View Full Version : how old is the car?
henk4
09-23-2011, 12:36 AM
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 (http://www.rmauctions.com/FeatureCars.cfm?SaleCode=HF11&CarID=r153)
Ferrer
09-23-2011, 01:20 AM
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.
henk4
09-23-2011, 01:35 AM
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.....
Ferrer
09-23-2011, 01:37 AM
Yeah well, it's difficult being an sponsor when you have sort of disappeared...
Maybe we could revive the brand just to annoy Daimler?
NSXType-R
09-23-2011, 05:02 AM
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?
TVR IS KING
09-23-2011, 05:04 AM
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.
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 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippomobile_%28car%29)
Then there was a gasoline powered mobile from 1870: Siegfried Marcus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oh, and one more thing. Unlike what a popular myth suggests, Mercedes-Benz IS NOT the oldest automotive manufacturer still active.
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.
Matra et Alpine
09-23-2011, 08:09 AM
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
NSXType-R
09-23-2011, 01:38 PM
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?
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.