The automobile as we know it was not invented in a single day by a single inventor.

The history of the automobile reflects an revolution that took place worldwide. It is estimated that over 100,000 patents created the modern automobile. However, we can point to the many firsts that occurred along the way. Starting with the first theoretical plans for a motor vehicle that had been drawn up by both Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton.

In 1769, the very first self-propelled road vehicle was a military tractor invented by French engineer and mechanic, Nicolas Joseph Cugnot (1725 - 1804). Cugnot used a steam engine to power his vehicle, built under his instructions at the Paris Arsenal by mechanic Brezin. It was used by the French Army to haul artillery at a whopping speed of 2 1/2 mph on only three wheels. The vehicle had to stop every ten to fifteen minutes to build up steam power. The steam engine and boiler were separate from the rest of the vehicle and placed in the front (see engraving above). The following year (1770), Cugnot built a steam-powered tricycle that carried four passengers.q In 1771, Cugnot drove one of his road vehicles into a stone wall, making Cugnot the first person to get into a motor vehicle accident. This was the beginning of bad luck for the inventor. After one of Cugnot's patrons died and the other was exiled, the money for Cugnot's road vehicle experiments ended.

Steam engines powered cars by burning fuel that heated water in a boiler, creating steam that expanded and pushed pistons that turned the crankshaft, which then turned the wheels. Steam engines were not the only engines used in early automobiles. Vehicles with electrical engines were also invented. Between 1832 and 1839 (the exact year is uncertain), Robert Anderson of Scotland invented the first electric carriage. Electric cars used rechargeable batteries that powered a small electric motor. The vehicles were heavy, slow, expensive, and needed to stop for recharging frequently. Both steam and electric road vehicles were abandoned in favor of gas-powered vehicles. Electricity found greater success in tramways and streetcars, where a constant supply of electricity was possible. 824 : Uphill struggle

English engineer, Samuel Brown adapted an old Newcomen steam engine to burn a mixture of oxygen hydrogen gas.

He used it to briefly power a vehicle up Shooter's Hill - the highest point in south London. 858 : First Coal-gas engine

Belgian-born engineer, Jean Joseph tienne Lenoir invented and patented (1860) a two-stroke, internal combustion engine. It was fuelled by coal gas and triggered by an electric spark-ignition.

Lenoir later attached an improved engine to a three-wheeled wagon and completed a fifty-mile road trip. 1865 : Speed restrictions introduced in UK

The Locomotive Act restricted the speed of horse-less vehicles to 4mph in open country and 2 mph in towns.

The act effectively required three drivers for each vehicle; two to travel in the vehicle and one to walk ahead waving a red flag. For the next 30 years cars couldn t legally travel above walking speed. 1876 : Stroke of genius

Nikolaus August Otto invented and later patented a successful four-stroke engine, known as the Otto cycle.

The same year, the first successful two-stroke engine was invented by the Scottish engineer, Sir Dugald Clerk. Oto cycle1886 : Motor age moves forward

The first vehicles driven using internal combustion engines were developed roughly at the same time by two engineers working in separate parts of Germany Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz.

They simultaneously formulated highly successful and practically powered vehicles that, by and large, worked like the cars we use today. The age of modern motor cars had begun. 1889 : The First Motor Company formed

Two former French wood machinists, Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor, set up the world s first car manufacturers. Their first car was built in 1890 using a Daimler engine.

Another French company, Peugeot was formed the following year, and still going strong today. 1890 : Maybach speeds things up

Wilhelm Maybach built the first four-cylinder, four-stroke engine. Three years later, he develops the spray-nozzle carburettor, which becomes the basis for modern carburettor technology.

A decade later, Maybach developed a race car using lightweight metals fitted with a 35-hp four-cylinder engine and two carburettors. Named the Mercedes, the car reaches 64.4 km/h to shatter the world speed record. 1894 : Grand Prix racing begins

Motor racing began as cars were built. Races quickly evolved from a simple chases from town to town, to organised events like time trials endurance tests for car and driver.

Innovations in engineering soon saw competition speeds exceeding 100 mph. Since races were often held on open roads, fatalities were frequent among drivers and spectators. 896 : First Road Traffic Death

Bridget Driscoll, a 44-year old mother of two from Croydon, stepped off a kerb and into the history books. She was hit by a passing motor car near Crystal Palace in London. She died from head injuries.

The driver, Arthur Edsell, was doing just 4mph at the time. The coroner, returning a verdict of accidental death, said I trust that this sort of nonsense will never happen again. 1903 : The Ford Motor Company Formed

After fitting moving assembly lines to the factory in 1913, Ford became the world's biggest car manufacturer.

By 1927, 15 million Model Ts had been manufactured. Workers on the production line assembled the car just in ninety-three minutes. 1911 : Key development

Working for Cadillac s design and development department, Charles Kettering invented the electric ignition and starter motor. Cars could now start themselves.

Kettering later introduced independent suspension, and four-wheel brakes. And By 1930, most of the technology used in automobiles today had already been invented. 1965 : Emissions regulations introduced

Controls on harmful emissions initially introduced in California, the rest of the world soon followed suit.

Safety devices also became mandatory before this, manufacturers only included seat belts as optional extras. 1973 : Energy crisis

After the Arab oil Embargo beginning in October 1973, oil prices rocketed causing a world shortage. Though it was lifted a year later, the effect was explosive especially in America, where huge gasguzzling cars were the norm. Fuel economy was suddenly something to consider when buying a car. 1978 : Safe stopping distance decreased

The first antilock braking systems (ABS) were developed for automobiles by German manufacurers, Bosch. They first appeared in trucks and cars made by Mercedes-Benz.

ABS brakes to allow the driver to maintain steering control and to shorten braking distances. 1997 : Car Manufacturers get green

Manufacturers have acknowledged that oil reserves will dry up in the future. They re now developing engines that use more than one fuel source hybrid engines.

Honda and Toyota initially introduced their petrol/electric hybrids to the Japanese market, before releasing them in America and Europe in 2002. Beginning his working life as a travelling grocery salesman in Cologne, Otto became increasingly obsessed with the emerging technology of the day - namely gas and steam. The big news at the time was Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir's invention - an engine that burned natural gas. It was attached to a cart, and though it moved under its own power, the engine was grossly inefficient and noisy. Otto believed he could improve things with a liquid fuel and began experimenting. He built his first gas engine in 1861 and formed a partnership with German industrialist, Eugen Langen. Originally known as NA Otto & Cie, the company still operates as Deutz AG. By happy accident, Otto recognised the value of the compression of the fuel air mixture before burning. The idea of the fourstroke piston cycle - or 'Otto Cycle' - was born. Spending the next five years tweaking and developing the design, Otto finally won a gold medal for his 'atmospheric gas engine' at the 1867 Paris Exposition. Daimler initially trained as a gunsmith before shifting to engineering. After periods working in Britain, France and Belgium, Daimler was made technical director at Deutz AG Nikolaus August Otto s firm. At the factory in Cologne, Daimler teamed up with young engineer, named Wilhelm Maybach, to develop the internal combustion engine for propelling road vehicles. After a disagreement with Nikolaus Otto, Daimler and Maybach quit and started up the Daimler motor Company. They focused their efforts on producing the first lightweight, high-speed engine to run on gasoline. Eventually they developed a carburettor that vaporised the petrol and mixed it with air. Daimler s new engine raced to 900 revolutions per minute nearly seven times faster than Otto s machine. In 1886, Daimler and Maybach attached their revolutionary invention to a four-wheeled horse carriage and harnessed its incredible power. It reached 10mph. Not much, you might think, but as the world s first ever car, Daimler s show was now on the road. Born in Paris to Bavarian parents, the Diesel family relocated to London during the Franco-Prussian war. Rudolph s interest in science and engineering was ignited by the city s museums. Diesel studied engineering in Munich before joining the Sulzer Engine Works in Switzerland in 1880, building refrigeration and steam engines.

A decade later, Diesel published an influential paper called The Theory and Construction of a Rational Heat Engine. He set about developing an engine based on his theory. It differed from the gasoline engine in that fuel is ignited by compression of air in its cylinders, instead of by a spark. Though flawed, his first engine was 100 per cent more efficient than the steam engines of the day. Once perfected, Diesel s engine would become the world s most efficient thermal energy engine. In the early 1900s, diesel engines were reserved for ships and industrial power. It wasn t until 1924 that the first diesel trucks were built, and in 1936 the first diesel-powered car rolled off the production line. Henry Ford was born into a wealthy farming family in Michigan in 1863. Interested in engineering from an early age, his ultimate aim was to democratise the motorcar. Ford believed every American should own one. The way to achieve this - he figured - was to produce the largest number of cars, to the simplest design, for the lowest possible cost. With the help of investors, he set up the Ford Motor Company in 1903. Ford slashed production costs by adapting the conveyor belt and assembly line to build simple, standardised cars. The finest example was Ford's Model T, which sold in excess of 15 million units. Within five years Ford was soon able to outdistance all his competitors and become the largest automobile producer in the world. He also paid his employees $5 for an eight hour day - way over the going rate. He also organised a profit-share plan, distributing $30 million a year amongst his worker Some inventions are so humdrum they appear to be almost trivial and yet they can improve the lives of millions. For example, without Charles Kettering s development of 1911, we might still be rushing to the front of the car to start the motor by hand. Kettering s self-starting electrical ignition was first installed in a Cadillac on February 17, 1911. Until then drivers or a bystander with strong arms had to bring the engine to life by hand-cranking the starting handle. It was just one of many of his ingenious inventions. Born in a midwestern farming community, Kettering studied engineering at Ohio State University. In 1909, Kettering set up the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company, or Delco, with co-founder Edward A Deeds. Soon after he developed the Delco engine-driven generator, which provided a crucial source of electricity for thousands of farms. Kettering patented over 140 other innovations, including lacquer finishes for cars, leaded petrol, and the first electrically-operated cash register.

In 1971, the Ford car company built an experimental airbag fleet. General Motors tested airbags on the 1973 model Chevrolet automobile that were only sold for government use. The 1973, Oldsmobile Toronado was the first car with a passenger air bag intended for sale to the public. General Motors later offered an option to the general public of driver side airbags in full-sized Oldsmobile's and Buick's in 1975 and 1976 respectively. Cadillacs were available with driver and passenger airbags options during

those same years. Early airbags system had design issues resulting in fatalities caused solely by the airbags. Airbags were offered once again as an option on the 1984 Ford Tempo automobile. By 1988, Chrysler became the first company to offer air bag restraint systems as standard equipment. In 1994, TRW began production of the first gas-inflated airbag. They are now mandatory in all cars since 1998.