proof" door locks. Late '30's, I believe. (rotary type, as opposed to the old slam locks)

Also the Hill Holder as now used on Subaru. Stop on a hill with clutch and brake pedals in - let go of the brake and it holds until you begin to release the clutch.

Jarrod.

General Motors introduced the first automatic headlight dimmer – called the Autronic Eye – in 1952, on its Cadillac and Oldsmobile models; followed by Buick, Pontiac and Chevrolet models in 1953.
And don't forget Tucker's Lang . . .

I remember this engine from the 1950's, did something like 400 miles per gallon.
Still fascinating!

//onlinebicyclemuseum.co.uk/1951-lohmann-18cc-diesel-engine-new-old-stock-unused/