Early Automobiles

By Gabrielle Meyer

The first vehicle known to move under its own power (in recorded history) was 1769 in Paris. The first patented internal combustion engine was created in Paris in 1860. Several variations of motorized vehicles were built and driven in the following thirty years, but it wasn't until 1891 that motorized vehicles were being built in the United States, in Connecticut.

While the internal combustion engine was being perfected, people were also experimenting with steam powered automobiles in the United States as early as the pre-Civil War era. These tended to be heavy and cumbersome.

Duryea's First Car

The Duryea sold for $1,250
in 1898

Things started to really heat up in 1893 when brothers Charles and Frank Duryea built the first gasoline powered car in America. The first time it ran on a public road was September 21, 1893 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Using an old horse drawn buggy, which they had purchased for $70, they installed a 4 HP, single cylinder gasoline engine.

In 1896, the Duryea brothers built thirteen motorized wagons, creating the first automobile manufacturing company in the world.

Ford's First Car

1893 marked the year Henry Ford had an engine running, but it was 1896 before he built his first car. At the end of 1896, Ford sold that car for $200 and used the money to build another one. In 1899, he formed the Detroit Automobile Company with the financial backing of the Mayor of Detroit and other wealthy Detroiters. The company was dissolved in January 1901 and it wasn't until 1903 that Ford would offer another car for sale.

Ransom E. Olds at the tiller

The engraving to the left shows Ransom Eli Olds at the tiller of his first powered car. This automobile was built in 1896, but the Olds Motor Vehicle Company of Detroit was not in production until 1899.

In 1899, the Curved Dash Oldsmobile sold for $650. By 1901, the company had sold 600 vehicles. In 1902 they sold 2,500, 1903 it was 4,000 and in 1904 they sold 5,000. Though Duryea was the first manufacturer with his 13 cars, Ransom E. Olds was the first mass producer in the United States.



Charles Duryea in the winning auto

The public was fascinated (and skeptical) with the idea of a horseless carriage. A notable event happened in November 1895 that helped to improve public opinion. The Chicago Times-Herald held the first automobile race in the United States and they awarded $5,000 to the winning team. Six vehicles participated, but only two finished the 54-mile trek from Chicago to Evanston and back. It was only 38 degree outside and it had just snowed. Charles Duryea took first place with an average of 7 mph, and made his name common among automobile enthusiasts of the day.

After 1899, automobiles became a more common sight in America, but there was still much progress to be made. Ford's assembly line began operation on December 1, 1913 to create the Model T, and the rest is history.

Your Turn: Are you surprised that self-propelled automobiles have been around for so long? Did any of this history surprise you? I was surprised to discover there were earlier producers than Ford, were you?

Gabrielle Meyer
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