Antique Cars 1880 Through 1916

In a Class of its Own The classification of “Antique Car” applies to those wonderful automobiles that were manufactured at the conception of motorized travel up until the US involvement in the First World War in 1916. By that time, most car production was effectively stalled in Britain, Germany, France, Italy and the US, to allow for the manufacturing of military vehicles; often on the same factory production lines.

1960 : 404

Worthy of the reputation of its predecessor, the 403, the 404 was powered by a 1.6 litre, 72 hp engine, which enabled it to pass the 140 km/h mark. Its octagonal design extended by fins, dear to Pininfarina, prolonged the partnership of Sochaux with the Turin-based bodybuilder which had begun with the 403.A collaboration also illustrated by the cabriolet and coupé. In 1962, the Kugelfischer injection system boosted the car's power by 13 hp (160 km/h). The power output would continue to rise: 80 hp on the carburettor version and 96 hp for the injection version. With its 1.9 litre 68 hp engine, the 404 would be fitted with a more powerful diesel engine than that of the 403. The model would be equipped with front disc brakes in 1969. Its illustrious career came to an end on the French market in 1975, but it continued to be sold overseas (particularly vehicles from the commercial vehicle ranges) and 2,885,267 vehicles of this type were produced.

1905 : Lion Type VA

The type VA is the first automobile launched by Eugène Peugeot, whose business “Les Fils de Peugeot Frères” had up until that point only made tools and two-wheeled vehicles, motorised and non-motorised. Eugène was the cousin of Armand, whose firm “Automobiles Peugeot” had been making mid and top of the range cars. First shown at the Paris Motorshow in 1905, the type VA was a popular model available in two body types, voiturette and four-seat tonneau. It was powered by a small 785 cc single-cylinder engine with a chain drive. One thousand Lion VAs were built in the Beaulieu factory from 1906 to 1908.

1908 : Type 105

The first Peugeot with a six-cylinder engine, the type 105 was an imposing vehicle. Available in double phaéton, landaulet, limousine and sport versions, it was the biggest automobile built by Peugeot before the First World War. Its enormous 11.1 litre engine had a power output of 60 hp and with its chain drive propelled the vehicle up to 100 km/h, an impressive speed for the time. Over its two-year production, 23 of this model were built.

1894: Type 7

While the type 3 had been the only mass produced model since 1891 (64 vehicles in 3 years), 1894 saw the emergence of the first Peugeot range: quadricycle, vis-à-vis, victoria, phaéton and break made up this range. The phaéton was a type 6, but was restricted by its low power compared to its weight (650 kilos). It was therefore replaced during the course of the year by the type 7, who exchanged the 565 cc engine in favour of a more powerful Daimler V-twin, with a displacement of 1282 cc. As regards the rest of the vehicle, it was essentially the same as the type 6. 25 type 7s were built up to 1897.

Motoring in Britian

Encouraged by the keen interest shown by King Edward VII, motoring in Britain became an accepted method of travel - for the rich. Some British manufacturers began to contest French car supremacy and among them the partnership formed in 1904 between Charles Rolls and engineer Henry Royce was on of the most significant. At that time Henry Ford was preparing the motoring world for his Model T, this was introduced in 1908.
By 1910 automobile design had become fairly settled, with a side-valve four-(or six-) cylinder front-mounted engine. Weather protection had been developed, and the electric starter from America (1912) had encouraged women to take to the wheel by removing the physical hardship of the starting handle. Interchangeable parts made to fine limits opened the gates to mass production. The Edwardians had laid down the working principles and the following years saw more refinement than innovation. "Balloon" types, pressed-steel wheels and four-wheel brakes appeared. Heavy and unstable coach-built saloon bodies encouraged the trend to wood-and-fabric and later to the rigid, welded pressed-steel body.

The First Car

The German Nikolas Otto (1832-91) made the first four-stroke internal-combustion engine in 1876 and in 1885 Daimler had installed a small four-stroke engine in a cycle frame. He drove his first four-wheeled petrol-driven vehicle round Cannstatt in 1886. In neighboring Mannheim, Benz had tested his three-wheeled car.
Daimler licensed the French firm of Panhard and Levassor to build his engine. Levassor placed it at the front of his crude car and it drove the rear road-wheels through a clutch and a gearbox. Thus in 1891 the first car to use modern engineering layout was seen. Within three years of the appearance of the first Panhard France was staging motor races on public road.
At the turn of the century, petrol, steam and electric power shared almost equal popularity for powering cars. Steam was well tried and reliable and electric vehicles held the land speed record. France had several established motor manufacturers - Panhard, Peugeot, Renault, Daracq, Delahaye and others; in Germany Benz had made the world's first standard production car, the Velo (1894), and the Daimler company was just about to present the Mercedes to the public (1901).
In the United States (USA) the automobile would develop along different lines. There the car was seen not as a rich man's toy, but as a new method of communication in a continent in which travel had been restricted by a lack of roads and great distances.
Great Britain (UK), slow to start, had legislated for the car in 1896 when the road speed limits were raised and soon such companies as Lanchester, Daimler (of Coventry), Wolseley and Napier were producing cars.

History of Cars (Automobile)

The automobile was not invented overnight. It took shape from an accumulation of technical advances that resulted in a light and efficient engine. The accepted "fathers of the modern motor car" are two Germans, Karl Benz (1844-1929) and Gottfried Daimler (1834-1900), who built their first petrol-fuelled motor vehicles within a few months of each other (1885-6).
More than a hundred years earlier, the first self-propelled road vehicle had rumbled through the streets of Paris at nearly 5km/h (3mph) when Nicolas Cugnot (1725-1804) demonstrated his steam-driven wagon.

Introduction

Motor car, road vehicle which first appeared in the 19th Century. The first cars were propelled by the steam, but such vehicles were not a success and the age of the motor car really dates from the introduction of the petrol-driven horseless carriages of Gottfrield Daimler and Karl Benz (1885-86). The internal combustion engine for these cars had been developed earlier by several engineers, most notably by the German, Nickolaus Otto, in 1876. The main components of a motor car, from then till now, are a body or chassis to which are attached all other parts - including the engine or power plant, the transmission system for transferring the drive to the wheels, and the steering, braking and suspension mechanisms for guiding, stopping and supporting the car. A few experts assembled the first cars, but Henry Ford and R. E. Olds in the USA began modern mass-production in the early 1900s. By this means, the cost of a car was drastically reduced, and more people could afford done. In most modern car factories component parts are put together on assembly lines - slow-moving conveyor belts. Each worker usually has a specific task, example fitting doors or crankshafts. Bodies and engines are constructed on separate assembly lines which converge when the engine is installed. Overhead rail conveyors move heavy components to and along the assembly lines, and lower them into position. At a later stage on the assembly line such items as lamps are fitted, and electrical, braking and control systems are tested. The fully assembled car is road tested before sale.