-
how old is the car?
This year the Pebble Beach concours celebrated 125 years of the Automobile, and subsequently attributed the start of the car age to Benz and Mercedes.
Today I received this announcement from RM, dealing with a car that was at Pebble Beach a couple of years earlier...
[url="http://www.rmauctions.com/FeatureCars.cfm?SaleCode=HF11&CarID=r153"]RM AUCTIONS[/url]
-
The Germans..., always believing they've invented everything...
-
If we're talking steam, then we can date back to the Cugnot fardier à vapeur from 1770, 'twas the Germans who invented the internal combustion engine though.
-
[quote=Ferrer;975243]The Germans..., always believing they've invented everything...[/quote]
the reason for this " history error" might also have been that Mercedes was considered to be a far better sponsor for PB than De Dion Bouton.....
-
Yeah well, it's difficult being an sponsor when you have sort of disappeared...
Maybe we could revive the brand just to annoy Daimler?
-
I've always wondered when the layout was perfected- 3 pedals (all in the right order), steering wheel, 1 shifter, 1 emergency brake.
Top Gear did something on it, but was it really was Cadillac that had the modern layout?
-
[quote=W.R.;975244]If we're talking steam, then we can date back to the Cugnot fardier à vapeur from 1770, 'twas the Germans who invented the internal combustion engine though.[/quote]
That's just it. The car as we know it, powered by internal combustion, was a Mercedes thing. Steam vehicles were around much earlier, and no doubt steam-powered horseless carriages as well.
-
[quote=TVR IS KING;975249]That's just it. T[B]he car as we know it, powered by internal combustion, was a Mercedes thing[/B]. Steam vehicles were around much earlier, and no doubt steam-powered horseless carriages as well.[/quote]
It isn't as simple as that.
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippomobile_%28car%29"]1863 Hippomobile - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/URL]
Then there was a gasoline powered mobile from 1870: [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Marcus"]Siegfried Marcus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
Oh, and one more thing. Unlike what a popular myth suggests, Mercedes-Benz IS NOT the oldest automotive manufacturer still active.
[quote=NSXType-R;975248]I've always wondered when the layout was perfected- 3 pedals (all in the right order), steering wheel, 1 shifter, 1 emergency brake.
Top Gear did something on it, but was it really was Cadillac that had the modern layout?[/quote]
Yes, it was a Cadillac. But Austin Seven was the first mass-market car to be fitted with a "conventional" control layout.
-
[quote=NSXType-R;975248]Top Gear did something on it, but was it really was Cadillac that had the modern layout?[/quote]look at Series 10 - Episode 8 and all is revealed IIRC
-
[quote=Revo;975250]
Oh, and one more thing. Unlike what a popular myth suggests, Mercedes-Benz IS NOT the oldest automotive manufacturer still active.
Yes, it was a Cadillac. But Austin Seven was the first mass-market car to be fitted with a "conventional" control layout.[/quote]
So what's the oldest auto manufacturer? Tatra? Renault? Peugeot?
[quote=Matra et Alpine;975256]look at Series 10 - Episode 8 and all is revealed IIRC[/quote]
Thanks about the clarification about the Cadillac. Top Gear isn't known for factual accuracy, so I thought they might not have been truthful with the modern switchgear car.