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Thread: how old is the car?

  1. #1
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    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...

    RM AUCTIONS
    "I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams

  2. #2
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    The Germans..., always believing they've invented everything...
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
    Visca Catalunya!

  3. #3
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    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.
    Buying a car and not driving it is like buying a meal and not eating it.

    "Oh sh*t, we're going..25!!" - A dear friend of mine.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ferrer View Post
    The Germans..., always believing they've invented everything...
    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.....
    "I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams

  5. #5
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    Yeah well, it's difficult being an sponsor when you have sort of disappeared...

    Maybe we could revive the brand just to annoy Daimler?
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
    Visca Catalunya!

  6. #6
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    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?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by W.R. View Post
    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.
    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.
    All about the t-tops

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by TVR IS KING View Post
    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.
    It isn't as simple as that.

    1863 Hippomobile - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    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 Originally Posted by NSXType-R View Post
    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?
    Yes, it was a Cadillac. But Austin Seven was the first mass-market car to be fitted with a "conventional" control layout.
    Last edited by Revo; 09-23-2011 at 07:10 AM.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by NSXType-R View Post
    Top Gear did something on it, but was it really was Cadillac that had the modern layout?
    look at Series 10 - Episode 8 and all is revealed IIRC
    "A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Revo View Post

    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.
    So what's the oldest auto manufacturer? Tatra? Renault? Peugeot?

    Quote Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine View Post
    look at Series 10 - Episode 8 and all is revealed IIRC
    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.

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